Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 19
शिवतत्त्ववर्णनम् (Śiva-tattva-varṇana) — “Description/Exposition of the Principle of Śiva”
पार्थिवीं चैव मन्मूर्तिं विधाय कुरुतं युवाम् । सेवां च विविधां प्राज्ञौ कृत्वा सुखमवाप्स्यथ
pārthivīṃ caiva manmūrtiṃ vidhāya kurutaṃ yuvām | sevāṃ ca vividhāṃ prājñau kṛtvā sukhamavāpsyatha
माझ्या स्वरूपाची मातीची प्रतिमा घडवा; आणि तुम्ही दोघेही प्राज्ञजन तिची विविध प्रकारे सेवा-पूजा करा. असे केल्याने तुम्हाला सुख व कल्याण प्राप्त होईल.
Lord Shiva (instructing on worship during the creation narrative)
Tattva Level: pati
Sthala Purana: Not a specific Jyotirliṅga episode; Śiva instructs primordial worship via a fashioned emblem (mūrti/liṅga) as a universally applicable upāsanā during the creation narrative.
Significance: Establishes the Śaiva Siddhānta principle that accessible, saguna worship (kriyā) to Śiva’s emblem purifies the paśu and becomes a means for Śiva’s anugraha (grace) culminating in auspicious well-being (sukha).
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: Cosmogonic instruction within sṛṣṭi-kathā (creation narrative).
FAQs
It teaches that sincere bhakti expressed through service to Shiva’s accessible form (a simple earthen emblem) grants auspicious inner joy and spiritual upliftment—showing that grace depends on devotion, not luxury.
The verse directly supports saguna-upāsanā by instructing devotees to create an earthen representation of Shiva for worship—an entry point to realizing the supreme Pati (Shiva) through a tangible focus like the liṅga/emblem.
Make a clean earthen Shiva emblem and offer varied seva—such as water abhiṣeka, flowers, lamps, and mantra-japa (e.g., pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—with steady devotion.