Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 57
दीक्षितपुत्रस्य दैन्यचिन्ता तथा शिवरात्र्युपासनाप्रसङ्गः / The Initiate’s Son in Distress and the Occasion of Śivarātri Worship
अन्यथा सत्यमेवेदं स मे दण्ड्यो भविष्यति । दीप दानाच्छिवस्तुष्टो भवतीति श्रुतीरितम्
anyathā satyamevedaṃ sa me daṇḍyo bhaviṣyati | dīpa dānācchivastuṣṭo bhavatīti śrutīritam
Sinon, ceci est la vérité même : il deviendra passible de mon châtiment. Car la Śruti proclame que, par le don d’une lampe, le Seigneur Śiva est satisfait.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva Purana teachings to the sages, conveying scriptural injunctions)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Not a specific Jyotirliṅga episode; it states a general śāstric injunction that dīpa-dāna (lamp-gift) pleases Śiva and that neglect invites punitive consequence (daṇḍa) under dharma.
Significance: Encourages temple-lamp service as a simple, universally accessible upacāra that accrues puṇya and invites Śiva’s prasāda (grace).
Role: nurturing
Offering: dipa
FAQs
The verse affirms a dharmic certainty: dīpa-dāna is a Śāstric act that pleases Śiva, and neglecting or violating the stated injunction invites karmic consequence (daṇḍa). In Shaiva devotion, offering light symbolizes removing inner ignorance (ajñāna) and turning the mind toward Shiva-consciousness.
Lamp-offering is a core upacāra in Saguna Shiva worship—especially before the Shiva-linga—where light is presented as a sign of reverence and surrender. By honoring Shiva with dīpa, the devotee cultivates bhakti and purity, which Shaiva Siddhanta treats as supportive means toward Shiva’s grace (anugraha).
Perform dīpa-dāna or dīpārādhana for Shiva—light a ghee/oil lamp at a Shiva shrine or before a Shiva-linga, ideally with mantra such as “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” and mentally offer the light as the illumination of one’s own awareness to Shiva.