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Chapter 6: Brahmā Satisfies Lord Śiva

Verse 36 of 50
SB 4.6.36

लिंगं च तापसाभीष्टं भस्मदण्डजटाजिनम् अंगेन सन्ध्याभ्ररुचा चन्द्रलेखां च बिभ्रतम्

liṅgaṁ ca tāpasābhīṣṭaṁ bhasma-daṇḍa-jaṭājinam aṅgena sandhyābhra-rucā candra-lekhāṁ ca bibhratam

Synonyms

liṅgamsymptom; caand; tāpasa-abhīṣṭamdesired by Śaivite ascetics; bhasmaashes; daṇḍastaff; jaṭāmatted hair; ajinamantelope skin; aṅgenawith his body; sandhyābhrareddish; rucācolored; candra-lekhāmthe crest of a half-moon; caand; bibhratambearing..

Translation

He was seated on a deerskin and was practicing all forms of austerity. Because his body was smeared with ashes, he looked like an evening cloud. On his hair was the sign of a half-moon, a symbolic representation.

Purport

Lord Śiva's symptoms of austerity are not exactly those of a Vaiṣṇava. Lord Śiva is certainly the number one Vaiṣṇava, but he exhibits a feature for a particular class of men who cannot follow the Vaiṣṇava principles. The Śaivites, the devotees of Lord Śiva, generally dress like Lord Śiva, and sometimes they indulge in smoking and taking intoxicants. Such practices are never accepted by the followers of Vaiṣṇava rituals.

Verse 36 of 50
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