Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 53
शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti
Para–Apara Ontology
कश्यपः कालहा देवो देवमाता महेश्वरी । वसिष्ठो मन्मथारातिर्देवी साक्षादरुंधती
kaśyapaḥ kālahā devo devamātā maheśvarī | vasiṣṭho manmathārātirdevī sākṣādaruṃdhatī
Wisset: Kaśyapa ist als der Gott Kālahā zu erkennen; Devamātā ist Maheśvarī selbst. Vasiṣṭha ist niemand anders als der Feind Manmathas (Śiva), und die Göttin ist unmittelbar Arundhatī.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; it continues the identification-list: Vasiṣṭha is equated with ‘Manmathārāti’ (Śiva who burned Kāma), and Devamātā is equated with Maheśvarī.
Shakti Form: Durgā
Role: nurturing
Cosmic Event: Kāma-dahana allusion (burning of Manmatha)
FAQs
It teaches a Shaiva vision where revered sages and divine exemplars are understood through the lens of Pati (Śiva) and Śakti (Maheśvarī), encouraging devotion that recognizes the one Lord’s presence behind sacred names and forms.
By naming Śiva as Manmatha-ari and the Goddess as Maheśvarī, it supports saguna-upāsanā—approaching the Supreme through concrete epithets and forms, as one would in Liṅga worship, while remembering the single Pati behind all manifestations.
Contemplate Śiva as Manmatha-ari (the conqueror of desire) while repeating the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and cultivate restraint and purity like Arundhatī as an inner vrata supporting japa and worship.