Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 27
शिवतत्त्ववर्णनम् (Śiva-tattva-varṇana) — “Description/Exposition of the Principle of Śiva”
श्रीमहेश उवाच । प्रलयस्थितिसर्गाणां कर्ताहं सगुणोऽगुणः । परब्रह्म निर्विकारी सच्चिदानंदलक्षणः
śrīmaheśa uvāca | pralayasthitisargāṇāṃ kartāhaṃ saguṇo'guṇaḥ | parabrahma nirvikārī saccidānaṃdalakṣaṇaḥ
Śrī Maheśa dit : Je suis l’agent de la dissolution, du maintien et de la création—à la fois avec attributs (saguṇa) et au-delà des attributs (nirguṇa). Je suis le Brahman suprême, immuable, dont la nature est Être, Conscience et Béatitude (sat–cit–ānanda).
Lord Shiva (Śrī Maheśa)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Mantra: pralayasthitisargāṇāṃ kartāhaṃ saguṇo'guṇaḥ | parabrahma nirvikārī saccidānaṃdalakṣaṇaḥ
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: Cosmic governance declaration: Śiva as agent of sarga-sthiti-pralaya while remaining nirvikārī (unchanged)
FAQs
The verse declares Shiva as the Supreme Reality who both governs cosmic functions (creation, preservation, dissolution) and transcends all limiting qualities—revealing him as Parabrahman, changeless sat–cit–ānanda, the ground of liberation.
By affirming Shiva as both saguṇa and nirguṇa, it supports Linga worship as a sacred focus for the manifest Lord while pointing the devotee toward realizing the same Shiva as the attributeless Absolute beyond form.
Meditate on Shiva as sat–cit–ānanda while chanting the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” using the saguṇa form (Linga) for steady devotion and contemplation leading toward nirguṇa realization.