Adhyaya 33: Pashupata Conduct, Bhasma-Vrata, and Shiva’s Boon to the Sages
युगे युगे महायोगी क्रीडते भस्मगुण्ठितः एवं चरत भद्रं वस् ततः सिद्धिमवाप्स्यथ
yuge yuge mahāyogī krīḍate bhasmaguṇṭhitaḥ evaṃ carata bhadraṃ vas tataḥ siddhimavāpsyatha
Trong mỗi thời đại, Đại Du-già (Śiva) ung dung du hí, thân Ngài phủ đầy tro thiêng. Hãy sống và tu tập đúng như vậy—nguyện điều cát tường thuộc về các ngươi—rồi các ngươi sẽ chứng đắc siddhi (thành tựu tâm linh).
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s Pāśupata-oriented teaching as preserved in the Linga Purana tradition)
It frames bhasma-dhāraṇa (wearing sacred ash) as a Shaiva identity-marker and inner discipline that supports Linga-upāsanā by turning the worshipper toward renunciation, purity, and devotion to Pati (Śiva).
Śiva is presented as Mahāyogī—free, self-luminous, and untouched—yet compassionately accessible through visible yogic signs like bhasma, guiding the paśu (soul) beyond pāśa (bondage) toward siddhi.
Bhasma-guṇṭhana/bhasma-dhāraṇa—smearing the body with sacred ash—paired with living a Pāśupata-style conduct (ācāra) that culminates in spiritual siddhi.