Varaha-Pradurbhava Context: Prahlada’s Bhakti, Narasimha’s Ugra-Form, and Shiva’s Sharabha Intervention
जाताय बहुधा लोके प्रभूताय नमोनमः रुद्राय नीलरुद्राय कद्रुद्राय प्रचेतसे
jātāya bahudhā loke prabhūtāya namonamaḥ rudrāya nīlarudrāya kadrudrāya pracetase
世において無数のあり方で生まれ、豊かに顕現する御方に、重ねて礼拝します。ルドラに礼拝—青き喉のルドラに、赤褐のルドラに—そして万知の主プラチェータスに礼拝します。
Suta Goswami (narrating a traditional Rudra-stuti within the Linga Purana discourse)
It frames Linga-puja as worship of the one Pati (Shiva) who pervades and manifests as many forms; the Linga is the unifying sign (liṅga) of that single Reality behind all appearances.
Shiva is presented as simultaneously one and many: the same Rudra appears ‘bahudhā’ (in countless modes) while remaining the supremely conscious Pracetas—Pati who knows and governs the states of Pashu and the workings of Pasha.
The practice is stuti (sacred praise) as a core upacāra of Shiva-puja; inwardly, it supports Pāśupata-bhāva by fixing awareness on Rudra as the all-pervading Lord rather than on limited identities.