अन्धकानुग्रहः—शूलारोपणं, रुद्रस्मरण-फलम्, तथा गाणपत्य-प्रदानम् (अध्याय 93)
भगवन्देवदेवेश भक्तार्तिहर शङ्कर त्वयि भक्तिः प्रसीदेश यदि देयो वरश् च मे
bhagavandevadeveśa bhaktārtihara śaṅkara tvayi bhaktiḥ prasīdeśa yadi deyo varaś ca me
Bạch Đấng Thế Tôn, Chúa tể của chư thiên, hỡi Śaṅkara—Đấng xua tan khổ não của người sùng kính—xin đoái thương. Nếu ban cho con một ân phúc, xin cho đó là lòng bhakti bất thoái đối với Ngài.
A devotee (within Suta’s narration) addressing Lord Shiva
It places bhakti itself as the supreme “vara” (boon), implying that outer Linga-puja is fulfilled when the heart becomes firmly established in devotion to Pati (Shiva).
Shiva is invoked as Deva-Deveśa (transcendent Lord over all devas) and Bhaktārti-hara (the compassionate remover of devotees’ suffering), highlighting His anugraha (grace) as central to liberation of the pashu.
The key practice is single-pointed devotion (bhakti-niṣṭhā) as the inner limb of worship—aligned with Pāśupata orientation where Shiva’s grace loosens pāśa (bondage) and steadies the pashu in Pati.