Shloka 3
Pārthiva-Śiva-liṅga Saṃkhyā-vidhāna
Enumeration and Procedure of Earthen Liṅga Worship
सूत उवाच । शृणुध्वमृषयः सर्वे पार्थिवार्चाविधानकम् । यस्यानुष्ठानमात्रेण कृतकृत्यो भवेन्नरः
sūta uvāca | śṛṇudhvamṛṣayaḥ sarve pārthivārcāvidhānakam | yasyānuṣṭhānamātreṇa kṛtakṛtyo bhavennaraḥ
Sinabi ni Sūta: “Makinig kayo, lahat ng rishi, sa itinakdang paraan ng pagsambang pārthiva (luwad). Sa pagsasagawa lamang ng pagtalimang ito, ang tao’y nagiging yaong nakatupad na sa layon ng buhay.”
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Frames the pārthiva-liṅga rite as a powerful upāya accessible outside major kṣetras; ‘mere observance’ is praised as life-fulfilling.
Role: teaching
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It proclaims that sincere observance of Pārthiva-arcā (worship of Shiva through an earthen sacred form) is a complete, life-fulfilling sādhana—capable of making one “kṛtakṛtya,” as devotion aligned with right procedure turns the mind toward Shiva (Pati) and loosens bondage (pāśa).
The verse introduces a concrete, Saguna mode of approach—arcā worship—where Shiva is reverently invoked and served through a form (here, an earthen liṅga/emblem). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, disciplined outer worship supports inner purification and steady remembrance of Shiva.
It points to performing the prescribed Pārthiva-arcā-vidhi—devotional worship of an earthen Shiva form—typically accompanied by mantra-japa (often the Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and offerings, undertaken with faith and regularity.