भैरवावतारवर्णनम् (Bhairavāvatāra-varṇanam) — “Description of the Descent/Manifestation of Bhairava”
असौ हि परमेशानस्स्वयंज्योतिस्सनातनः । आनन्दरूपा तस्यैषा शक्तिर्नागन्तुकी शिवा
asau hi parameśānassvayaṃjyotissanātanaḥ | ānandarūpā tasyaiṣā śaktirnāgantukī śivā
He indeed is Parameśāna, the Supreme Lord, self-luminous and eternal. His power—Śivā, whose very nature is bliss—is not acquired from elsewhere, but is intrinsic to Him.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Shakti Form: Umā
Role: nurturing
Offering: dipa
It declares Shiva as self-luminous and eternal, and teaches that bliss (ānanda) is not an external attainment but arises from realizing Shiva and His inseparable Śakti as one reality—guiding the seeker toward liberation.
Linga worship points to the svayaṃjyoti (self-effulgent) Shiva beyond form; at the same time, devotion to Saguna Shiva honors His manifest Śakti. The verse supports both: the formless light-principle and its auspicious power present in worship.
Meditate on Shiva as inner light (jyoti-dhyāna) while repeating the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” contemplating that Śivā-Śakti (blissful power) is intrinsic and ever-present, not something to be imported from outside.