Shloka 18
अग्नियज्ञ-देवयज्ञ-ब्रह्मयज्ञ-गुरुपूजा-क्रमनिरूपणम् / Ordering and Definitions of Agniyajña, Devayajña, Brahmayajña, and Guru-Pūjā
आदौ त्रैलोक्यवृद्ध्यर्थं पुण्यपापे प्रकल्पिते । तयोः कर्त्रोस्ततो वारमिंद्र स्य च यमस्य च
ādau trailokyavṛddhyarthaṃ puṇyapāpe prakalpite | tayoḥ kartrostato vāramiṃdra sya ca yamasya ca
In the beginning, for the increase and orderly growth of the three worlds, merit and sin were instituted. Thereafter their administrators were appointed—Indra for merit and Yama for sin.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga narrative; it describes the primordial institution of puṇya and pāpa as regulatory bonds for the growth/order of the three worlds, with Indra and Yama appointed as administrators.
Cosmic Event: Primordial establishment of karmic polarity (puṇya/pāpa) and its administrative deities as part of world-ordering.
FAQs
The verse frames karma as a divinely instituted moral order for the stability of the three worlds; in Shaiva Siddhanta, such order ultimately serves the soul’s maturation so it may turn toward Shiva (Pati) and seek liberation beyond merit and sin.
By showing that cosmic governance (Indra and Yama) operates within Shiva’s overarching sovereignty, it implies that worship of Saguna Shiva as the Linga is a higher refuge: devotion and surrender to Shiva orient the practitioner beyond merely chasing merit or fearing sin.
A practical takeaway is disciplined karma joined with Shiva-upasana—daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namah Shivaya) and living dharmically—so actions become purifying rather than binding.