Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 16
मन्दरगिरिवर्णनम् — Description of Mount Mandara as Śiva’s Residence
Tapas-abode
अधोमुखैरूर्ध्वमुखैश्शृंगैस्तिर्यङ्मुखैस्तथा । प्रपतन्निव पाताले भूपृष्ठादुत्पतन्निव
adhomukhairūrdhvamukhaiśśṛṃgaistiryaṅmukhaistathā | prapatanniva pātāle bhūpṛṣṭhādutpatanniva
ചില ശിഖരങ്ങൾ അധോമുഖവും ചിലത് ഊർധ്വമുഖവും മറ്റുചിലത് തിര്യക്മുഖവും ആയിരുന്നു; അത് പാതാളത്തിലേക്ക് പതിക്കുന്നതുപോലെയും ഭൂതലത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പൊങ്ങിവരുന്നതുപോലെയും തോന്നി।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Sthala Purana: The verse is a poetic mountain-description (śailavarṇana) emphasizing paradoxical orientation—peaks seeming to plunge into Pātāla while also erupting from earth—evoking the cosmic axis (skambha) motif rather than a specific Jyotirliṅga legend.
Significance: Contemplation of Śiva as the transcendent immanent Lord who pervades upper and lower worlds; supports bhāvanā of the liṅga as the cosmic pillar connecting realms.
Cosmic Event: Allusion to vertical cosmology (Bhū-loka to Pātāla), suggesting the Lord’s domain across lokas rather than a calendrical event.
FAQs
The imagery of peaks pointing down, up, and sideways conveys the unstable, shifting nature of the manifested world; in Shaiva Siddhanta this underscores that the soul (paśu) should seek the steady refuge of Pati (Shiva), rather than rely on the oscillations of worldly states.
By contrasting the turbulent, contradictory movements of the world with the need for an unwavering center, the verse supports the devotional turn toward Saguna Shiva—often approached through Linga-worship—as the stable focus through which grace leads beyond change.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with inward concentration, cultivating equanimity amid ‘rising and falling’ conditions; if performed ritually, it may be paired with Tripundra (bhasma) and Rudraksha as stabilizing Shaiva disciplines.