Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 26
शिवस्य परापरब्रह्मस्वरूपनिर्णयः / Determination of Śiva as Higher and Lower Brahman
तमाहुर्विगुणं केचिद्गुणवन्तं परे विदुः । केचित्संसारिणं प्राहुस्तमसंसारिणं परे
tamāhurviguṇaṃ kecidguṇavantaṃ pare viduḥ | kecitsaṃsāriṇaṃ prāhustamasaṃsāriṇaṃ pare
Some declare Him to be beyond all qualities (nirguṇa), while others know Him as possessed of qualities (saguṇa). Some call Him bound to transmigration, while others proclaim Him as ever free from transmigration.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
FAQs
It highlights the seeming contradictions people project onto Śiva—nirguṇa/saguṇa and saṃsāra-bound/saṃsāra-free—pointing to Śiva as the supreme Pati who transcends limited viewpoints and is ultimately the liberator of the soul.
The Liṅga and other forms support saguṇa devotion for embodied seekers, while the same Śiva is realized as nirguṇa in higher contemplation—one reality approached through form and then known beyond form.
Adopt saguṇa upāsanā—japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with reverence for the Liṅga—while meditating on Śiva as asaṃsārī (ever free), letting devotion mature into inner stillness and liberation-oriented insight.