Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 47
अनुग्रह-स्वातन्त्र्य-प्रमाणविचारः | Inquiry into Pramāṇa, Divine Autonomy, and Grace
न हि काष्ठं ज्वलत्यूर्ध्वमग्निरेव ज्वलत्यसौ । काष्ठस्यांगारता नाग्नेरेवमत्रापि योज्यताम्
na hi kāṣṭhaṃ jvalatyūrdhvamagnireva jvalatyasau | kāṣṭhasyāṃgāratā nāgnerevamatrāpi yojyatām
Ce n’est pas le bois qui brûle véritablement ; c’est le feu seul qui flamboie. Que le bois devienne braise n’est pas une transformation du feu. Qu’on applique ici la même règle : le changement appartient à l’instrument, non au Seigneur qui lui confère sa puissance.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya philosophical teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
FAQs
The verse uses the fire-and-wood analogy to teach that transformation belongs to the finite vehicle (body, mind, and world), while Shiva—the supreme Pati and inner power—remains unchanged, pure, and self-luminous.
In Linga worship, the devotee approaches Shiva through a sacred form, yet this verse reminds us that the form and the worshipper undergo change, while Shiva (signified by the Linga) is the steady, unmodified reality that makes all experience possible.
Meditate while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), contemplating Shiva as the unchanging ‘fire’ of consciousness and the body-mind as the ‘wood’ that changes—support this with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence and inner purity.