Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 65
सेवातत्त्वप्रश्नः — The Question of Whom to Serve (Sevā) for the Removal of Suffering
सगुणानिर्गुणा प्राप्तिर्भवती सुनिश्चितम् । एवं च सर्वदेवानां प्रतिमा प्रत्ययावहा
saguṇānirguṇā prāptirbhavatī suniścitam | evaṃ ca sarvadevānāṃ pratimā pratyayāvahā
Il est absolument certain qu’en s’approchant comme il se doit du Saguṇa (avec attributs), on parvient au Nirguṇa (sans attributs). Ainsi, les images sacrées de tous les dieux deviennent, pour le dévot, porteuses d’une conviction ferme et d’une foi recueillie.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Role: teaching
Offering: dhupa
FAQs
The verse teaches that worship of the manifest—Shiva approached through name, form, and attributes—steadies the mind and matures devotion, culminating in realization of the unmanifest, nirguṇa truth.
It supports the Shaiva principle that saguna worship (including the Śiva-liṅga) is a valid and powerful means: the icon becomes a pratyaya—an anchor of certainty—through which the devotee is led toward nirguṇa realization.
Regular, focused saguna upāsanā—such as liṅga-pūjā with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—is implied as the practical method for gaining steadiness of faith and inward absorption.