Shloka 121
बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्
Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause
दशदानं ततः कुर्याद्भूरिदानं ततः परम् । बालानामुपनीतानां गृहिणां वनिनां धनम्
daśadānaṃ tataḥ kuryādbhūridānaṃ tataḥ param | bālānāmupanītānāṃ gṛhiṇāṃ vanināṃ dhanam
Thereafter one should perform the ‘tenfold giving’; and beyond that, one should undertake abundant charity. Such giving is to be directed toward the young who have been invested with the sacred thread (upānayana), householders, and forest-dwellers—providing them with means of support.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: In the Kāśī-Śiva frame, post-ritual dāna is a channel for Śiva’s anugraha to circulate socially: daśa-dāna and bhūri-dāna support students, householders, and forest-dwellers, stabilizing dharma in the kṣetra.
Significance: Charity after worship is taught as a merit-multiplier and as softening of pāśa (bondage) through generosity and detachment; it supports the devotee’s purification and receptivity to grace.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse teaches that wealth becomes spiritually fruitful when offered as dharmic charity; by giving to worthy recipients, the devotee loosens karmic bonds (pāśa) and turns worldly resources into Shiva-oriented merit that supports bhakti and purification.
In Linga-centered worship, external offerings are completed by ethical offerings—especially dāna. Supporting students, householders, and forest-ascetics sustains the Shaiva dharmic order and becomes an extension of service to Saguna Shiva manifest as the community of devotees and practitioners.
A practical takeaway is to pair Shiva-puja (Linga worship, Panchakshara japa) with intentional charity—especially supporting initiated students and renunciants—so that devotion is strengthened by dharma and inner detachment.