ध्यानयज्ञः, संसार-विष-निरूपणम्, पाशुपतयोगः, परा-अपरा विद्या, चतुर्वस्था-विचारः (अध्यायः ८६)
अन्नमयो ऽसौ भूतात्मा चाद्यते ह्यन्नमुच्यते प्राणमयश्चेन्द्रियात्मा संकल्पात्मा मनोमयः
annamayo 'sau bhūtātmā cādyate hyannamucyate prāṇamayaścendriyātmā saṃkalpātmā manomayaḥ
Cet être incarné est nommé « annamaya » (fait de nourriture), car il est soutenu par la nourriture et l’on dit aussi qu’il est nourriture. Il est également « prāṇamaya » (fait de prāṇa) en tant que souffle vital; « indriyātmā » comme puissance de perception et d’action; et « manomaya » (fait de mental) comme le soi intérieur dont la nature est le saṅkalpa — volonté et intention.
Suta Goswami (narrating Purāṇic teaching to the sages, preserving an inner doctrinal exposition on the pashu’s layered embodiment)
It frames the worshipper (pashu) as layered—body, prāṇa, senses, and mind—so Linga-pūjā becomes an inward purification: offering food, breath-discipline, sense-restraint, and mental saṅkalpa to Shiva (Pati) who transcends these sheaths.
By detailing what the embodied self is made of, it implicitly contrasts Shiva-tattva as the Pati: not a product of food, breath, senses, or mind, but the transcendent lord who can liberate the pashu from pasha rooted in identification with these layers.
A Pāśupata-oriented inner discipline: prāṇa-sādhana (regulation of vital breath), indriya-nigraha (sense control), and saṅkalpa-śuddhi (purifying intention) alongside external offerings in Shiva-pūjā.