Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 34
द्वितीयतृतीयावरणपूजाक्रमः | The Sequence of the Second and Third Enclosure Worship (Āvaraṇa-pūjā)
तृतीयावरणे चैव राशीन्द्वादश पूजयेत् । सप्तसप्त गणांश्चैव बहिस्तस्य समंततः
tṛtīyāvaraṇe caiva rāśīndvādaśa pūjayet | saptasapta gaṇāṃścaiva bahistasya samaṃtataḥ
Dans le troisième enclos, qu’on vénère les douze rāśi, les signes du zodiaque. Et au-dehors, tout autour, qu’on honore aussi les troupes de Gaṇa, disposées en sept groupes de sept.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: Zodiacal (rāśi) ordering and gaṇa-hosts mapped onto ritual space: the cosmos is stabilized (sthiti) by being ritually ‘placed’ around Śiva.
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva-worship can be performed as a complete, ordered cosmos: the devotee honors both the cosmic principles (the twelve rāśis) and Śiva’s sacred retinue (the Gaṇas), offering all levels of existence back to Pati (Lord Śiva).
The enclosure (āvaraṇa) method frames the Liṅga/Saguna Śiva at the center, with successive circles of worship around it; by venerating rāśis and Gaṇas, the devotee acknowledges Śiva as the inner ruler of time, direction, and all attendant powers.
It suggests āvaraṇa-pūjā (layered worship) in a maṇḍala: in the third ring worship the twelve rāśis, then in the outer perimeter worship Śiva’s Gaṇas in a structured count (seven sets of seven), while maintaining mantra-japa and focused devotion to the central Śiva principle.