Shloka 15
नन्दिकेशावतारवर्णनम् (Nandikeśa Avatāra Varṇanam) — “Account of the Descent/Origin of Nandikeśvara”
अहं च विष्णुर्भगवान्द्रुहिणश्च महामुने । अयोनिजं मृत्युहीनं पुत्रं दातुं न शक्नुमः
ahaṃ ca viṣṇurbhagavāndruhiṇaśca mahāmune | ayonijaṃ mṛtyuhīnaṃ putraṃ dātuṃ na śaknumaḥ
O great sage, neither I, nor the blessed Lord Viṣṇu, nor Druhiṇa (Brahmā) is able to grant a son who is not born of the womb and is free from death. Such a boon lies beyond us; only the Supreme Śiva, the Pati beyond birth and decay, can bestow what transcends created nature.
Brahma (Druhiṇa)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadashiva
FAQs
The verse establishes a Shaiva Siddhānta hierarchy: created deities operate within māyā and karma, while Śiva as Pati alone transcends birth and death. Therefore, truly “deathless” grace is not a product of creation but a gift of the Supreme.
The Liṅga signifies Śiva’s reality beyond form and limitation; worship of Saguna Śiva through the Liṅga leads the devotee toward the deathless, unborn principle (Nirguna) that Brahmā and Viṣṇu cannot manufacture as a worldly boon.
A practical takeaway is steadfast Śiva-upāsanā—especially japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with devotion—seeking Śiva’s grace for liberation rather than demanding impossible worldly boons.