Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 16
शैवधर्मप्रशंसा तथा पञ्चविधसाधनविभागः / Praise of Śaiva Dharma and the Fivefold Classification of Practice
ते च पाशुपता ज्ञेयास्संहितानां प्रवर्तकाः । तत्संततीया गुरवः शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः
te ca pāśupatā jñeyāssaṃhitānāṃ pravartakāḥ | tatsaṃtatīyā guravaḥ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ
Know them to be Pāśupatas—the promulgators of the Saṃhitās. From their lineage arose teachers in the hundreds and even in the thousands.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
FAQs
It establishes the authority of the Pāśupata lineage as transmitters of Shaiva revelation, emphasizing that true understanding of Shiva’s path is preserved and expanded through an unbroken guru-paramparā.
By pointing to the Saṃhitā-propounders, it implies that Linga-worship and Saguna Shiva upāsanā are not merely personal inventions but taught, systematized, and handed down through authorized Shaiva teachers.
The practical takeaway is reliance on initiation and instruction from a competent Shaiva guru—through whom disciplines like mantra-japa (including the Panchakshara), bhasma-dhāraṇa (Tripuṇḍra), and Shaiva yoga are properly learned and practiced.