Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्
अविद्या पञ्चपर्वैषा प्रादुर्भूता महात्मनः पञ्चधावस्थितः सर्गो ध्यायतः सो ऽभिमानिनः
avidyā pañcaparvaiṣā prādurbhūtā mahātmanaḥ pañcadhāvasthitaḥ sargo dhyāyataḥ so 'bhimāninaḥ
Aus jenem Großen Wesen, als es in Betrachtung verweilte und sich mit dem Gefühl „ich“ (abhimāna) identifizierte, trat die fünfgliedrige Unwissenheit (avidyā) hervor; und die Schöpfung wurde fünffach begründet.
Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It frames bondage (avidyā) as a cosmic principle arising with ego-identification; Linga worship is the Shaiva means to turn the pashu (bound soul) away from abhimāna and toward Pati (Shiva), dissolving pasha.
By implication, Shiva-tattva is the transcendent Pati who is not limited by avidyā; avidyā and the fivefold sarga belong to the realm of manifested principles arising when consciousness is conditioned by abhimāna.
A key Pashupata Yoga takeaway is vigilance over abhimāna (ego-sense) during dhyāna; steady contemplation on the Linga as Pati counters avidyā and loosens the pasha that structures worldly experience.