Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 3
कालतत्त्वनिर्णयः / Doctrine of Kāla (Time) and Its Subordination to Śiva
ब्रह्मा हरिश्च रुद्रश्च तथान्ये च सुरासुराः । यत्कृतां नियतिं प्राप्य प्रभवो नातिवर्तितुम्
brahmā hariśca rudraśca tathānye ca surāsurāḥ | yatkṛtāṃ niyatiṃ prāpya prabhavo nātivartitum
Brahmā, Hari (Viṣṇu) et Rudra, ainsi que d’autres devas et asuras, ayant été soumis à l’ordonnance (niyati) établie par le Seigneur Suprême, ne peuvent la transgresser, si puissants soient-ils.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya philosophical teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Cosmic Event: cosmic governance: niyati (ordinance) binding even high deities and anti-gods
FAQs
It establishes the supremacy of the Lord’s niyati (divinely set order): even the highest cosmic powers function within His governance, guiding the seeker toward humility, surrender, and reliance on Śiva as Pati (the Supreme).
Liṅga-worship trains the devotee to recognize the Lord as the immutable ground of all cosmic functions—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra act within His ordinance—so devotion to Saguna Śiva becomes a doorway to realizing His transcendent sovereignty.
The takeaway is śaraṇāgati (surrender): daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offered with bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and inward remembrance that one’s actions should align with dharma under the Lord’s niyati.