Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 18
Dāruvana-parīkṣā: Śaṅkara’s Test and the Linga’s Ritual-Theological Grounding
सूत उवाच । इत्युक्ते तु तदा तैश्च लिंगं च पतितं क्षणात् । अवधूतस्य तस्याशु शिवस्याद्भुतरूपिणः
sūta uvāca | ityukte tu tadā taiśca liṃgaṃ ca patitaṃ kṣaṇāt | avadhūtasya tasyāśu śivasyādbhutarūpiṇaḥ
Sūta thưa: Khi họ vừa nói những lời ấy, ngay trong khoảnh khắc đó, Liṅga liền rơi xuống tức thì—Liṅga của Chúa Śiva, bậc Avadhūta, Đấng mang hình tướng kỳ diệu.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: The instantaneous ‘liṅga-patana’ (falling of the liṅga) is an archetypal sthala-seed: a divine sign becomes localized, later to be worshiped as a self-manifest emblem. This verse, however, does not name the resulting kṣetra, so it cannot be securely mapped to one of the 12 jyotirliṅgas from this excerpt alone.
Significance: General: worship of a svayambhū liṅga is held to be especially potent because it is not human-made; it signifies direct divine presence and becomes a focal point for anugraha after tirodhāna.
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse signals a sudden divine turning point: Śiva, the Avadhūta—beyond worldly norms—reveals His presence through the Liṅga, showing that the Supreme (Pati) can make the formless truth accessible through a sacred sign for the devotee’s awakening.
By calling Śiva “adbhuta-rūpin” and linking Him to the Liṅga, the text frames the Liṅga as a Saguna focus that carries the power of the transcendent Lord—an approachable form through which devotion, reverence, and grace operate.
A practical takeaway is steady Liṅga-upāsanā: mentally fix awareness on Śiva as the detached Avadhūta while offering simple worship (water, bilva leaves) and repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with concentration.