Shiva Puja

The Shiva Purana contains a verse that summarises the entire theological position of Shiva worship: Trivargasya phala datta, chaturthasya cha kaaranam - Shiva is the giver of the three Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama) and the cause of the fourth (Moksha). He is not one deity among many offering one kind of blessing. He is the deity who holds the entire range of human aspiration, from the most worldly to the most transcendent, in a single field. This is why the Shiva Purana prescribes such a wide variety of occasions for his worship: Monday for general wellbeing, Shravana month for sustained blessing, Maha Shivaratri for the deepest petition, Pradosh for swift fulfillment. Each timing accesses a different quality of Shiva's response. The household Shiva Puja - as distinct from the Vedic Rudrabhishek - works within the devotional register: Shodashopachara, bilva patra (the sacred bel leaf that is his most beloved offering), water abhisheka, Shiva Ashtottara. The specific offerings of the Shiva Puja are deliberately counter to conventional ideas of luxury. Shiva receives water, bel patra, raw rice, and dhatura - not gold, silk, and elaborate sweets. The Shiva Purana is explicit about this: Jalabhishek is the first and most powerful offering to Shiva. A simple pot of water poured over the Shivalinga with Shiva Panchakshara (Om Namah Shivaya) repeated is more potent, the text says, than elaborate offerings made without devotion.