Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 42
सर्गविभागवर्णनम्
Classification of Creation: the Nine Sargas and the Streams of Beings
ईशाय वसवे तुभ्यं नमस्स्पर्शमयात्मने । पशूनां पतये चैव पावकायातितेजसे । भीमाय व्योमरूपाय शब्दमात्राय ते नमः । उग्रायोग्रस्वरूपाय यजमानात्मने नमः । महादेवाय सोमाय नमोस्त्वमृतमूर्तये
īśāya vasave tubhyaṃ namassparśamayātmane | paśūnāṃ pataye caiva pāvakāyātitejase | bhīmāya vyomarūpāya śabdamātrāya te namaḥ | ugrāyograsvarūpāya yajamānātmane namaḥ | mahādevāya somāya namostvamṛtamūrtaye
Salutations to You, Lord Īśa—Vasu, the indwelling Power, whose very Self is manifest as touch. Salutations to You, Paśupati, Lord of beings—the Fire of transcendent splendor. Salutations to You, Bhīma, the Terrible, whose form is the vast sky, who is the very essence of sound. Salutations to You, Ugra, the Fierce, who abides as the inner Self of the sacrificer. Salutations to Mahādeva, to Soma—the embodiment of the deathless nectar, amṛta.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Ishana
Sthala Purana: Not a specific Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse is a multi-epithet stuti mapping Śiva to subtle elements (tanmātras) and cosmic functions.
Mantra: īśāya vasave tubhyaṃ namassparśamayātmane | paśūnāṃ pataye caiva pāvakāyātitejase | bhīmāya vyomarūpāya śabdamātrāya te namaḥ | ugrāyograsvarūpāya yajamānātmane namaḥ | mahādevāya somāya namostvamṛtamūrtaye
Type: stotra
Cosmic Event: Subtle-element (tanmātra) identification: sparśa (touch) and śabda (sound) are invoked as Śiva’s own self-manifestations, implying his immanence through māyā-tattva while remaining transcendent.
FAQs
The verse praises Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who pervades the tattvas (sense-principles like touch and sound) yet remains transcendent, showing that liberation comes by devotion to the all-pervading Mahādeva who rules and releases the bound souls (paśu).
By invoking Shiva through divine names and cosmic functions (fire, space, sound, inner sacrificer), the verse supports Saguna worship—approaching the formless Supreme through sacred forms and attributes, a key method in Linga-upāsanā where the Linga signifies Shiva’s all-pervasive presence.
Use japa of Shiva’s names (Īśa, Paśupati, Ugra, Bhīma, Mahādeva) with contemplation that Shiva is the inner Self of the worshipper (yajamāna-ātmā), integrating devotion with inward meditation; this pairs naturally with Panchākṣarī japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) in Shaiva practice.