Shloka 26

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhāvidhiḥ — Installation Standards and Auspicious Parameters for Liṅga Worship

Devanagari script

पूजयेच्च यथान्यायं क्रमाच्छिवपदप्रदम् । आवाहनं चासनं च अर्घ्यं पाद्यं तथैव च

Transliteration

pūjayecca yathānyāyaṃ kramācchivapadapradam | āvāhanaṃ cāsanaṃ ca arghyaṃ pādyaṃ tathaiva ca

Translation

One should worship in the proper manner, step by step, in a way that bestows the state of Śiva—beginning with invocation (āvāhana), offering a seat (āsana), presenting the respectful oblation (arghya), and offering water for the feet (pādya) as well.

Word by Word

• pūjayet: should worship
• pūjayet: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (पूज् धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• yathā-nyāyam: according to proper rule
• yathā-nyāyam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + nyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound used adverbially; nyāyam = Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग)

• kramāt: in sequence
• kramāt: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग); used adverbially = ‘in order/stepwise’

• śiva-pada-pradam: granting Śiva’s state
• śiva-pada-pradam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adjective (of liṅga/pūjā implied); तत्पुरुष

• āvāhanam: invocation (āvāhana)
• āvāhanam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āvāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• āsanam: seat (offering)
• āsanam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• arghyam: arghya-offering
• arghyam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arghya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• pādyam: water for washing feet
• pādyam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Correlative particle (यथा-तथा)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva-puja procedure to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: The Kāśī-liṅga is approached through orderly reception-rites (āvāhana, āsana, arghya, pādya), mirroring royal hospitality offered to the supreme Lord; this ritual ‘welcoming’ becomes a vehicle for grace.

Significance: Performing pūjā in proper krama is taught as efficacious for śivapada; pilgrims emulate this sequence in temple worship.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It teaches that orderly, rule-based worship (krama and nyaya) is not merely external ritual but a disciplined approach that invites Śiva’s grace and culminates in śiva-pada—liberation understood as nearness to and participation in Śiva’s auspicious state.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The listed upacharas—āvāhana, āsana, arghya, and pādya—are classic acts of honoring Saguna Śiva as present in the Liṅga or a consecrated form, treating the Divine as the revered guest; through such devotion, the mind becomes fit to realize the deeper, transcendent Śiva.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform Shiva-puja sequentially with upacharas beginning from āvāhana; while offering each item, maintain focused bhakti and inwardly remember the Panchākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") as the meditative support of the ritual.