Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 21
शक्त्यादिसृष्टिनिरूपणम् / The Account of Creation Beginning with Śakti
अप्रज्ञाते जगत्यस्मिन्नेक एव महेश्वरः । उपास्य रजनीं कृत्स्नां परां माहेश्वरीं ततः
aprajñāte jagatyasminneka eva maheśvaraḥ | upāsya rajanīṃ kṛtsnāṃ parāṃ māheśvarīṃ tataḥ
この世界がいまだ顕れず、知られもしなかったとき、ただ大自在天マハーデーヴァ（マヘーシュヴァラ）ひとりのみが在った。のち、至上のシヴァの実在（マーヘーシュヴァリー）を一夜ことごとく礼拝し、さらに神聖なる展開が起こった。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Shakti Form: Umā
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: pre-manifest (avyakta) cosmic state prior to unfolding
FAQs
It asserts Pati (Maheshvara) as the sole, transcendent reality before manifestation, implying that liberation arises by turning the mind from the unmanifest world to Shiva, the supreme Lord.
Even when Shiva is taught as the one before creation (nirguṇa transcendence), the Purana frames approach through upāsanā—devotional worship—often expressed as saguna worship such as Linga-upāsanā leading the devotee toward the supreme Māheśvara truth.
Night-long worship (jāgaraṇa) and sustained upāsanā—akin to Mahāśivarātri observance—supporting mantra-japa (e.g., Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and steady contemplation of Shiva as the supreme reality.