Shloka 14
रावणस्य तपः-शिवानुग्रहः — Rāvaṇa’s Austerity and Śiva’s Bestowal of Grace
शिव उवाच । श्रूयतां राक्षसश्रेष्ठ वचो मे सारवत्तया । नीयतां स्वगृहे मे हि सद्भक्त्या लिंगमुत्तमम्
śiva uvāca | śrūyatāṃ rākṣasaśreṣṭha vaco me sāravattayā | nīyatāṃ svagṛhe me hi sadbhaktyā liṃgamuttamam
शिव बोले—हे राक्षसश्रेष्ठ, मेरे सारयुक्त वचन सुनो। उस उत्तम लिंग को अपने गृह में ले जाओ और सच्ची भक्ति से उसकी पूजा करो।
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Sthala Purana: Śiva redirects Rāvaṇa: not ‘taking Śiva’ bodily, but taking the ‘supreme liṅga’ to one’s home for worship. This is the seed of many liṅga-sthala origin stories where a divinely empowered liṅga becomes fixed at a place due to a condition (often: if set down, it cannot be lifted again).
Significance: Affirms liṅga-upāsanā as the normative, accessible mode of Śiva worship; emphasizes sadbhakti (true devotion) as the key that converts a material object into a locus of divine presence and grace.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
Śiva emphasizes that the highest approach is sadbhakti—sincere, essence-filled devotion—through which even a being of rākṣasa nature can be uplifted by honoring the supreme Liṅga, moving toward Śiva’s grace and liberation.
The Liṅga is the accessible, sacred form (saguṇa-upāsanā) through which devotees approach the transcendent Śiva. Śiva here authorizes and sanctifies Liṅga worship, indicating that devotion to the Liṅga becomes a direct channel for receiving Śiva’s presence and blessing.
The takeaway is home-based Liṅga upāsanā with sadbhakti—daily respectful placement and worship (pūjā, abhiṣeka, mantra-japa such as the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), performed with purity of intention rather than mere display.