Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 8
उपमन्युतपः-निवारणप्रसङ्गः / Śiva restrains Upamanyu’s tapas (Śiva disguised as Indra)
अथ जगाम मुनेस्तु तपोवनं गजवरेण सितेन सदाशिवः । सह सुरासुरसिद्धमहोरगैरमरराजतनुं स्वयमास्थितः
atha jagāma munestu tapovanaṃ gajavareṇa sitena sadāśivaḥ | saha surāsurasiddhamahoragairamararājatanuṃ svayamāsthitaḥ
Luego Sadāśiva se dirigió al bosque de austeridades del sabio, montado en un espléndido elefante blanco, señor entre los elefantes. Acompañado por devas, asuras, siddhas y grandes serpientes, él mismo asumió la refulgente forma del rey de los inmortales (Indra).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the setting is Upamanyu’s tapovana where Śiva arrives in disguise to bless the devotee.
Significance: Tapovana motif: sanctity of ascetic spaces where Śiva grants direct anugraha to the steadfast bhakta.
FAQs
It shows Sadāśiva as the supreme Pati who, out of compassion, enters the tapovana and reveals himself through a chosen form; his sovereignty is affirmed by the assembly of devas, asuras, siddhas, and nāgas moving under his will.
Though Shiva is beyond form, he is also Saguna for devotees—here he assumes an Indra-like splendor to bless and instruct. Linga-worship similarly honors the formless through a gracious, worshipable manifestation.
Contemplate Shiva as the inner Lord (Pati) who can appear in any form; in practice, pair japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with dhyāna on Shiva’s compassionate descent into the devotee’s heart-tapovana.