Shloka 38

Shivamurti–Pratishtha Phala: Shivalaya-Nirmana, Kshetra-Mahatmya, Tirtha-Snana, and Mandala-Vidhi

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्वा यस्त्यजेत्प्राणाञ् छिवसायुज्यमाप्नुयात् वाराणस्यां तथाप्येवम् अविमुक्ते विशेषतः

Transliteration

tasminvā yastyajetprāṇāñ chivasāyujyamāpnuyāt vārāṇasyāṃ tathāpyevam avimukte viśeṣataḥ

Translation

Di sana, sesiapa yang melepaskan nafas hayat akan mencapai sāyujya—penyatuan dengan Śiva. Demikian juga di Vārāṇasī; dan terlebih khusus di Avimukta, tanah suci yang tidak pernah ditinggalkan oleh Tuhan.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन् (tasmin): in that place/there

• वा (vā): or/indeed

• यः (yaḥ): whoever

• त्यजेत् (tyajet): should give up/renounce

• प्राणान् (prāṇān): the life-breaths, vital airs

• शिव-सायुज्यम् (śiva-sāyujyam): union/identity with Śiva (sāyujya-mukti)

• आप्नुयात् (āpnuyāt): attains

• वाराणस्याम् (vārāṇasyām): in Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

• तथा अपि (tathā api): even so/likewise

• एवम् (evam): in this manner

• अविमुक्ते (avimukte): in Avimukta (the ‘unabandoned’ Kāśī-kshetra)

• विशेषतः (viśeṣataḥ): especially, pre-eminently.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya, conveying the kshetra-mahatmya tradition)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Varanasi
• Avimukta

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It links liberation (Śiva-sāyujya) to dying in Śiva’s foremost kṣetra—Avimukta/Kāśī—implying that devotion to Śiva (often through Liṅga-oriented worship) culminates in direct union with Pati, the Lord.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Śiva is presented as the liberating Pati whose presence saturates Avimukta; proximity to Him at life’s end dissolves pāśa (bondage) for the paśu (individual soul), culminating in sāyujya-mukti.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes kṣetra-niṣṭhā (abiding in Śiva’s sacred field) and the sanctity of prāṇa-tyāga there; it implicitly supports Shaiva disciplines—japa, smaraṇa, and Liṅga-pūjā—aimed at fixing consciousness in Śiva at the final moment.