Shloka 41
भस्म-प्रकार-त्रिपुण्ड्र-धारण-विधिः
Types of Bhasma and the Method of Wearing Tripuṇḍra
ब्रह्मचारी गृही वन्यः संन्यासी वा व्रती तथा । नार्यो भस्म त्रिपुंड्रांका मुक्ता एव न संशयः
brahmacārī gṛhī vanyaḥ saṃnyāsī vā vratī tathā | nāryo bhasma tripuṃḍrāṃkā muktā eva na saṃśayaḥ
Whether one is a brahmacārin, a householder, a forest-dweller, a saṃnyāsin, or a vowed practitioner—and even women—those who bear the Tripuṇḍra marks made with sacred bhasma are indeed liberated; of this there is no doubt.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Significance: Tripuṇḍra-bhasma as a portable Śaiva ‘tīrtha’/saṃskāra: a universal marker of Śiva-bhakti that is said to conduce to mokṣa across āśramas and genders.
FAQs
The verse declares that liberation is not restricted by social stage (āśrama) or gender; sincere Shaiva identity and devotion, expressed through the sacred sign of Tripuṇḍra with bhasma, is affirmed as a powerful mark of turning toward Pati (Shiva) and away from bondage (pāśa).
Tripuṇḍra-bhasma is a Shaiva emblem commonly adopted alongside Linga worship; it signifies active alignment with Saguna Shiva’s worship and discipline, while also pointing to the inner purification needed to realize Shiva as the supreme Lord who grants moksha.
Apply sacred ash as Tripuṇḍra (three horizontal lines) with reverence, maintaining a Shaiva vowful mindset—ideally combined with regular Linga worship and japa of the Panchākṣarī mantra ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya").