Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 26
साधक-दीक्षा तथा मन्त्रसाधन
Puraścaraṇa and the Discipline of the Mantra-Sādhaka
साधने विनियोगे च नित्ये नैमित्तिके तथा । जपेज्जलैर्भस्मना च स्नात्वा मन्त्रेण च क्रमात्
sādhane viniyoge ca nitye naimittike tathā | japejjalairbhasmanā ca snātvā mantreṇa ca kramāt
സാധനയിലും അതിന്റെ ശരിയായ വിനിയോഗത്തിലും, നിത്യ-നൈമിത്തിക കർമങ്ങളിലും—ക്രമമായി ആദ്യം ജലത്തോടെ, പിന്നെ ഭസ്മത്തോടെ, സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് മന്ത്രസഹിതം ജപം ചെയ്യണം.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Significance: Ritual sequencing (krama) with water, bhasma, and snāna functions as purification and reorientation toward Śiva; pilgrimage is internalized as śauca and niyama supporting japa.
FAQs
It teaches disciplined, ordered worship: inner purification (snāna), sanctification (bhasma), and mantra-japa—uniting external ritual with inward devotion to Pati (Shiva) as the liberating Lord.
The verse supports Saguna upāsanā through prescribed observances—bathing, applying bhasma (Tripuṇḍra), and mantra-japa—common components of Linga worship that steady the mind toward Shiva’s grace.
Perform japa in sequence: cleanse with water, apply sacred ash (bhasma-dhāraṇa/Tripuṇḍra), bathe, and then recite the mantra—ideally the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—as part of nitya and naimittika rites.