Adhyaya 61 — ग्रह-नक्षत्र-स्थाननिर्णयः
Cosmic Abodes of Luminaries and the Shaiva Order of Time
बुद्धिपूर्वं भगवता कल्पादौ सम्प्रवर्तितः स आश्रयो ऽभिमानी च सर्वस्य ज्योतिरात्मकः
buddhipūrvaṃ bhagavatā kalpādau sampravartitaḥ sa āśrayo 'bhimānī ca sarvasya jyotirātmakaḥ
Al comienzo del kalpa, el Señor Bienaventurado hizo surgir primero a Buddhi (la inteligencia cósmica). Después se manifiesta el principio que se vuelve sostén de todo, el que asume la “yoidad” (abhimāna) y la esencia luminosa (jyotis) que lo impregna todo.
Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological teaching as received in the Purana’s lineage)
It frames the Linga as the sign of the supreme Jyotis (luminous reality) that supports all tattvas; worship of the Linga is thus worship of the substratum beyond Buddhi and abhimāna.
Shiva is implied as the Bhagavan who initiates manifestation and whose essence is Jyotis—He is Pati, the ultimate support and illuminator of all principles, while the ‘I’-sense belongs to the evolutes, not to the transcendent Lord.
A key Pāśupata-Yogic takeaway is to observe and dissolve abhimāna (egoic identification) through meditation on the inner jyotis while performing Linga-pūjā as contemplation of the all-supporting reality.