Shloka 32
Arjuna’s Mantra-Empowerment and the Pāṇḍavas’ Separation (Śiva-rūpa through Mantra)
पुनश्च पार्थिवं कृत्वा सुन्दरं समसूत्रकम् । तदग्रे प्रणिदध्यौ स तेजोराशिमनुत्तमम्
punaśca pārthivaṃ kṛtvā sundaraṃ samasūtrakam | tadagre praṇidadhyau sa tejorāśimanuttamam
Dann wiederum, nachdem er ein schönes irdenes Sinnbild geformt hatte, wohlproportioniert und gleichmäßig gestaltet, richtete er sein Gewahrsein davor aus und meditierte über die unübertreffliche Masse göttlichen Glanzes — das höchste Licht des Herrn Śiva.
Suta Goswami (narrating the account to the sages of Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Sthala Purana: The verse depicts a clay (pārthiva) liṅga made for worship and meditation on Śiva as tejas (supreme Light), a motif that underlies many liṅga-origin narratives but is not tied here to a specific Jyotirliṅga site.
Significance: Highlights the merit of pārthiva-liṅga worship and dhyāna on Śiva’s jyotis as a direct means to purification and grace.
FAQs
It teaches that disciplined worship (forming a pārthiva-liṅga) culminates in steady meditation on Śiva’s supreme Tejas—moving from outer act to inner realization of Pati, the liberator.
The earthen form is a saguna support for devotion and concentration; through it, the devotee contemplates the deeper nirguna truth indicated here as the ‘unsurpassed mass of radiance’ (tejorāśi).
Create a well-formed pārthiva-liṅga as a focus of pūjā, then practice dhyāna by placing the mind steadily before it—ideally with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) while contemplating Śiva as pure Light.