अन्धकानुग्रहः—शूलारोपणं, रुद्रस्मरण-फलम्, तथा गाणपत्य-प्रदानम् (अध्याय 93)
भगवन्देवदेवेश भक्तार्तिहर शङ्कर त्वयि भक्तिः प्रसीदेश यदि देयो वरश् च मे
bhagavandevadeveśa bhaktārtihara śaṅkara tvayi bhaktiḥ prasīdeśa yadi deyo varaś ca me
ഭഗവൻ, ദേവദേവേശാ, ഭക്തരുടെ ആർതി നീക്കുന്ന ശങ്കരാ! പ്രസന്നനാകണമേ. എനിക്കു വരം നൽകണമെങ്കിൽ, നിനക്കുള്ള അചഞ്ചല ഭക്തിയേ ദയചെയ്യുക.
A devotee (within Suta’s narration) addressing Lord Shiva
It places bhakti itself as the supreme “vara” (boon), implying that outer Linga-puja is fulfilled when the heart becomes firmly established in devotion to Pati (Shiva).
Shiva is invoked as Deva-Deveśa (transcendent Lord over all devas) and Bhaktārti-hara (the compassionate remover of devotees’ suffering), highlighting His anugraha (grace) as central to liberation of the pashu.
The key practice is single-pointed devotion (bhakti-niṣṭhā) as the inner limb of worship—aligned with Pāśupata orientation where Shiva’s grace loosens pāśa (bondage) and steadies the pashu in Pati.