Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 35
द्वितीयतृतीयावरणपूजाक्रमः | The Sequence of the Second and Third Enclosure Worship (Āvaraṇa-pūjā)
ऋषीन्देवांश्च गंधर्वान्पन्नगानप्सरोगणान् । ग्रामण्यश्च तथा यक्षान्यातुधानांस्तथा हयान्
ṛṣīndevāṃśca gaṃdharvānpannagānapsarogaṇān | grāmaṇyaśca tathā yakṣānyātudhānāṃstathā hayān
The Lord’s power gathered and brought together the Ṛṣis and the Devas, the Gandharvas, the Nāgas, and the hosts of Apsarases; likewise the leaders of communities, the Yakṣas, the fierce Yātudhānas who roam by night, and even the horses—so that every order of being stood within the compass of the Lord’s sovereign presence.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Cosmic Event: All orders of beings—divine, semi-divine, terrestrial and chthonic—are enumerated as present within a single sacral field, implying a cosmic ‘gathering’ under the Lord’s rule.
FAQs
It emphasizes Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who encompasses and governs every class of being, from sages and gods to spirits and fierce entities—showing that all powers ultimately stand under one divine sovereignty.
By portraying all beings assembled under the Lord’s presence, the verse supports Saguna worship: the Linga is revered as the accessible, unifying form through which diverse beings and devotees approach the same supreme Shiva.
A practical takeaway is to cultivate samāveśa (inner recollection) through japa of the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—while applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder that all beings and powers are held within Shiva’s order.