Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 87
अनुग्रह-स्वातन्त्र्य-प्रमाणविचारः | Inquiry into Pramāṇa, Divine Autonomy, and Grace
स्वाभाविको मलः पुंसां स हि संसारयत्यमून् । संसारकारणं यत्तु मलं मायाद्यचेतनम्
svābhāviko malaḥ puṃsāṃ sa hi saṃsārayatyamūn | saṃsārakāraṇaṃ yattu malaṃ māyādyacetanam
إن الدَّنَس الفِطري (مَلا) في الكائنات المتجسِّدة هو حقًّا ما يُديرها في السَّمْسارا. وذلك الدَّنَس—غيرُ واعٍ بطبيعته ومبدؤه مَايَا—هو عينُ سبب السَّمْسارا.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shaiva philosophical teaching as preserved in the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā)
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It identifies the root of bondage as mala—an innate, insentient impurity connected with Māyā—which keeps the soul (paśu) revolving in saṁsāra until it is purified by Shiva’s grace and right knowledge.
Linga/Saguna Shiva worship is presented as a practical means to loosen Māyā-born bondage: devotion, purification, and surrender to Pati (Shiva) prepare the soul for the removal of mala and the dawning of liberating insight.
The takeaway is purification-oriented practice—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), worship of the Shiva-Linga, and internal contemplation on Shiva as Pati who alone can cut the pasha of mala and Māyā.