Shloka 20
Śiva-Śakti Tattva, Varṇa-Rahasya, and Mahāvākya-Bhāvanā
Interpretive Discipline
सर्वोत्कृष्टश्च सर्वात्मा परब्रह्म स ईरितः । परश्चाथापरश्चेति परात्परमिति त्रिधा
sarvotkṛṣṭaśca sarvātmā parabrahma sa īritaḥ | paraścāthāparaśceti parātparamiti tridhā
He is proclaimed as the Supreme Brahman—higher than all and the inner Self of all. That Supreme is described in a threefold way: as para (the Transcendent), as apara (the Immanent within manifestation), and as parātpara (the Transcendent beyond the transcendent).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Mantra: paraścāthāparaśceti parātparamiti
Role: teaching
FAQs
It defines Shiva as Parabrahman and teaches that the Lord is simultaneously beyond the world, present within it as its inner Self, and ultimately incomparable—parātpara—guiding the seeker from limited identity to liberation under the grace of Pati.
The threefold description supports Linga worship as a bridge: the devotee approaches Shiva in a graspable form (apara/saguna) while realizing the same Lord as transcendent (para) and finally as the unsurpassed Absolute (parātpara) beyond all limiting concepts.
Meditate on Shiva as sarvātmā (the indwelling Self) while repeating the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—letting attention move from form-based devotion to the recognition of the Lord as para and parātpara.