Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 29
पशुपाशपतिज्ञान-प्राप्तिः
Acquisition of Paśupati–Pāśa Knowledge
मुनय ऊचुः । कलादिपञ्चतत्त्वानां किं कर्म पृथगुच्यते । भोक्तेति पुरुषश्चेति येनात्मा व्यपदिश्यते
munaya ūcuḥ | kalādipañcatattvānāṃ kiṃ karma pṛthagucyate | bhokteti puruṣaśceti yenātmā vyapadiśyate
Die Weisen sprachen: „Welche besondere Funktion (karma) wird den fünf Prinzipien, beginnend mit Kalā, jeweils zugeschrieben? Und wodurch wird das Selbst als ‚der Genießende‘ und als ‚Puruṣa‘ bezeichnet?“
The sages (Munis) questioning the narrator in the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā context
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It frames a core Shaiva Siddhanta inquiry: how the soul (ātmā/paśu) becomes a ‘bhoktā’ (experiencer) through tattvas and their functions, and how right knowledge of these categories leads toward release from pāśa (bondage) under the grace of Pati (Śiva).
By clarifying that the soul is an experiencer within the field of tattvas, the text points to the need for turning from mere experience to devotion and surrender—worship of the Liṅga (Saguna Śiva) as the accessible form of Pati through whom bondage is cut and true Self-knowledge is stabilized.
A practical takeaway is tattva-vicāra (discernment of soul vs. tattvas) supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and dhyāna on Śiva as the inner witness beyond ‘enjoyerhood,’ aligning experience toward liberation.