Shloka 4

Pārthiva-Śiva-liṅga Saṃkhyā-vidhāna

Enumeration and Procedure of Earthen Liṅga Worship

Devanagari script

अकृत्वा पार्थिवं लिंगं योन्यदेवं प्रपूजयेत् । वृथा भवति सा पूजा दमदानादिकं वृथा

Transliteration

akṛtvā pārthivaṃ liṃgaṃ yonyadevaṃ prapūjayet | vṛthā bhavati sā pūjā damadānādikaṃ vṛthā

Translation

まず土製のパールティヴァ・リンガを作りこれを礼拝せずに、他の神を礼拝するなら、その供養はむなしく果を結ばない。さらに、克己や施しなどの修行も、リンガとして顕れるシヴァへの正しい礼拝を離れれば、同じく無益となる。

Word by Word

अकृत्वाwithout making

पार्थिवम्earthen / of clay

लिङ्गम्liṅga

योनि-अदेवम्a non-divine/inauspicious base (yoni)

प्रपूजयेत्should worship

वृथाin vain

भवतिbecomes / is

साthat

पूजाworship

दम-दान-आदिकम्self-control, charity, and the like

वृथाin vain

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Characters & Entities

Shiva

FAQs

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

It asserts a Shaiva priority: worship anchored in the Liṅga (Śiva as Pati, the supreme Lord) gives efficacy to devotion and virtues; without that grounding, external rites and even moral disciplines may not yield their intended spiritual fruit.

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

The Pārthiva Liṅga is a tangible Saguna support for devotion—an accessible form through which the devotee approaches Śiva. The verse teaches that honoring Śiva through the Liṅga sanctifies and completes one’s wider religious practice.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It points to Pārthiva Liṅga pūjā—making an earthen Liṅga and worshipping it with devotion (typically with mantra-japa such as the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), as a foundational Shaiva practice, especially emphasized in vrata contexts like Mahāśivarātri.