Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 33
शैवधर्मप्रशंसा तथा पञ्चविधसाधनविभागः / Praise of Śaiva Dharma and the Fivefold Classification of Practice
तस्य प्रकृतिलीनस्य यः परस्स महेश्वरः । तदधीनप्रवृत्तित्वात्प्रकृतेः पुरुषस्य च
tasya prakṛtilīnasya yaḥ parassa maheśvaraḥ | tadadhīnapravṛttitvātprakṛteḥ puruṣasya ca
Celui qui est plus élevé que ce principe absorbé en Prakṛti est en vérité Maheśvara ; car Prakṛti et Puruṣa n’agissent l’un et l’autre qu’en dépendance de Lui.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Role: liberating
FAQs
It establishes Śiva as Maheśvara—the supreme Pati—transcending Prakṛti and yet governing the activity of both Prakṛti and the individual self (Puruṣa), pointing to liberation through dependence on Him rather than on material causation.
Though Śiva is declared transcendent beyond Prakṛti and Puruṣa, the devotee approaches that same supreme Lord through Saguna forms—especially the Śiva-liṅga—as an accessible focus for devotion and contemplation, leading the mind toward the Nirguna truth.
Meditate on Śiva as the inner ruler (antaryāmin) of both body-nature (Prakṛti) and the self (Puruṣa), and support this contemplation with japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offered before the liṅga with bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) and steady bhakti.