Shloka 95
पार्थिवप्रतिमापूजाविधानम्
Pārthiva-pratimā Pūjā-vidhāna — Procedure for Worship of an Earthen Icon
पितृमातृस्वरूपेण शिवलिंगं प्रपूजयेत् । भर्गः पुरुषरूपो हि भर्गा प्रकृतिरुच्यते
pitṛmātṛsvarūpeṇa śivaliṃgaṃ prapūjayet | bhargaḥ puruṣarūpo hi bhargā prakṛtirucyate
One should worship the Śiva-liṅga as the very form of one’s own father and mother. For Bharga is indeed Puruṣa, the conscious Lord, while Bhargā is said to be Prakṛti—His power and material cause.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s worship-teachings to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Significance: Frames liṅga-pūjā as integrating filial reverence (pitṛ-mātṛ-bhāva) with metaphysical insight: worship matures from social dharma into recognition of Puruṣa–Prakṛti as Śiva–Śakti.
Mantra: (Implied) tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt — with ‘bharga’ highlighted here as radiant conscious principle.
Type: gayatri
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches that honoring and worshipping the parents is a direct form of Śiva-upāsanā, because the Lord is the inner Puruṣa (consciousness) and His Śakti is Prakṛti—together manifesting as the very source of embodied life.
The liṅga is worshipped as Saguna Śiva—an accessible sacred form—through which the devotee recognizes Śiva-Śakti as the living foundation of creation, even reflected in the parental forms that give one a body and dharma.
Practice liṅga-pūjā with the bhāva (contemplative attitude) that one’s parents embody Śiva and Śakti; offer respectful service, gratitude, and daily worship, integrating devotion with ethical living.