नन्दिकेश्वरोत्पत्तिः — Nandikesvara’s Origin, Shiva’s Boons, and the Rise of Sacred Rivers
तस्याभिषिक्तस्य तदा प्रवृत्ता स्रोतसा भृशम् यस्मात् सुवर्णान्निःसृत्य नद्येषा सम्प्रवर्तते
tasyābhiṣiktasya tadā pravṛttā srotasā bhṛśam yasmāt suvarṇānniḥsṛtya nadyeṣā sampravartate
तस्याभिषिक्तस्य तदा प्रवृत्ता स्रोतसा भृशम् । यस्मात् सुवर्णान्निःसृत्य नद्येषा सम्प्रवर्तते ॥
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It presents abhiṣeka not merely as ritual bathing but as a theophany: the Lord’s grace becomes a tangible, purifying flow, establishing abhiṣeka as a world-sanctifying act in Liṅga-pūjā.
Shiva appears as Pati whose śakti manifests outwardly as an unstoppable stream—grace that purifies and liberates the paśu from pāśa, turning worship into a channel of transformation.
Liṅga-abhiṣeka is central: continuous offering (dhārā) and reverent bathing, implying inner purification aligned with Pāśupata discipline—steadiness, surrender, and devotion (bhakti) to the Pati.