Shloka 88
Praṇava-Māhātmya and the Twofold Mantra (Sūkṣma–Sthūla) in Śaiva Sādhanā
ब्रह्मविष्णुमहेशानां स्वस्वायुर्दिनमुच्यते । तदूर्ध्वं न दिनं रात्रिर्न जन्ममरणादिकम्
brahmaviṣṇumaheśānāṃ svasvāyurdinamucyate | tadūrdhvaṃ na dinaṃ rātrirna janmamaraṇādikam
For Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa, the measure of their respective lifespan is spoken of in terms of “days.” Beyond that supreme state, however, there is neither day nor night, nor anything such as birth, death, and the rest.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Significance: Viveka between conditioned cosmic offices (Brahmā/Viṣṇu/Maheśa within time-measures) and the supratemporal state; supports vairāgya and aspiration for Śiva’s grace beyond saṃsāra.
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: Transcendence of cosmic time (day/night) and saṃsāra (birth/death) asserted
FAQs
It contrasts cosmic time (even for the highest deities) with the supreme, timeless reality—where liberation means freedom from all temporal conditions like day/night and from saṃsāra such as birth and death.
Linga worship points the devotee from measurable, formed reality (saguṇa manifestations within time) toward the timeless Pati—Śiva—who transcends cosmic cycles; the Linga is a gateway-symbol to that beyond-time state.
Contemplate Śiva as Kāla-atiīta (beyond time) while repeating the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and steady the mind in inner Linga-dhyāna, aiming at detachment from change, fear of death, and temporal anxieties.