Shloka 56
Liṅga-pratiṣṭhāvidhiḥ — Installation Standards and Auspicious Parameters for Liṅga Worship
दैवलिंगे तथा ज्ञेयं सहस्रारत्निमानतः । धनुष्प्रमाणसाहस्रं पुण्यं क्षेत्रे स्वयं भुवि
daivaliṃge tathā jñeyaṃ sahasrāratnimānataḥ | dhanuṣpramāṇasāhasraṃ puṇyaṃ kṣetre svayaṃ bhuvi
Likewise, for the Daiva-liṅga one should understand its extent to be a thousand aratnis (cubits). And upon the earth itself, by its very presence, the kṣetra becomes meritorious all around for a thousand measures of dhanu (bow-length).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Sthala Purana: By contrasting daiva-liṅga and svayaṃbhū-kṣetra, the verse encodes a hierarchy of manifestation: divine installation expands the sanctifying field, while svayaṃbhū presence makes the very earth broadly meritorious—suggesting maximal immediacy of Śiva’s self-revelation.
Significance: Guides pilgrims toward recognizing svayaṃbhū and divinely established sites as exceptionally potent for purification and liberation-oriented merit.
FAQs
It teaches that a Shiva-liṅga is not only a worship-icon but a living center of sanctity: its presence establishes a measurable sacred zone (kṣetra) on earth where merit naturally accrues, supporting purification and progress toward liberation in a Shaiva Siddhanta sense (grace arising through right worship in a consecrated field).
The verse emphasizes Saguna Shiva worship through the liṅga as a concrete locus of divine presence; by approaching, circumambulating, and serving within the kṣetra connected to the liṅga, the devotee engages embodied devotion that becomes a channel for Shiva’s anugraha (grace).
It implies kṣetra-upāsanā: entering the sacred precinct with purity, performing pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation), offering water and bilva leaves to the liṅga, and japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), especially during vrata days like Mahāśivarātri.