The sages, eager to align their worship with their inner desires, asked Sutji, “O wise one, how can we craft the Parthiva Lingam to fulfil our aspirations?”
Sutji replied, “O sages, the Parthiva Lingam-a sacred clay Shivling-is a way to offer your devotion with intention. The size and number of Lingams vary with your spiritual goal: a Superior form (four finger-widths tall) offered 1,000 times fulfills the quest for knowledge; a Moderate form (half that size) offered 500 times grants wealth; while the Basic form (quarter-height) leads to liberation when worshipped in vastly greater numbers. This practice, especially in Kaliyug, empowers the devotee to walk a path of grace shaped by bhav, not perfection.”
He continued, “Shivji’s eight cosmic forms-Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space, Sun, Moon, and the Yajmaan (sacrificial host)-reflect his essence woven into all creation. As you worship, honour his divine family: Ishan, Nandi, Mahakaal, Kartikeya, and Veerbhadra, encircling the Lingam with offerings and chants. With a quiet heart, surrender your desires into the ritual-flowers, Bilva leaves, and the sacred mantra become bridges to the infinite.”
Sutji concluded, “In this way, the Lingam becomes not just a form of worship, but a path to purification and union. For those who hear and practice this wisdom, a seed of merit is planted-one that blossoms into divine connection and the soul’s liberation.”
This chapter reveals a sacred truth: while knowledge requires one thousand Lingams and wealth ive hundred, liberation demands one crore-a quiet reminder that freedom from samsara calls for the greatest effort and the deepest surrender.
And yet, caught in the nets of Maya, we often turn to the divine not for liberation, but for physical and material comfort. We ask for relief from pain, success in life, or protection from fear-while forgetting to seek the one thing that truly matters: freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth itself.
Kabir reminds us:
“Malya magu tutia, sone magu lun; Gaate ghar ke mangia, jo puran nun.” We ask for glass bangles, we ask for gold,
but forget to seek the One who lives within- the One who is whole and eternal.
The Shiv Puran too gently shows us: though moksha is the highest offering, it is the least sought. My Guru would keep telling us not to ask the divine for anything-but if we must, we should ask for the “asli cheez”, the real treasure.
Ultimately, the path to liberation is vast, but so is Shivji’s grace. Through simple devotion and sincere longing, what takes lifetimes can dissolve in a single moment of surrender.
Longing for something deeper than blessings?
🎧 Listen to the podcast – Har Din Mahashivpuran
📖 Read the book – A Modern Seeker’s Mahāshivpurāṇ.