Shloka 7

ध्यानयोगेन रुद्रदर्शनम् — रुद्रावतार-परिवर्तक्रमः, लकुली (कायावतार), पाशुपतयोगः, लिङ्गार्चन-निष्ठा

Devanagari script

न तीर्थफलयोगेन क्रतुभिर् वाप्तदक्षिणैः न वेदाध्ययनैर्वापि न वित्तेन न वेदनैः

Transliteration

na tīrthaphalayogena kratubhir vāptadakṣiṇaiḥ na vedādhyayanairvāpi na vittena na vedanaiḥ

Translation

Không phải nhờ phước quả của việc hành hương, cũng không nhờ các tế lễ kèm lễ phí (dakṣiṇā); không phải nhờ học tụng Veda, cũng không nhờ của cải, cũng không nhờ tranh biện uyên bác—mà linh hồn bị trói buộc đạt đến tối thượng. Tối thượng ấy chỉ thành tựu bởi bhakti hướng về Pati, Đức Śiva, đấng duy nhất cắt đứt pāśa (xiềng buộc) khỏi paśu (ngã thể hữu hạn).

Word by Word

• na: not

• tīrtha: pilgrimage place/sacred ford

• phala: fruit/result

• yogena: by the accumulation/connection (as a means)

• kratubhiḥ: by Vedic sacrifices

• vāpta-dakṣiṇaiḥ: with dakṣiṇā (sacrificial fees) duly given/obtained

• na: not

• veda-adhyayanaiḥ: by Veda-study/recitation

• vā api: even/also

• na: not

• vittena: by wealth

• na: not

• vedanaiḥ: by (mere) knowledge/erudition/argumentative learning

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya; conveying the Purana’s Shaiva siddhanta emphasis)

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It reorients spiritual effort from external merit (tīrtha, kratu, wealth, scholarship) to the inner God-centered means—Śiva-bhakti—implying that Linga worship is efficacious when it is devotion to Pati, not mere ritual performance.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Śiva is implied as Pati, the supreme Lord who alone can cut the pāśa (bondage) of the paśu (soul); therefore liberation is not a product of worldly merit but of grace-oriented communion with Śiva-tattva.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse highlights the limitation of ritualism and points toward a Pāśupata-aligned approach: devotion and inner turning to Śiva as the liberating practice, with rites serving as supports rather than the final cause of mokṣa.