Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 11
न्यासत्रैविध्य-भूतशुद्धि-प्रक्रिया
Threefold Nyāsa and the Procedure of Elemental Purification
विशोष्य वायुना पश्चाद्देहं कालाग्निना दहेत् । ततश्चोपरिभावेन कलास्संहृत्य वायुना । देहं संहृत्य वै दग्धं कलास्स्पृष्ट्वा सहाब्धिना । प्लावयित्वामृतैर्देहं यथास्थानं निवेशयेत्
viśoṣya vāyunā paścāddehaṃ kālāgninā dahet | tataścoparibhāvena kalāssaṃhṛtya vāyunā | dehaṃ saṃhṛtya vai dagdhaṃ kalāsspṛṣṭvā sahābdhinā | plāvayitvāmṛtairdehaṃ yathāsthānaṃ niveśayet
Nachdem man den Körper durch die Wirkung des Vāyu ausgetrocknet hat, soll man den Körper sodann mit dem Feuer der Zeit (Kālāgni) verbrennen. Danach, durch eine aufwärts gerichtete innere Versenkung, sammle man die kalās (Lebenskräfte) mittels Vāyu wieder ein; und nachdem man so den Körper — obgleich verbrannt — zurückgezogen hat, berühre man jene kalās zusammen mit dem ozeanischen Prinzip, überflute den Körper mit amṛta (Nektar), und setze ihn dann wieder an seinen rechten Ort.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teachings to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as Lord of Time grants liberation; the liṅga is famed as svayaṃbhū and as the power that overrules kāla (time) for devotees.
Significance: Darśana/abhisheka associated with relief from fear of death and time-bound suffering; pradoṣa and mahāśivarātri worship are especially valued.
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: kāla-agni (time-fire) imagery; microcosmic pralaya and restoration
FAQs
It describes a Shaiva yogic process of saṃhāra (withdrawal) and punar-ādhāna (re-establishment), showing that by Śiva’s grace the yogin can transcend the body’s decay, Time’s consuming fire, and re-center consciousness in its rightful seat.
The method implies turning the mind upward into the Lord’s principle (Pati) and withdrawing energies into their source—an inner analogue of Linga-upāsanā, where the devotee gathers the dispersed self into Śiva’s stable, formless-yet-worshipable center.
A prāṇic withdrawal practice: drying and lifting the prāṇa through Vāyu (control of breath), contemplating dissolution by Kāla, then meditating on amṛta (nectar) as Śiva’s sustaining grace—best supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī and steady dhyāna.