Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 56
शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti
Para–Apara Ontology
प्रष्टव्यं वस्तुजातं तु धत्ते शंकरवल्लभा । प्रष्टा स एव विश्वात्मा बालचन्द्रावतंसकः
praṣṭavyaṃ vastujātaṃ tu dhatte śaṃkaravallabhā | praṣṭā sa eva viśvātmā bālacandrāvataṃsakaḥ
Śaṅkaras Geliebte (Devī) trägt in sich die ganze Fülle dessen, was zu erfragen und zu erkennen ist; und der Fragende ist eben derselbe Herr—die Seele des Universums—geschmückt mit der jungen Mondsichel auf seinen verfilzten Locken.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; it presents a cognitive-theological equivalence: Devī contains the totality of ‘askable knowables’ (praṣṭavya-vastu-jāta), while Śiva is the universal questioner/knower (viśvātmā).
Significance: Supports jñāna-bhakti contemplation: approach Devī as the repository of all tattvas/knowables, and Śiva as the inner inquirer; this orientation is used to cultivate humility and receptivity to anugraha.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that all knowable truths and all genuine inquiry ultimately rest in Śiva and Śakti: Devī holds the field of what is to be understood, and Śiva—Viśvātmā—stands as the inner knower who prompts and fulfills the quest for liberation.
By naming Śiva as the universal Self and marking Him with the crescent moon (a Saguna emblem), the verse supports Linga/Saguna worship as a concrete focus through which the seeker’s questions resolve into direct recognition of Śiva as the indwelling reality.
Meditate on Chandrashekhara Śiva (the crescent-moon Lord) together with Devī as His Śakti, offering mental inquiry (vicāra) into the nature of the Self while repeating the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as the questioner and the answer are realized to be Śiva.