Shloka 16

Devanagari script

कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संशोध्य पुरुषं युगलं तथा चिदात्मानं तनुं कृत्वा चाग्निर्भस्मेति संस्पृशेत्

Transliteration

karmendriyāṇi saṃśodhya puruṣaṃ yugalaṃ tathā cidātmānaṃ tanuṃ kṛtvā cāgnirbhasmeti saṃspṛśet

Translation

先净化诸业根，又同样净化构成具身之人的二重原理，使觉知之我变得微妙；继而以“阿耆尼即灰”为念，触而涂抹圣灰（bhasma）。

Word by Word

• कर्मेन्द्रियाणि: organs of action (speech, hands, feet, excretion, procreation)

• संशोध्य: having purified/cleansed

• पुरुषम्: the embodied person (puruṣa, the individual as experiencer)

• युगलम्: the pair/twofold set (a dual principle within the embodied condition)

• तथा: likewise/also

• चिदात्मानम्: the conscious Self, cit-ātman

• तनुम्: subtle, refined, made thin

• कृत्वा: having made/done

• च: and

• अग्निः: Agni, the fire principle

• भस्म इति: as “ash”/in the form of ash

• संस्पृशेत्: should touch, contact, apply (ritually).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Linga Purana teachings to the sages at Naimisharanya; verse embedded in ritual-yogic instruction)

Characters & Entities

• Agni

FAQs

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

It links external worship (touching/applying bhasma) with internal eligibility: the devotee purifies karmendriyas and refines awareness, making bhasma a conscious Shaiva sacrament rather than a mere material mark.

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

By directing the practitioner to rest in cid-ātman (conscious Self) and to see Agni’s culmination as bhasma, it points to Shiva as Pati—the pure consciousness that remains when bonds (pāśa) and karmic impurities are burned away.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Bhasma-dhāraṇa (sacred ash observance) integrated with Pāśupata-style inner purification: cleansing karmendriyas, cultivating subtle interiority (tanū-karaṇa of awareness), and consecrating ash through the fire-principle (Agni).