Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 29
लिङ्ग-बेर-प्रतिष्ठाविधिः / The Procedure for Installing the Liṅga and the Bera
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आचार्यात्पादमर्धं वा होत्ःणां स्थपतेरपि । तदर्धं देयमन्येभ्यः सदस्येभ्यश्च शक्तितः
ācāryātpādamardhaṃ vā hotḥṇāṃ sthapaterapi | tadardhaṃ deyamanyebhyaḥ sadasyebhyaśca śaktitaḥ
Do honorário devido, deve-se dar um quarto—ou então a metade—ao ācārya (preceptor), e do mesmo modo aos sacerdotes hotṛ e ao sthapati (superintendente do rito). Depois, metade dessa porção deve ser dada, conforme a capacidade, aos demais oficiantes e aos membros eruditos da assembleia.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Teaches dharmic redistribution within śaiva ritual economy: honoring ācārya and ṛtviks sustains śāstra-transmission and correct performance, which is itself a vehicle of Śiva’s anugraha.
Role: teaching
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
It teaches dharmic redistribution: honoring the ācārya and principal priests first, then supporting the wider sacred assembly according to one’s means—purifying wealth through righteous giving in a Shaiva setting.
In Linga-centered worship and Shaiva rites, dakṣiṇā offered with devotion sustains the ordained ritual order; honoring teachers and officiants is treated as service to Saguna Shiva manifest in the sacrificial and temple tradition.
A practical takeaway is to offer appropriate dakṣiṇā after Shiva worship or yajna—prioritizing the ācārya and chief priests, then giving to other qualified participants as capacity allows.