Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 34
दक्षस्य रुद्रनिन्दा-निमित्तकथनम् / The Cause of Dakṣa’s Censure of Rudra
सहस्राणि शतान्यष्टौ तदानीं पुरतो ययुः । तेषां मध्ये वृषारूढो गजारूढो यथा गुरुः
sahasrāṇi śatānyaṣṭau tadānīṃ purato yayuḥ | teṣāṃ madhye vṛṣārūḍho gajārūḍho yathā guruḥ
Alors, huit cent mille s’avancèrent en tête. Au milieu d’eux se tenait Celui qui montait le taureau, tel un précepteur vénérable, comme assis sur un éléphant, dominant tous par sa majesté.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; it is a procession-march image: vast hosts advance, and Śiva appears centrally as Vṛṣārūḍha (bull-mounted), the guru-like sovereign among the multitude.
Significance: Meditating on Vṛṣārūḍha Śiva as jagad-guru strengthens devotion and the sense of being guided from bondage (pāśa) toward liberation through his anugraha.
FAQs
The verse presents Shiva as the central, guiding presence—like the Guru—amidst vast multitudes, implying that liberation and right movement in life arise when the soul (pashu) is oriented toward Pati, the Lord who leads from within and above.
By depicting Shiva in a visible, iconic form (Vrisharudha—mounted on Nandi), it supports Saguna upasana: devotion to the manifest Lord. Such visualization naturally complements Linga worship, where the same Shiva is adored as the supreme reality accessible through symbol and form.
A practical takeaway is dhyana on Shiva as Vrisharudha (with Nandi), coupled with japa of the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namah Shivaya,” cultivating guru-bhava—seeing Shiva as the inner teacher guiding one beyond bondage (pasha).