Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 61
शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti
Para–Apara Ontology
प्राणः पिनाकी सर्वेषां प्राणिनां भगवान्प्रभुः । प्राणस्थितिस्तु सर्वेषामंबिका चांबुरूपिणी
prāṇaḥ pinākī sarveṣāṃ prāṇināṃ bhagavānprabhuḥ | prāṇasthitistu sarveṣāmaṃbikā cāṃburūpiṇī
For all living beings, the Blessed Lord Pinākī (Śiva) is Prāṇa itself—the indwelling life‑breath and sovereign Master. And for all beings, the sustaining ground of that prāṇa is Ambikā (Pārvatī), whose form is water—nourishing, supporting, and life‑bearing.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Shakti Form: Parvati
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It identifies Śiva as the inner Prāṇa (Pati, the supreme Lord) within all beings, while Ambikā is taught as the sustaining Śakti that supports life—showing the inseparable Shiva–Shakti principle behind existence.
In Saguna worship, the Liṅga signifies Śiva as the indwelling ruler present in all; this verse supports that contemplation by equating Him with prāṇa itself, while honoring Ambikā as His manifest sustaining power in the world.
Prāṇa-dhyāna with japa: while breathing, repeat the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and contemplate Śiva as the life within the breath, offering the breath’s steadiness to Him and the sustaining flow to Ambikā.