Shiva Purana — Vidyesvara Samhita, Shloka 34
Śiva-Naivedya-Grāhyatā-Nirṇayaḥ
On the Proper Acceptance and Merit of Śiva’s Consecrated Food-Offering
प्रवृत्तानां पीठपूजां सर्वपूजां समाचरेत् । अभिषेकान्ते नैवेद्यं शाल्यन्नेन समाचरेत् । पूजान्ते स्थापयेल्लिंगं पुटे शुद्धे पृथग्गृहे
pravṛttānāṃ pīṭhapūjāṃ sarvapūjāṃ samācaret | abhiṣekānte naivedyaṃ śālyannena samācaret | pūjānte sthāpayelliṃgaṃ puṭe śuddhe pṛthaggṛhe
对于行 pravṛtti 之道者，应当如法礼敬供养底座（pīṭha），并圆满行一切供养仪轨。于灌顶沐浴（abhiṣeka）终了时，应奉献供食（naivedya），尤以熟米饭为胜。礼毕之后，当将林伽安置于清净已加持之处所，在别处净化的居所中供奉。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadyojāta
Role: nurturing
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
It teaches that devotion must be expressed through disciplined, complete worship—honoring the pīṭha (support), finishing abhiṣeka with a pure offering, and maintaining the Liṅga in a sanctified, separate space—so the worshipper’s bhakti is joined with śauca (purity) and niyama (right order).
The Liṅga is treated as the sacred, worship-worthy form of Saguna Śiva for daily approach: it is bathed (abhiṣeka), fed through naivedya as an act of loving service, and then reverently kept in a clean, protected place, affirming continual presence and sanctity.
Perform pīṭha-pūjā and the full pūjā sequence, conclude abhiṣeka with naivedya (cooked rice is specifically praised here), and preserve the Liṅga in a purified, separate enclosure—supporting steady daily sādhanā alongside mantra-japa such as the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya).