Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 10
अवभृथस्नान-तीर्थयात्रा-तेजोदर्शनम् | Avabhṛtha Bath, Tīrtha-Pilgrimage, and the Vision of Divine Radiance
अथ पाशुपताः सिद्धाः भस्मसञ्छन्नविग्रहाः । मुनयो ऽभ्येत्य शतशो लीनाः स्युस्तत्र तेजसि
atha pāśupatāḥ siddhāḥ bhasmasañchannavigrahāḥ | munayo 'bhyetya śataśo līnāḥ syustatra tejasi
Darauf kamen zu Hunderten die vollendeten Pāśupata-Siddhas, deren Leiber mit heiliger Asche bedeckt waren; und jene Munis gingen, als sie sich näherten, in eben jenem Tejas des Herrn auf.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a specific jyotirliṅga episode; the focus is on Pāśupata siddhas drawn to Śiva’s tejas and attaining laya (absorption) by grace.
Significance: Models the ideal of Śaiva asceticism: bhasma-dhāraṇa, tapas, and surrender culminating in proximity to Śiva and transformative absorption.
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: Mystical laya into divine tejas—presented as a grace-event rather than a cosmological dissolution.
FAQs
It portrays the Shaiva Siddhanta ideal of liberation: perfected Pāśupatas, purified by discipline and marked by bhasma, draw near to Paśupati and become absorbed in His tejas—signifying release from pasha (bondage) and resting in Shiva’s grace-filled consciousness.
The approach of the sages indicates upāsanā of Saguna Shiva (often through Linga-worship and Shaiva observances). Their final absorption into “tejas” points beyond form to Shiva’s subtle presence, showing how Saguna worship culminates in realization of the Lord’s transcendent radiance.
The explicit marker is bhasma—sacred ash worn as a Shaiva vow (Tripuṇḍra), paired with Pāśupata discipline: approaching Shiva with devotion, mantra-japa (especially the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and meditative absorption (laya) into the Lord’s light.