Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 18
शुक्रोत्पत्तिः तथा महेश्वरदर्शनम् (Śukra’s Emergence and the Vision of Maheśvara)
अष्टोत्तरशतं ह्येतन्मूर्तीनां परमात्मनः । शिवस्य दानवो ध्यायन्मुक्तस्तस्मान्महाभयात्
aṣṭottaraśataṃ hyetanmūrtīnāṃ paramātmanaḥ | śivasya dānavo dhyāyanmuktastasmānmahābhayāt
En vérité, voici les cent huit manifestations du Soi suprême, le Seigneur Śiva. En les contemplant, même l’asura fut délivré de cette grande terreur.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a specific jyotirliṅga episode; the verse generalizes the salvific power of contemplating Śiva’s aṣṭottaraśata (108) mūrtis, a pan-Indian liturgical motif used at many liṅga-sthalas.
Significance: Hearing/reciting/meditating on Śiva’s forms is presented as fear-destroying and liberating—applicable to any Śiva-kṣetra.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse teaches that remembrance and meditation on Śiva’s 108 manifestations steadies the soul (paśu) in devotion to Pati (Śiva), dissolving bhaya (existential fear) and leading toward release (mukti) through Śiva’s grace.
The 108 mūrtis represent Saguna expressions of the one Paramātman Śiva; worship of the Liṅga and contemplation of these forms are complementary—one points to the formless reality (Nirguna) through accessible sacred forms (Saguna).
A practical takeaway is Shiva-dhyāna: mentally contemplate Śiva’s forms while repeating a Śiva-mantra (such as the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) as a fear-dispelling, liberation-oriented practice.