Shloka 25
गुरुत्व-परम्परा-शौचविधि-प्रश्नः
Questions on Guruhood, Lineage, and Purificatory Discipline
पञ्चत्वक्पञ्चपत्रैश्च मृत्तिकाभिश्च पञ्चभिः । मिलितं च सुगन्धेन लेपयेत्तम्मुनीश्वर
pañcatvakpañcapatraiśca mṛttikābhiśca pañcabhiḥ | militaṃ ca sugandhena lepayettammunīśvara
O panginoon sa mga muni, pahiran ang banal na sagisag na iyon (liṅga ni Śiva) ng halong mula sa limang uri ng balat ng puno, limang uri ng dahon, at limang uri ng luwad, na pinag-isa at pinabanguhan.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Shakti Form: Umā
Role: nurturing
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
The verse emphasizes upacāra (devotional service) offered to Pati (Śiva) through a pure, sattvic anointing; the carefully prepared mixture symbolizes disciplined devotion that helps the bound soul (paśu) loosen the bonds (pāśa) through reverent worship.
It describes a concrete, saguna mode of worship—treating the Śiva-liṅga as the accessible form of the transcendent Lord—where fragrant lepa becomes a bodily act of bhakti that supports inner contemplation of Śiva’s nirguna reality.
Prepare a fragrant anointing paste from five barks, five leaves, and five clays, then apply it to the Śiva-liṅga as part of pūjā; this can be paired with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) during the offering.