Shloka 50
Kṣetra–Kāla–Phala-kramaḥ
Hierarchy of Sacred Place, Time, and Ritual Fruit
सर्वं सर्वसमृद्ध्यर्थं कूष्मांडं पुष्टिदं विदुः । प्राप्तिदं सर्वभोगानामिह चाऽमुत्र च द्विजाः
sarvaṃ sarvasamṛddhyarthaṃ kūṣmāṃḍaṃ puṣṭidaṃ viduḥ | prāptidaṃ sarvabhogānāmiha cā'mutra ca dvijāḥ
Hỡi các bậc nhị sinh, người trí biết rằng quả kūṣmāṇḍa (bí đao tro) là vật ban dưỡng chất và làm viên mãn mọi sự thịnh vượng. Nó đem đến sự thành tựu mọi hưởng thụ, cả ở đời này lẫn đời sau.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: General dāna-phala instruction; no direct Jyotirliṅga linkage. Kūṣmāṇḍa is, however, widely used in folk-Śaiva and temple contexts as a ‘doṣa-śānti’ and nourishment symbol.
Significance: Encourages gifts that sustain body and community; in Siddhānta framing, such dharmic acts purify the paśu and support steady worship leading toward anugraha.
Role: nurturing
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
The verse highlights that even simple, sattvic offerings used in Shiva worship can become vehicles of grace, supporting both worldly well-being (prosperity and nourishment) and posthumous merit—when offered with devotion and right intent.
In Saguna Shiva worship—especially Linga puja—naivedya and auspicious substances are offered as outward expressions of bhakti. This verse frames kūṣmāṇḍa as an efficacious offering whose fruit extends to ‘iha’ and ‘amutra,’ consistent with Purāṇic Linga-upāsanā that yields both material and spiritual outcomes.
A practical takeaway is to offer kūṣmāṇḍa as naivedya during Shiva Linga worship (especially on Mondays or Mahāśivarātri) while chanting the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” dedicating the act for nourishment, steadiness, and righteous prosperity.