Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 34
हंस-वराह-रूपग्रहण-कारणम्
The Reason for Assuming the Swan and Boar Forms
पातालादि समारभ्य सप्तलोकाधिपः स्वयम् । राजते स्म हरिस्तत्र वैराजः पुरुषः प्रभुः
pātālādi samārabhya saptalokādhipaḥ svayam | rājate sma haristatra vairājaḥ puruṣaḥ prabhuḥ
Von Pātāla an, durch die sieben Welten hin, erstrahlte Hari selbst—der Herrscher aller Lokas—dort als der mächtige Virāṭ (Vairāja) Puruṣa, der höchste Regent.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa account to the sages)
Tattva Level: pashu
Cosmic Event: sarga (cosmic manifestation) with Virāṭ-puruṣa imagery spanning pātāla to upper lokas
FAQs
It maps the manifest cosmos—from Pātāla up through the seven worlds—and points to a governing cosmic principle (the Virāṭ Puruṣa). In a Shaiva Siddhānta reading, such cosmic rulership belongs to the realm of māyā and order; it ultimately directs the seeker beyond the lokas toward Pati (Śiva), who grants liberation.
By showing that even the grand cosmic form (Virāṭ) is a structured, manifest reality, the text implicitly contrasts it with the Linga as the Shaiva focus for worship—Saguna devotion leading the mind beyond cosmic vastness to the supreme Lord Śiva, who is worshipped as both Saguna (through Linga) and realized as transcendent.
A practical takeaway is lokātīta-bhāvanā: meditate on the entire seven-loka cosmos as limited and impermanent, then anchor the mind in Śiva through japa of the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") and Linga-dhyāna, seeking grace that transcends all worlds.