Shloka 45
प्रणवमहिमा — The Greatness of the Praṇava (Om) as Śiva
गुरुमाहूय विधिना नान्दीश्राद्धं विधाय च । क्षौरं च कारयित्वाथ कक्षोपस्थविवर्जितम्
gurumāhūya vidhinā nāndīśrāddhaṃ vidhāya ca | kṣauraṃ ca kārayitvātha kakṣopasthavivarjitam
विधिपूर्वक गुरूंना बोलावून, नियमाने नांदी-श्राद्ध करून, नंतर त्याने क्षौर (मुंडण) करविले—परंतु काख व उपस्थप्रदेश वर्ज्य ठेवून।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; it describes preparatory rites (guru-invitation, Nāndī-śrāddha, kṣaura) that remove obstacles and ritually ‘cover’ impurity before approaching Śiva.
Significance: Highlights that successful Śiva-upāsanā is supported by ancestral propitiation and bodily discipline; pilgrimage without such saṃskāra-like preparation is considered incomplete in vrata contexts.
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
It emphasizes that Shaiva life is supported by disciplined dharma: honoring the guru, performing auspicious rites (Nāndī-śrāddha), and maintaining bodily and ritual purity—outer order that supports inner steadiness for Shiva-bhakti.
Preparatory purity and correct procedure are presented as supports for approaching Saguna Shiva in worship; such rites help the devotee become fit (adhikārī) to offer worship to the Linga with focus, reverence, and scriptural propriety.
A prescribed preparatory observance: invite and honor the guru, perform Nāndī-śrāddha for auspiciousness, and undergo regulated grooming as part of a samskāra-like purification before undertaking a major vow or worship.