Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 15
शक्त्यादिसृष्टिनिरूपणम् / The Account of Creation Beginning with Śakti
यावदादिसमारंभो यावद्यः प्रलयो महान् । तावदप्येति सकलं ब्रह्मणः शारदां शतम्
yāvadādisamāraṃbho yāvadyaḥ pralayo mahān | tāvadapyeti sakalaṃ brahmaṇaḥ śāradāṃ śatam
സൃഷ്ടിയുടെ ആദി ആരംഭം മുതൽ മഹാപ്രളയം വരെ എത്ര കാലമോ, അത്രകാലം തന്നെയാണ് സമസ്ത ജഗച്ചക്രം പ്രവഹിക്കുന്നത്—അത് ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ നൂറ് ശരദ്വർഷങ്ങളുടെ അളവാണ്.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as Lord of Time who grants liberation from the fear of death; the jyotirliṅga is revered as the timeless ruler before whom even cosmic measures (kalpa, pralaya) are small.
Significance: Worship is sought for mastery over time, removal of fear, and auspicious transformation at life’s thresholds; especially famed for pradoṣa and śivarātri observances.
Cosmic Event: mahāpralaya (great dissolution) as the terminus of a cosmic cycle
FAQs
It relativizes even Brahmā’s vast lifespan by placing it within the cycle of creation and dissolution, encouraging detachment from worldly time and turning the seeker toward the timeless Lord Shiva (Pati) who grants moksha.
The Linga signifies Shiva beyond beginning and end; by contrasting cosmic time with Brahmā’s limited measure, the verse supports Linga-worship as meditation on the eternal reality that transcends srishti and pralaya.
Meditate on impermanence while japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), offering bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder that all forms return to dissolution, while Shiva alone remains the refuge.