Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्
प्रभुर्लोकहितार्थाय दंष्ट्रयाभ्युज्जहार गाम् ततः स्वस्थानमानीय पृथिवीं पृथिवीधरः
prabhurlokahitārthāya daṃṣṭrayābhyujjahāra gām tataḥ svasthānamānīya pṛthivīṃ pṛthivīdharaḥ
Por el bien de los mundos, el Señor Supremo alzó la Tierra con su colmillo; luego, como Portador de la Tierra, trajo de vuelta a Pṛthivī y la estableció de nuevo en su propio lugar.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It presents Shiva as Pati—the supreme upholder who restores stability (dharma). Linga worship internalizes this truth: by centering consciousness on the Linga, the devotee aligns the world within (microcosm) with the Lord’s restoring power (macrocosm).
Shiva-tattva is shown as sovereign compassion and governance: the Lord acts “for the welfare of the worlds,” lifting and re-establishing the earth—symbolizing Pati freeing order from chaos and loosening the bonds (pāśa) that overwhelm pashu (the embodied soul/world).
The takeaway is protective surrender (śaraṇāgati) and dhāraṇā: steadiness of mind like the earth being set in its place. In Pashupata-oriented practice, the devotee fixes awareness on Mahadeva as the stabilizing support (dhara) who removes upheaval and re-establishes inner order.