Shloka 30
पार्वतीवाक्यं—शिवस्य परब्रह्मत्व-निरूपणम्
Pārvatī’s Discourse: Establishing Śiva as Parabrahman
विष्णुर्ब्रह्मापि न समस्तस्य क्वापि महात्मनः । कुतोऽन्ये निर्जराद्याश्च कालाधीनास्सदैवतम्
viṣṇurbrahmāpi na samastasya kvāpi mahātmanaḥ | kuto'nye nirjarādyāśca kālādhīnāssadaivatam
Even Viṣṇu and Brahmā are not, in any way, the all-inclusive Supreme Great Self. How much less, then, are the other gods—beginning with the so-called ‘deathless’ devas—who, along with their divinities, remain ever subject to Time (Kāla).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a sthala-purāṇa passage; it establishes Śiva’s paratva (supremacy) over Brahmā–Viṣṇu and the devas by stressing their subjection to Kāla, a standard Purāṇic move to ground later narratives of Śiva’s grace.
Significance: Supports the bhāva that even the highest cosmic offices are within time; hence refuge (śaraṇāgati) is to Parameśvara alone—an inner ‘tīrtha’ orientation rather than a site-specific merit.
Cosmic Event: Kāla as universal limiter over devas; implicit contrast with Śiva as kālātīta (beyond time).
FAQs
It establishes the Shaiva view that the Supreme (Pati) is beyond even Brahmā and Viṣṇu, while all other divine powers remain conditioned by Kāla; liberation comes by taking refuge in Shiva who transcends Time.
The Liṅga symbolizes the all-inclusive Supreme that is not limited to any deity-form; worship of Saguna Shiva through the Liṅga leads the devotee toward realization of Shiva as the transcendent Lord beyond Kāla.
Single-pointed Shiva-upāsanā—especially japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with devotion—supports turning the mind away from time-bound powers toward the Time-transcending Lord.