Shloka 17
Adhyaya 34: भस्ममहात्म्यं—अग्नीषोमात्मक-शिवतत्त्वं तथा पाशुपतव्रतप्रशंसा
तत्सर्वं दहते भस्म यथाग्निस्तेजसा वनम् तस्माद् यत्नपरो भूत्वा त्रिकालमपि यः सदा
tatsarvaṃ dahate bhasma yathāgnistejasā vanam tasmād yatnaparo bhūtvā trikālamapi yaḥ sadā
That (disciplined Śaiva practice) burns all of it into ash, just as fire—by its own blazing power—consumes a forest. Therefore, one should become steadfast in effort and, at the three daily junctions, continually perform the observance.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana’s Shaiva discipline to the sages of Naimisharanya, echoing the Purana’s internal teaching tradition)
FAQs
It teaches that regular trikāla (thrice-daily) Shaiva observance—centered on Linga-upāsanā and disciplined effort—destroys accumulated pāpa and loosens pāśa (bondage), making worship transformative rather than merely formal.
By comparing the effect of practice to fire’s innate power, it implies Shiva as Pati whose śakti burns impurity: when the pashu (soul) aligns with Shiva’s ordinance through sādhana, obscurations are reduced like a forest to ash.
Trikāla-sandhyā style discipline—steady effort and regular daily observance—typical of Pāśupata-ācāra, often expressed through Linga-pūjā, mantra-japa, and bhasma-related purity symbolism.