Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 23
रुद्ररथ-निर्माणवर्णनम् / Description of Rudra’s Divine Chariot Construction
पाशास्समंततस्तस्य सर्वे वर्षाचलास्स्मृताः । तलास्तस्य रथस्याऽथ सर्वे तलनिवासिनः
pāśāssamaṃtatastasya sarve varṣācalāssmṛtāḥ | talāstasya rathasyā'tha sarve talanivāsinaḥ
Tous les lacets (pāśa) qui l’entouraient étaient compris comme les montagnes Varṣa de tous côtés; et les mondes inférieurs (tala) étaient, en vérité, établis comme la base de son char, avec tous les êtres qui demeurent dans ces royaumes souterrains.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Cosmic Event: Mapping of bonds (pāśa) onto cosmic geography (varṣa-mountains; talas)
FAQs
The verse uses cosmic imagery—nooses as mountains and the talas as a chariot-base—to show how bondage (pāśa) and the entire cosmos can be portrayed as instruments within divine order; in Shaiva Siddhanta, liberation comes when Pati (Śiva) removes pāśa from the paśu (bound soul).
Though not directly naming the Liṅga, the verse supports Saguna understanding: Śiva’s manifest power governs all realms (from mountains to netherworlds). Liṅga-worship trains the mind to see the whole universe as upheld and transcended by Śiva, the Lord of all planes.
A practical takeaway is pāśa-kṣaya-bhāvanā: while japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), contemplate Śiva as the remover of inner bonds (attachments and karmic fetters), extending awareness through all “levels” of the being—like the talas—until steadied in Śiva.