Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 5
कालतत्त्वनिर्णयः / Doctrine of Kāla (Time) and Its Subordination to Śiva
क एष भगवान् कालः कस्य वा वशवर्त्ययम् । क एवास्य वशे न स्यात्कथयैतद्विचक्षण
ka eṣa bhagavān kālaḥ kasya vā vaśavartyayam | ka evāsya vaśe na syātkathayaitadvicakṣaṇa
賢者よ、この尊ぶべき時（カーラ Kāla）とはいったい何者か。誰の支配のもとにそれは動くのか。さらに、もしあるならば、その支配に服さぬ者は誰か。明らかに説き示したまえ。
A questioning sage (disciple) addressing a wise narrator in the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā discourse (within Sūta-style Purāṇic narration).
Tattva Level: pashu
Role: teaching
FAQs
It frames a key Shaiva inquiry: the nature of Kāla as a power governing embodied existence, and the search for the Supreme principle (Pati/Śiva) who is ultimately beyond limitation and thus the ground of liberation.
By questioning who rules Time, the verse directs devotion toward the highest Lord who transcends temporal change; worship of the Liṅga as Saguna Śiva becomes a contemplative support to realize the timeless (beyond Kāla) reality of Śiva.
A practical takeaway is contemplative japa with the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while reflecting that all change is governed by Kāla, and that refuge in Śiva leads beyond fear of time and death.