Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 58
शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti
Para–Apara Ontology
रसजातं महादेवी देवो रसयिता शिवः । प्रेयजातं च गिरिजा प्रेयांश्चैव गराशनः
rasajātaṃ mahādevī devo rasayitā śivaḥ | preyajātaṃ ca girijā preyāṃścaiva garāśanaḥ
O Mahādevī, von allem, was aus rasa (Wesen, Geschmack) geboren ist, ist Śiva der göttliche Genießer, der es kostet und erfährt. Und Girijā ist aus Liebe geboren, ja ihre Verkörperung; der Geliebte aber ist wahrlich Garāśana (Śiva), der das Gift verzehrte.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Nīlakaṇṭha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga origin; the epithet Garāśana/Nīlakaṇṭha recalls the samudra-manthana episode where Śiva consumes hālāhala to protect beings—an archetype of compassionate lordship.
Significance: Meditating on Nīlakaṇṭha as ‘poison-consumer’ supports refuge (śaraṇāgati): Śiva absorbs the devotee’s inner ‘poisons’ (doṣas) and grants steadiness; Devī as rasa-jāta underscores sacred relish as Śakti’s domain.
Shakti Form: Mahādevī
Role: nurturing
Cosmic Event: samudra-manthana (implicit via Garāśana/Nīlakaṇṭha epithet)
FAQs
It presents Śiva as the supreme Pati—the conscious Lord who “tastes” all experience—while also praising his compassionate power as Garāśana, the one who consumes and neutralizes the world’s poison; with Girijā as his inseparable Śakti, love itself becomes a path to liberation.
Garāśana points to Saguna Śiva’s grace-filled form (Nīlakaṇṭha) worshipped in Liṅga devotion: devotees offer their inner ‘poisons’ (ego, anger, bondage) to the Liṅga, trusting Śiva as the divine receiver and transformer of experience.
Meditate on Śiva as Nīlakaṇṭha while repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offering mental impurities into the Liṅga; conclude with bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) remembrance as a sign of purification and surrender.