Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 7
श्रद्धामाहात्म्यं तथा देवीप्रश्नः
The Greatness of Śraddhā and Devī’s Question to Śiva
महीधरवरे दिव्ये मंदरे चारुकंदरे । देव्या सह महादेवो दिव्यो ध्यानगतो ऽभवत् । तदा देव्याः प्रियसखी सुस्मितास्या शुभावती । फुल्लान्यतिमनोज्ञानि पुष्पाणि समुदाहरत्
mahīdharavare divye maṃdare cārukaṃdare | devyā saha mahādevo divyo dhyānagato 'bhavat | tadā devyāḥ priyasakhī susmitāsyā śubhāvatī | phullānyatimanojñāni puṣpāṇi samudāharat
സുന്ദര ഗുഹകളുള്ള ദിവ്യ ശ്രേഷ്ഠമായ മന്ദരപർവതത്തിൽ ദേവിയോടൊപ്പം മഹാദേവൻ ദിവ്യധ്യാനത്തിൽ ലീനനായി. അപ്പോൾ ദേവിയുടെ പ്രിയസഖി—മന്ദഹാസമുഖിയായ ശുഭാവതി—പൂർണ്ണമായി വിരിഞ്ഞ അതിമനോഹര പുഷ്പങ്ങൾ ശേഖരിച്ചു.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Mandara mountain is presented as a divine retreat where Śiva and Devī enter luminous meditation; the setting sacralizes the landscape as a yogic-kṣetra rather than a specific Jyotirliṅga site.
Significance: Model for tīrtha-like sanctification: meditation of the Divine Couple renders the place fit for dhyāna and bhakti.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It presents Śiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who bestows grace through dhyāna—while the presence of Devī shows Śakti inseparable from Him; the blossoming flowers symbolize the purified mind and devotion offered to the Divine Couple.
Though the Liṅga is not named here, the scene supports Saguna worship: devotees approach Śiva through meditational contemplation and offerings (like flowers), which are central to Liṅga-pūjā in the Shiva Purana tradition.
It suggests dhyāna (steady contemplation of Śiva with Devī) along with upacāras such as offering fresh flowers—an archetypal Shiva Purana practice often paired with mantra-japa like “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”