Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 31
शैवधर्मप्रशंसा तथा पञ्चविधसाधनविभागः / Praise of Śaiva Dharma and the Fivefold Classification of Practice
त्रयोविंशतितत्त्वेभ्यः प्रकृतिर्हि परा मता । प्रकृतेस्तु परं प्राहुः पुरुषं पञ्चविंशकम्
trayoviṃśatitattvebhyaḥ prakṛtirhi parā matā | prakṛtestu paraṃ prāhuḥ puruṣaṃ pañcaviṃśakam
Au-delà des vingt-trois tattva, Prakṛti est tenue pour supérieure. Et au-delà de Prakṛti, ils proclament le Puruṣa, le vingt-cinquième principe.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It maps the seeker’s ascent from material evolutes (tattvas) to Prakṛti, and then to the conscious Puruṣa, preparing the Shaiva Siddhanta insight that liberation culminates in turning beyond both toward the Supreme Lord (Pati), Shiva.
Linga-worship trains the mind to recognize the Lord as the transcendent ground of consciousness beyond Prakṛti and Puruṣa; Saguna Shiva is worshipped as the compassionate revealer who guides the soul past tattva-identification toward Shiva-realization.
A practical takeaway is tattva-viveka (discriminative meditation): while japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), contemplate that the body-mind belongs to Prakṛti, the witnessing awareness is Puruṣa, and pray to Shiva (Pati) for release from bondage (pāśa).