Shloka 64

पार्थिवार्चाविधिः | Pārthivārcā-vidhi

Procedure for the Earthen Liṅga Worship

Devanagari script

इत्युक्ता मुनिशार्दूलाः पार्थिवार्चा विधानतः । भुक्तिदा मुक्तिदा चैव शिवभक्तिविवर्धिनी

Transliteration

ityuktā muniśārdūlāḥ pārthivārcā vidhānataḥ | bhuktidā muktidā caiva śivabhaktivivardhinī

Translation

Thus instructed, O tiger-like sages, the Pārthiva worship—the rite of adoring Śiva through an earthen Liṅga—performed according to proper ordinance bestows worldly enjoyments and also liberation, and it ever increases devotion to Lord Śiva.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), quotative particle (इति-प्रयोगः)

• uktāḥ: having been told / addressed
• uktāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/ktá), Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural; agrees with subject

• muni-śārdūlāḥ: tiger-like sages / best of sages
• muni-śārdūlāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + śārdūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural; कर्मधारयः (munayaḥ eva śārdūlāḥ)

• pārthivārcā: earth/earthen worship (worship with clay/earth)
• pārthivārcā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक) + arcā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (pārthivasya arcā)

• vidhānataḥ: according to the prescribed procedure
• vidhānataḥ: Hetu (हेतु/according to rule)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययीभाववत्), singular; ‘according to rule/ordinance’

• bhukti-dā: granting enjoyment
• bhukti-dā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhukti (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (दा धातु/प्रातिपदिक ‘giver’)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with arcā; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (bhuktiṃ dadāti)

• mukti-dā: granting liberation
• mukti-dā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (दा धातु/प्रातिपदिक ‘giver’)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with arcā; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (muktiṃ dadāti)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), emphatic particle (निश्चय/अवधारण)

• śiva-bhakti-vivardhinī: increasing devotion to Śiva
• śiva-bhakti-vivardhinī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + vivardhinī (विवर्धिनी, √vṛdh कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with arcā; (śive bhaktiḥ) + (tāṃ vivardhayati)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The verse summarizes the phala of pārthiva-arcā (earthen-liṅga worship): it yields both bhukti and mukti and increases bhakti—an archetypal Purāṇic framing of accessible household sādhana.

Significance: Affirms a graded fruit: worldly welfare (bhukti) and ultimate release (mukti), with devotion itself as the sustaining gain.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The verse teaches that properly performed Pārthiva-arcā is a complete Shaiva sādhanā: it purifies the devotee, strengthens śivabhakti, and can culminate in mukti while also supporting righteous worldly well-being (bhukti).

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Pārthiva-arcā centers on the Shiva Linga as Saguna Shiva—an accessible, consecrated form through which devotion, offering, and surrender mature into realization of Shiva’s grace, ultimately leading beyond form toward liberation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It points to performing earthen-Linga worship strictly “according to ordinance” (vidhānataḥ)—a disciplined puja with devotion, typically supported by mantra-japa (such as the Panchākṣarī, Om Namaḥ Śivāya) as the inner practice that nourishes bhakti.