उमामहेश्वरव्रतं—पञ्चाक्षरमन्त्रस्य माहात्म्यं, न्यासः, जपविधिः, सदाचारः, विनियोगः
अङ्गुलीजपसंख्यानम् एकमेकं शुभानने रेखैरष्टगुणं प्रोक्तं पुत्रजीवफलैर् दश
aṅgulījapasaṃkhyānam ekamekaṃ śubhānane rekhairaṣṭaguṇaṃ proktaṃ putrajīvaphalair daśa
Oh de rostro auspicioso, el cómputo del japa hecho con los dedos se enseña como uno por uno; por las líneas de los dedos se declara ocho veces, y por las semillas de putrajīva, diez veces.
Suta Goswami (narrating a Shiva-puja/japa instruction embedded in the Purva-Bhaga discourse)
It standardizes how a devotee counts Shiva-mantra japa—by fingers, finger-creases, or a putrajīva mālā—so the upāsanā remains disciplined and repeatable, supporting steady focus on Pati (Shiva) for the uplift of the paśu (soul).
Indirectly, it presents Shiva as Pati who is approached through niyama (regulated practice): precise japa-counting is a means to purify pasha-bound awareness and stabilize devotion toward Shiva-tattva.
Mantra-japa with a defined counting system—finger-counting, counting by finger-lines (rekhā), and counting with a putrajīva seed rosary—an aid to Pashupata-style disciplined upāsanā.