Shloka 17
प्रलय-तत्त्वलयः, नीललोहित-रुद्रः, अष्टमूर्तिस्तवः, एवं ब्रह्मणो वैराग्यम्
मुने कल्पान्तरे रुद्रो हरिं ब्रह्माणम् ईश्वरम् ततो ब्रह्माणमसृजन् मुने कल्पान्तरे हरिः
mune kalpāntare rudro hariṃ brahmāṇam īśvaram tato brahmāṇamasṛjan mune kalpāntare hariḥ
O sage, in one kalpa Rudra—the sovereign Lord—manifested Hari as Brahmā; and in another kalpa, O sage, Hari in turn brought forth Brahmā. Thus the functions of creation appear in succession, while the supreme Lord, Pati, remains the inner ruler beyond the changing kalpas.
Suta Goswami
FAQs
It frames creation as a cyclical function that shifts among deities, while the supreme Īśvara (Rudra/Śiva) remains the abiding Pati—supporting Linga worship as devotion to the unchanging Lord behind all cosmic roles.
Śiva-tattva is indicated as Īśvara—sovereign and transcendent—who can manifest or empower other divine forms for sṛṣṭi, yet is not limited by those roles across kalpas.
The implied practice is Pāśupata discernment: meditating on Pati (Śiva) as the inner ruler beyond the changing kalpa-functions, a contemplative foundation for Linga-pūjā and liberation of the paśu from pāśa.