ध्यानयज्ञः, संसार-विष-निरूपणम्, पाशुपतयोगः, परा-अपरा विद्या, चतुर्वस्था-विचारः (अध्यायः ८६)
अग्निरिन्द्रस् तथा विष्णुर् मित्रो देवः प्रजापतिः आधिदैविकमेवं हि चतुर्दशविधं क्रमात्
agnirindras tathā viṣṇur mitro devaḥ prajāpatiḥ ādhidaivikamevaṃ hi caturdaśavidhaṃ kramāt
অগ্নি, ইন্দ্র, বিষ্ণু, মিত্র, দেব ও প্রজাপতি—এইভাবে ক্রমানুসারে আধিদৈবিক অধিষ্ঠান চতুর্দশবিধ বলা হয়েছে। শৈব মতে এরা মায়ার মধ্যে কার্যকর অধিপতি; কিন্তু পতি শিব সকল গণনার অতীত পরমেশ্বর।
Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It frames the cosmos as governed by presiding deities (ādhidaivika) in a structured order; Linga-worship directs the devotee beyond these delegated powers to Śiva as Pati, the ultimate refuge and source of all divine functions.
By listing the ādhidaivika powers as a counted set, it implicitly contrasts them with Śiva-tattva: Śiva is not merely one presiding function but the transcendent Lord who empowers and surpasses the entire fourteenfold divine administration.
The takeaway is contemplative discipline: in Pāśupata-oriented practice, one recognizes devas as adhidaiva supports within bondage (pāśa) and turns the mind through japa and Linga-upāsanā toward Pati (Śiva), the liberator of the paśu (soul).