Adhyaya 79 — Bhakti-Mahima and Linga-Archana-Vidhi
Condensed Ritual Sequence
अभक्ष्यभक्षी सम्पूज्य याक्षं प्राप्नोति दुर्जनः गानशीलश् च गान्धर्वं नृत्यशीलस्तथैव च
abhakṣyabhakṣī sampūjya yākṣaṃ prāpnoti durjanaḥ gānaśīlaś ca gāndharvaṃ nṛtyaśīlastathaiva ca
คนชั่วผู้กินของต้องห้าม แม้ทำการบูชาก็ยังไปสู่ภาวะยักษ์ ผู้ยึดมั่นในการขับร้องย่อมได้ภาวะคันธรรพ์ และผู้ยึดมั่นในการร่ายรำก็ได้ภาวะที่สอดคล้องกัน
Suta Goswami
It warns that mere worship without ethical purity does not ensure liberation; impure conduct (like eating forbidden foods) still yields lower karmic destinations, so Linga-puja must be joined with śuddhi (purification) and right living.
Implicitly, it distinguishes worldly attainments (yakṣa/gandharva states) from Śiva-tattva: Shiva as Pati grants true release only when the paśu is freed from pasha—bondage of impurity and karma—beyond external merit.
The takeaway is behavioral and ritual purity as a prerequisite for fruitful Shiva-puja; without niyama-like discipline and inner cleansing, practice yields only limited karmic results rather than Pashupata-oriented liberation.