Shloka 10
Dāruvana-parīkṣā: Śaṅkara’s Test and the Linga’s Ritual-Theological Grounding
दिगम्बरोऽतितेजस्वी भूतिभूषणभूषितः । स चेष्टामकरोद्दुष्टां हस्ते लिंगं विधारयन्
digambaro'titejasvī bhūtibhūṣaṇabhūṣitaḥ | sa ceṣṭāmakarodduṣṭāṃ haste liṃgaṃ vidhārayan
Sky-clad (Digambara) and exceedingly radiant, adorned with the ornament of sacred ash (bhūti), he—holding the Liṅga in his hand—performed a wicked, disruptive act.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhikṣāṭana
Sthala Purana: The verse belongs to the Bhikṣāṭana-style episode where Śiva, as an avadhūta, enters a forest of ritualist sages to shatter pride and reveal the Liṅga’s transcendence beyond social codes; it is not framed as a specific Jyotirliṅga origin.
Significance: Darśana of the Liṅga-as-Pati: contemplation that the Lord is beyond varṇa/āśrama conventions and that true purity is jñāna-bhakti rather than externalism.
FAQs
The verse contrasts outer ascetic marks (digambara state and bhasma) with inner purity: holding the Liṅga demands reverence and right intention, otherwise the act becomes spiritually “duṣṭa” (corrupt) and obstructive to grace.
The Liṅga is the sacred saguna focus through which devotees approach Pati (Shiva). This verse warns that treating the Liṅga as a prop for ego, display, or harm violates the dharma of Liṅga-pūjā and blocks the fruit of devotion.
Wear bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a mark of humility and remembrance, then worship the Liṅga with mantra—especially the pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and with a pure, non-harmful intention.