Shloka 18

बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्

Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause

Devanagari script

इति श्रीशैवेमहापुराणे विद्येश्वरसंहितायां साध्यसाधनखंडे शिवलिंगमहिमावर्णनं नामाष्टादशोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīśaivemahāpurāṇe vidyeśvarasaṃhitāyāṃ sādhyasādhanakhaṃḍe śivaliṃgamahimāvarṇanaṃ nāmāṣṭādaśo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Así, en el santo Mahāpurāṇa Śaiva, dentro de la Vidyeśvara-saṃhitā y del Sādhyasādhana-khaṇḍa, concluye el capítulo decimoctavo titulado «Descripción de la gloria del Śiva-liṅga».

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Colophon marker (समाप्तिसूचक अव्यय)

• śrī-śaive: in the glorious Śaiva
• śrī-śaive: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + śaiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय: 'śrīmān śaivaḥ' → 'glorious Śaiva' (as qualifier of purāṇa)

• mahā-purāṇe: in the Mahāpurāṇa
• mahā-purāṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय: 'mahac ca tat purāṇam'

• vidyeśvara-saṃhitāyām: in the Vidyeśvara-saṃhitā
• vidyeśvara-saṃhitāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyeśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष: 'vidyeśvarasya saṃhitā'

• sādhya-sādhana-khaṇḍe: in the section on goals and means
• sādhya-sādhana-khaṇḍe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhya (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhana (प्रातिपदिक) + khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'sādhya-sādhana-viṣayakaṃ khaṇḍam'

• śiva-liṅga-mahimā-varṇanam: the description of the glory of the Śiva-liṅga
• śiva-liṅga-mahimā-varṇanam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + mahimā (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'śiva-liṅgasya mahimnaḥ varṇanam'

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Colophon particle (नाम-शब्दः अव्ययवत्): 'called/named'

• aṣṭādaśaḥ: eighteenth
• aṣṭādaśaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭādaśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); ordinal/cardinal used adjectivally for 'adhyāyaḥ'

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrative colophon concluding the chapter as recited to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Colophon marking the close of the chapter ‘Śivaliṅga-mahimā-varṇana’; not a sthala-specific origin narrative.

Significance: Liturgical closure: signals that the preceding teaching is to be received as śruti-like authority within the Purāṇic frame; supports recitation (pārāyaṇa) as a merit-bearing act.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Shiva Linga

FAQs

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

This is the chapter-ending colophon affirming that the preceding teaching centers on the mahimā (spiritual glory) of the Śiva-liṅga, highlighting the Shaiva path where devotion and right means (sādhana) lead to the supreme goal—union with and grace of Pati (Śiva).

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

By naming the chapter “Śivaliṅga-mahimā-varṇana,” it frames the liṅga as the accessible saguna focus for worship—through which the devotee approaches the transcendent (nirguṇa) Śiva, receiving purification and liberation by His grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

While this line itself is a colophon, its topic points to liṅga-upāsanā: regular Śiva-pūjā with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) as the principal meditative practice supporting the means to the goal.