Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 18
शैवधर्मप्रशंसा तथा पञ्चविधसाधनविभागः / Praise of Śaiva Dharma and the Fivefold Classification of Practice
तस्माच्छ्रेष्ठमनुष्ठानं योगः पाशुपतो मतः । तत्राप्युपायको युक्तो ब्रह्मणा स तु कथ्यते
tasmācchreṣṭhamanuṣṭhānaṃ yogaḥ pāśupato mataḥ | tatrāpyupāyako yukto brahmaṇā sa tu kathyate
Ainsi, la plus haute observance spirituelle est tenue pour le Yoga Pāśupata. Et même en son sein, le moyen juste (upāya) est véritablement enseigné par Brahmā.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Role: teaching
FAQs
It declares Pāśupata Yoga—union with Paśupati (Śiva) through disciplined Shaiva practice—as the supreme observance, and stresses that liberation depends on a correct upāya (method) taught in the tradition, not on mere austerity or theory.
Pāśupata Yoga is typically grounded in Saguna Śiva-upāsanā—approaching Śiva as Paśupati through worship and contemplation—often centered on the Liṅga as the accessible form through which devotion, purity, and meditative steadiness mature toward realization.
The verse points to a structured Shaiva upāya: disciplined yoga supported by Śiva-oriented worship and contemplation; in Shiva Purana practice this commonly aligns with mantra-japa (e.g., Pañcākṣarī/“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and Shaiva marks like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as aids to steadiness and remembrance.