Shloka 25
मेनावरलाभवर्णनम् — Description of Menā’s Attainment of Boons
and the worship leading to Umā’s advent
नित्यानित्यैर्भावहीनैः परास्तैस्तत्तन्मात्रैर्योज्यते भूतवर्गः । तेषां शक्तिस्त्वं सदा नित्यरूपा काले योषा योगयुक्ता समर्था
nityānityairbhāvahīnaiḥ parāstaistattanmātrairyojyate bhūtavargaḥ | teṣāṃ śaktistvaṃ sadā nityarūpā kāle yoṣā yogayuktā samarthā
By the subtle essences (tanmātras)—some held to be eternal and some non-eternal—devoid of independent being and subordinate in nature, the multitude of elements is brought into ordered combination. You are the Power (Śakti) of them all, ever of eternal form; as Time’s sovereign Lady, united with Yoga, you are fully capable of manifesting and governing the cosmos.
Lord Shiva (as part of a theological praise describing Devī/Śakti in the Pārvatīkhaṇḍa narrative)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Lalitā
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: cosmogonic ordering of bhūtas via tanmātras
FAQs
The verse identifies Devī (Śakti) as the operative power behind the tanmātras and the bhūtas, teaching that cosmic manifestation is not independent matter but a governed, subordinate process under Shiva’s supreme principle—experienced as Śakti, the eternal, yogic power that orders creation and leads the soul toward liberation.
Liṅga worship in the Shiva Purana honors Shiva as Pati (the Lord) together with His inseparable Śakti. This verse supports Saguna devotion by presenting the manifest cosmos (elements and time) as functioning through Śakti—so offering to the Liṅga is symbolically offering to the source and governor of all tattvas.
A practical takeaway is Śiva-Śakti dhyāna: meditate on the Liṅga as Shiva with Śakti as the inner power governing time and the elements, and chant the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to steady yoga and recognize all experience as subordinate to the Lord’s Śakti.