Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 57
सेवातत्त्वप्रश्नः — The Question of Whom to Serve (Sevā) for the Removal of Suffering
यथा जलेषु कमलं सलिलैर्नावलिप्यते । तथा ज्ञानी गृहे तिष्ठन्कर्मणा नावबध्यते
yathā jaleṣu kamalaṃ salilairnāvalipyate | tathā jñānī gṛhe tiṣṭhankarmaṇā nāvabadhyate
De même que le lotus dans les eaux n’est pas souillé par l’eau, ainsi le connaissant de la vérité, même demeurant au foyer, n’est pas lié par les actes (karma).
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s teaching on knowledge and non-attachment within creation-context)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga legend; uses a pan-Indic mokṣa pedagogy image (lotus-water) to explain non-attachment while living in gṛhastha-āśrama.
Significance: Teaches ‘living liberation’ (jīvanmukti): one may remain in social duties yet be inwardly unbound—an important ethic for household devotees of Śiva.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that true knowledge rooted in Shiva-consciousness makes one inwardly unattached; duties may continue, but the realized person remains unstained and free from karmic bondage.
Linga worship trains the mind in steady remembrance of Shiva; through devotion and insight, one acts in the world without egoic grasping—like the lotus untouched by water.
Daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namah Shivaya) with a disciplined, non-possessive attitude to actions; offer all karma to Shiva as inner worship.