Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 18
भक्ताधिकारि-द्विजधर्म-योगिलक्षणवर्णनम् / Duties of Qualified Devotees and Marks of Yogins
धर्मपत्न्यास्तु गमनं गृहस्थस्य विधीयते । ब्रह्मचर्यं वनस्थानां यतीनां ब्रह्मचारिणाम्
dharmapatnyāstu gamanaṃ gṛhasthasya vidhīyate | brahmacaryaṃ vanasthānāṃ yatīnāṃ brahmacāriṇām
对居家者（gṛhastha），与其正妻（dharma-patnī）行夫妇之合为所规定；而对林居者、出离苦行者（yati）及梵行学生，则制定梵行（brahmacarya）之清净禁欲。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Role: teaching
FAQs
It defines dharma according to one’s āśrama: disciplined marital life for the gṛhastha and strict continence for vānaprastha, yati, and brahmacārin—showing that self-control is central to purification and readiness for Shiva-realization.
Linga-worship requires inner and outer purity; this verse teaches that purity is maintained differently in each life-stage—through regulated conjugal dharma for householders and through brahmacarya for renunciant paths—supporting steady devotion to Saguna Shiva and progress toward the Supreme.
The implied practice is restraint of the senses (brahmacarya or regulated conduct), which pairs naturally with Shaiva sādhana such as daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditative steadiness.