Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 12
प्रणवविभागः—वेदस्वरूपत्वं लिङ्गे च प्रतिष्ठा
The Division of Oṃ, Its Vedic Forms, and Its Placement in the Liṅga
सत्त्वं गुणेषु विष्णुं च मूर्तिष्वाद्यं क्रियास्वपि । स्थितिं लोकेष्वंतरिक्षं विद्यां तत्त्वेषु च त्रिषु
sattvaṃ guṇeṣu viṣṇuṃ ca mūrtiṣvādyaṃ kriyāsvapi | sthitiṃ lokeṣvaṃtarikṣaṃ vidyāṃ tattveṣu ca triṣu
Parmi les guṇa, Il est Sattva; parmi les divinités de la préservation, Il est Viṣṇu; parmi les formes incarnées, Il est le Primordial; et même parmi les actes, Il est la puissance même de l’agir. Parmi les mondes, Il est sthiti, le maintien; parmi les régions, Il est antarīkṣa, l’espace médian; et parmi les trois principes (tattva), Il est vidyā, la connaissance illuminante qui mène l’âme vers Śiva.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teachings to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Vāmadeva
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches Śiva’s all-pervasive lordship: the same Supreme (Pati) is recognized through every layer of experience—guṇas, cosmic functions, worlds, and tattvas—guiding the soul (paśu) from worldly stability (sthiti) toward liberating knowledge (vidyā).
By identifying the Supreme through manifest principles (Sattva, preservation, forms, and cosmic regions), the verse supports Saguna contemplation—seeing Śiva’s presence in ordered creation—while pointing beyond forms through vidyā, which ripens devotion into inner realization often centered on the Śiva-liṅga.
A practical takeaway is tattva-anusandhāna (contemplation of principles): while chanting the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” meditate that Śiva is the inner ruler of sattva and the giver of vidyā; this can be paired with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and japa as a daily discipline.