Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 20
शिवरूपदर्शनम्
Menā’s Vision of Śiva’s Divine Form
तस्मिंश्च समये तत्र सुषमा या परात्मनः । वर्णितुं तां विशेषेण कश्शक्नोति मुनीश्वर
tasmiṃśca samaye tatra suṣamā yā parātmanaḥ | varṇituṃ tāṃ viśeṣeṇa kaśśaknoti munīśvara
そしてその時、その場所において、至上の自己（シヴァ）の比類なき卓越が燦然と輝き出た。聖仙の主よ、その栄光を余すところなく詳らかに語り尽くせる者が、いったい誰であろうか。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: The verse is a rhetorical ‘anirvacanīyatā’ trope: Śiva’s paramātma-glory is beyond full description, a common purāṇic marker of transcendence rather than a site-specific māhātmya.
Significance: Encourages humility in discourse and prioritizes direct devotion/experience (bhakti, darśana) over exhaustive description; suggests that Śiva’s greatness is inexhaustible (ananta).
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva as the Paramātman is ultimately beyond complete verbal description; the devotee approaches this transcendence through humility, reverence, and bhakti rather than mere intellectual narration.
Though Śiva’s supreme reality is ineffable (Paramātman), the tradition points devotees to accessible saguna forms—especially the Śiva-liṅga—through which the mind can contemplate and worship what cannot be fully captured by words.
A practical takeaway is japa with the Pañcākṣarī mantra ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") with inward contemplation, accepting that mantra and devotion lead the mind toward Śiva’s glory even when speech falls short.