With utmost reverence, listen as the sacred procedure of worshipping Śiva is revealed. First, one gathers pure water, filling it with the fragrance and beauty of white oleander, jasmine, lotuses, and blue water-lilies, and scents it with sandalwood. This consecrated water, held in a golden or silver vessel, or else in a copper pot, a lotus or palāśa leaf, a conch, a purified clay vessel, or any other auspicious container, is prepared with devotion. Into this water, the worshipper places the mantras beginning with Sadyojāta, invoking their power. With kuśa grass and flowers in hand, the devotee bathes with the proper mantras. These mantras are now declared for the fulfillment of all purposes: by bathing the liṅga even once with these sacred utterances—such as the Pavamāna mantra and the Vāmīyaka mantra—one is freed from bondage. The Rudra, Nīlarudra, the auspicious Śrīsūkta, the Rajanīsūkta, and the Camaka are all recited. Further, the Hotāra, Śirasa, the Atharva, the Śānti hymns, Bhāruṇḍa, Aruṇa, Vāruṇa, Jyeṣṭha, Vedavrata, and the Puruṣa hymn are chanted, each bringing their own sanctity. Then, swiftly, Rudra—he of matted locks—along with the monkey-faced one, and Viṣṇu as Bṛhaccandra, are invoked with the Sāman, declaring, “Let it be established.” Virūpākṣa, Skanda, the many Śivas, and the five Brahmas, with the Sūtra and the pure Praṇava, are likewise called upon. The devotee bathes the Lord of gods for the pacification of all sins, offering cloth, the sacred thread of Śiva, and water for sipping. In proper order, fragrance, flowers, incense, a lamp, food, and again fragrant water, as well as water for sipping, are lovingly presented. A beautiful, covered crown, ornaments, and, with the Praṇava, mouth-perfume and other offerings are made. At this point, the Lord is to be contemplated—shining like crystal, without parts, imperishable, the cause of all the gods, pervading all worlds, the supreme. He is beyond the perception of Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Rudra, and the other seers and gods, and, as the Vedas declare, beyond even those who know the Vedas and Vedānta. He is without beginning, middle, or end; the remedy for those afflicted by worldly existence; known as the principle of Śiva, established in the Śivaliṅga. With the Praṇava mantra, the worshipper venerates the top of the Liṅga, recites hymns according to rule, and performs obeisance and circumambulation. After offering arghya and scattering flowers at the feet, bowing down, the devotee meditates upon Śiva, the Lord of gods, as established within oneself. Thus, the supreme worship of the Liṅga is briefly described. Now, the internal worship of the Liṅga is explained. One should meditate upon the fiery, solar, and immortal disc, and above it, the three guṇas in the heart, and then, in order, the three selves. Above these, by the knowledge of meditation, the great god is worshipped—formless and yet with all forms, whose body is half-occupied by his beloved. Whatever is to be contemplated there has been described in many ways; for the one who contemplates, contemplation arises accordingly, and not otherwise. Therefore, the worshipper should meditate and remember the purpose in this way, for otherwise true awakening does not occur. He dwells in the city of the body and is thus called puruṣa; the one to be worshipped is worshipped by sacrifice, and the worshipper is so remembered. The great Lord is to be meditated upon; meditation is contemplation, and liberation is its fruit. Through this, one attains the true nature of the Lord of Pradhāna and Puruṣa. Here, the twenty-sixth is to be meditated upon, the meditator is the twenty-fifth; the unmanifest is the twenty-fourth, and then the seven beginning with the great principle: the great principle itself, then ego, the five subtle elements, the five organs of action, the five organs of perception, the mind, and the five gross elements. Thus, Shiva is the twenty-sixth—he alone is the sustainer and creator, the supreme Lord even of Brahmā. Shankara, that Rudra, generated Hiranyagarbha. He surpasses the universe, is the soul of the universe, and is remembered as the form of all. Just as, without father and mother, children are not born here, so too, without Soma, the three worlds do not exist. If the great god, the supreme self, Maheshvara, is the doer, then likewise he is the cause of action for those of lesser self who act. Eternal, pure, awakened, and partless is the supreme Lord. You have said he grants liberation; but if he is partless, what does he do? Time creates all that is manifest; time always measures time. The mind considers everything, even the partless, and that too is partless. By his action, indeed, this whole world is established. What, then, is this eightfold form of the world of the god of gods? Without space, the world does not exist; nor without earth, nor wind, nor fire, nor water, nor the sacrificer. Without the sun and the moon, the world does not exist. These are the forms of the Lord; considering thus, all that moves and does not move is the gross form of Rudra. The seers speak of the subtle, which cannot be expressed, O best of the twice-born; for words, along with the mind, turn back from it, unable to reach. Knowing the bliss of Brahman, the wise one fears nothing from anywhere; therefore, having known the bliss of Pinākin, there is nothing to fear. Recognizing the manifestations of Rudra everywhere, those seers of truth declare, “All is Rudra.” With constant reverence and salutation to the supreme Lord, indeed, all this is Brahman; all is Rudra, the Lord.