Shloka 107
भस्म-प्रकार-त्रिपुण्ड्र-धारण-विधिः
Types of Bhasma and the Method of Wearing Tripuṇḍra
जानुद्वये च पदयोः पृष्ठभागे च षोडश । शिवश्चन्द्र श्च रुद्र ः को विघ्नेशो विष्णुरेव वा
jānudvaye ca padayoḥ pṛṣṭhabhāge ca ṣoḍaśa | śivaścandra śca rudra ḥ ko vighneśo viṣṇureva vā
On both knees, on the feet, and on the back-side (of the body), there are sixteen (marks/placements). They are (to be contemplated as) Śiva, the Moon, Rudra, ‘Ka’ (Brahmā), Vighneśa (Gaṇeśa), or indeed Viṣṇu.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana teaching to the sages, inferred from Purana dialogue convention)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Rudra
FAQs
It teaches a contemplative mapping where bodily locations are sanctified by identifying them with divine powers, culminating in a Shaiva understanding that all functional deities operate within the supreme sovereignty of Śiva (Pati).
Such identifications support Saguna-upāsanā: the devotee mentally installs divine presences while worshipping Śiva (often through the Liṅga), seeing other deities as Śiva’s śaktis/ministries rather than competing absolutes.
A brief nyāsa-like visualization: mentally placing/remembering Śiva and allied deities in specific body-points during japa or pūjā, ideally alongside Panchākṣarī japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and other Shaiva observances.