Shloka 159
बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्
Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause
शिवभक्तो वसेन्नित्यं शिवलिंगं समाश्रितः । स्थाणुलिंगाश्रयेणैव स्थाणुर्भवति भूसुराः
śivabhakto vasennityaṃ śivaliṃgaṃ samāśritaḥ | sthāṇuliṃgāśrayeṇaiva sthāṇurbhavati bhūsurāḥ
A devotee of Śiva should always dwell, taking refuge in the Śiva-liṅga. By relying upon the Sthāṇu-liṅga alone, the devotee becomes steadfast like Sthāṇu—Śiva, O best among the twice-born.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: The verse’s ‘śivaliṅga-āśraya’ resonates with Kāśī’s Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha ideal: taking refuge in the liṅga grants steadfastness and liberation; Kāśī is famed as the place where Śiva bestows the tāraka-upadeśa at death.
Significance: Liṅga-āśraya (refuge in the emblem of Śiva) is presented as a stabilizing sādhanā: it makes the devotee ‘sthāṇu’—firm in dharma and bhakti, oriented toward mokṣa.
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches that steady refuge (śaraṇāgati) in the Śiva-liṅga makes the devotee inwardly stable and unwavering, reflecting Śiva as Sthāṇu—the ever-steadfast Lord—thus supporting liberation-oriented bhakti.
The liṅga functions as Śiva’s accessible saguna support for worship and contemplation; by abiding with the liṅga as one’s spiritual refuge, devotion becomes continuous and concentrated, leading the mind toward Śiva’s transcendent reality.
Regular liṅga-sevā—daily presence at the liṅga with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and steady meditation on Śiva as Sthāṇu—cultivating unwavering remembrance.