प्रणवमहिमा — The Greatness of the Praṇava (Om) as Śiva
अथाग्निमात्मन्यारोप्य ब्राह्मणः प्रव्रजेद्गृहात् । श्रपयित्वा चरुं तस्मिन्समिदन्नाज्यभेदतः
athāgnimātmanyāropya brāhmaṇaḥ pravrajedgṛhāt | śrapayitvā caruṃ tasminsamidannājyabhedataḥ
Then, having inwardly installed the sacred fire within himself, the brāhmaṇa should depart from the house as a renunciate. Having cooked the ritual oblation, the caru, in that fire—using fuel-sticks (samid), grains, and ghee in their proper distinctions—he should proceed in the discipline of inner worship, seeking Lord Śiva, the Pati, as the liberating refuge.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Role: liberating
It teaches the transition from external ritual fire to the inner fire of awareness—renunciation becomes an inward yajña where the seeker turns toward Śiva (Pati) as the giver of liberation.
By internalizing the sacred fire, the verse points to worship that can mature from outward offerings before the Liṅga (saguna upāsanā) into inner contemplation where Śiva is realized as the indwelling Lord beyond ritual forms.
It suggests an inner-yajña discipline: mentally establishing agni within, offering purity of food/acts (anna) and devotion (ājya) into that awareness—often supported in Shaiva practice by japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and yogic restraint.