Shloka 99
अन्यतो भाव्यतेऽवश्यं मायया जन्म कथ्यते । जीर्यते जन्मकालाद्यत्तस्माज्जीव इति स्मृतः
anyato bhāvyate'vaśyaṃ māyayā janma kathyate | jīryate janmakālādyattasmājjīva iti smṛtaḥ
Because it is inevitably conceived as “something other” than Śiva, its embodied condition is said to arise through Māyā. And since it decays from the very moment of birth onward, it is therefore remembered as the jīva—the individual soul bound in life.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Shiva Purana teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
FAQs
It defines the jīva as the soul that, under Māyā, takes itself to be separate from Śiva and thus enters birth and decay. The teaching points toward liberation by removing this ‘otherness’ through Śiva-knowledge and devotion.
Linga-worship centers the mind on Śiva as the one Reality beyond Māyā. By steady devotion to Saguna Śiva (with form) through the Linga, the jīva’s separative notion is purified, preparing it for realization of Śiva’s supreme nature.
A practical takeaway is japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with contemplation that the ‘I’ is not separate from Śiva, supported by Śaiva disciplines like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as aids to steadiness and detachment.