Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 63
द्वितीयतृतीयावरणपूजाक्रमः | The Sequence of the Second and Third Enclosure Worship (Āvaraṇa-pūjā)
एवं भान्वादिमूर्तीनां तच्छक्तीनामनंतरम् । पूजां विधाय लोकेशांस्तत्रैवावरणे यजेत्
evaṃ bhānvādimūrtīnāṃ tacchaktīnāmanaṃtaram | pūjāṃ vidhāya lokeśāṃstatraivāvaraṇe yajet
Thus, after duly worshipping the forms beginning with the Sun and then their respective Śaktis, one should, in that very same āvaraṇa (enclosing circuit), worship the Lokapālas—the Lords of the worlds.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches ordered worship: honoring cosmic forms (like the Sun) and their Śaktis, then the Lokapālas, as a disciplined approach that harmonizes the devotee with Shiva’s cosmic governance while keeping the ritual centered on the supreme Pati (Shiva).
In āvaraṇa-pūjā around the Linga or a Saguna Shiva maṇḍala, subsidiary deities (forms, Śaktis, and Lokapālas) are worshiped in sequence as attendants within Shiva’s sphere—supporting devotion without replacing Shiva as the highest object of refuge.
It indicates āvaraṇa (circuit) worship: after offering to bhānv-ādi devatās and their Śaktis, one offers to the Lokapālas in the same ritual enclosure—typically with mantra, flowers, water, and mental placement (nyāsa) while maintaining Shiva-centric remembrance.