Shloka 20

Brahmā–Viṣṇu-Pūjā: Upacāra-Vistāra and Īśvara’s Prasāda

Offerings in Shiva Worship and the Lord’s Grace

Devanagari script

भोगावहमिदं लिंगं भुक्तिं मुक्त्येकसाधनम् । दर्शनस्पर्शनध्यानाज्जंतूनां जन्ममोचनम्

Transliteration

bhogāvahamidaṃ liṃgaṃ bhuktiṃ muktyekasādhanam | darśanasparśanadhyānājjaṃtūnāṃ janmamocanam

Translation

This Liṅga bestows worldly enjoyments and is the single means to both bhukti (prosperity) and mukti (liberation). By beholding it, touching it, and meditating upon it, embodied beings are freed from repeated birth.

Word by Word

• bhoga-āvaham: bringing enjoyment
• bhoga-āvaham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhoga + āvaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; 'bringing enjoyment')

• idam: this
• idam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (neuter nom/acc sg; demonstrative)

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅgam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc singular)

• bhuktim: enjoyment / worldly experience
• bhuktim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (feminine accusative singular)

• mukti-eka-sādhanam: the sole means to liberation
• mukti-eka-sādhanam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukti + eka + sādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; 'the sole means to liberation')

• darśana-sparśana-dhyānāt: from seeing, touching, and meditation
• darśana-sparśana-dhyānāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana + sparśana + dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (ablative singular: 'from seeing, touching, and meditating')

• jaṃtūnām: of creatures
• jaṃtūnām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṃtu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन (masculine genitive plural)

• janma-mocanam: release from birth
• janma-mocanam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janma + mocana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc singular)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vidyeshvara Samhita teachings on Linga-worship to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: General liṅga-māhātmya: the liṅga grants bhoga/bhukti and is the single means to mukti; liberation is linked to darśana, sparśana, and dhyāna of the liṅga rather than to a named Jyotirliṅga episode.

Significance: Frames liṅga worship as both worldly welfare and liberation-giving; emphasizes embodied devotional contact (seeing/touching/meditating) as a salvific channel.

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Linga

FAQs

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

It proclaims the Śiva-Linga as both the giver of righteous worldly fulfillment (bhukti) and the direct means to liberation (mukti), emphasizing that devotion expressed through darśana, sparśa, and dhyāna purifies karma and ends rebirth by Śiva’s grace.

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

The Linga is the accessible, saguna focus through which devotees approach the transcendent (nirguna) Śiva; the verse teaches that encountering the Linga—seeing it, touching it reverently, and meditating upon it—connects the soul (paśu) to the Lord (Pati) and loosens bondage (pāśa).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform Linga-darśana with reverence, touch the Linga in worship (after purification and with proper conduct), and practice steady dhyāna on Śiva in the Linga—ideally alongside japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”