Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 44
श्रद्धामाहात्म्यं तथा देवीप्रश्नः
The Greatness of Śraddhā and Devī’s Question to Śiva
विदिते मम याथात्म्ये कर्मयज्ञेन देहिनः । न यजंति हि मां युक्ताः समलोष्टाश्मकांचनाः । नित्ययुक्तो मुनिः श्रेष्ठो मद्भक्तश्च समाहितः । ज्ञानयोगरतो योगी मम सायुज्यमाप्नुयात्
vidite mama yāthātmye karmayajñena dehinaḥ | na yajaṃti hi māṃ yuktāḥ samaloṣṭāśmakāṃcanāḥ | nityayukto muniḥ śreṣṭho madbhaktaśca samāhitaḥ | jñānayogarato yogī mama sāyujyamāpnuyāt
عندما تُعرَف حقيقتي كما هي، فإنّ ذوي الأجساد من المنضبطين والمتساوين النظر—الذين يرون كتلة التراب والحجر والذهب سواءً—لا يعبدونني بذبيحة العمل (كارما-يَجْنْيا) وحدها. أمّا أفضلُ الحكماء، الدائمُ الاتحاد (بي)، وعبدي المُحبّ، الثابتُ المجموعُ القلب، المكرَّسُ ليوغا المعرفة، فيبلغ الاتحاد بي (سايوجيا).
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
FAQs
It teaches that once Shiva’s true nature is realized, liberation is not secured by ritual action alone; the mature seeker becomes steady, equal-minded, devoted, and established in jñāna-yoga, thereby attaining sāyujya (union) with Shiva.
It does not reject Saguna worship; it clarifies that outer worship and offerings culminate in inner realization. Linga-worship becomes complete when it produces steadiness, devotion, and knowledge of Shiva’s reality rather than remaining mere external karma.
The implied practice is sustained yoga: cultivating samādhāna (collectedness), equal-mindedness toward gain and loss, and devotion to Shiva while deepening contemplative knowledge—so that worship matures from external yajña into inner absorption in Shiva.