Shloka 17
युद्धप्रस्थान-वर्णनम्
Departure to the Battlefield and the Śaiva Overlordship over the Devas
तथा ब्रह्माहं सतनुस्तदंतं वीक्षितुं ययौ । भित्त्वा पातालनिलयं गत्वा दूरतरं हरिः
tathā brahmāhaṃ satanustadaṃtaṃ vīkṣituṃ yayau | bhittvā pātālanilayaṃ gatvā dūrataraṃ hariḥ
അപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ ബ്രഹ്മാവ് ദേഹരൂപം ധരിച്ചു ആ അനന്തസ്തംഭത്തിന്റെ അറ്റം കാണാൻ പുറപ്പെട്ടു. ഹരി (വിഷ്ണു) പാതാളലോകങ്ങളെ ഭേദിച്ച് അതിന്റെ അടിത്തറ തേടി കൂടുതൽ കൂടുതൽ ദൂരത്തേക്ക് പോയി।
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Brahmā–Viṣṇu search of the endless Liṅga to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: The Liṅgodbhava episode is narrated in the Viśveśvarasaṃhitā to establish Śiva as the limitless axis (stambha) beyond Brahmā’s upward search and Viṣṇu’s downward search; Kāśī’s Viśveśvara is traditionally contemplated as that very ‘ananta-stambha’ made accessible to devotees as a liṅga.
Significance: Darśana of Viśveśvara is framed as direct access to the transcendent ‘endless pillar’ that neither Brahmā nor Viṣṇu can measure—granting pāśa-kṣaya (loosening of bondage) through Śiva’s self-revelation.
Cosmic Event: Revelation of the endless fiery liṅga-stambha that defeats cosmic measurement (a tirodhāna-līlā over Brahmā and Viṣṇu).
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva Siddhānta insight that the Supreme Lord (Pati), symbolized by the infinite Liṅga/Column, is beyond the reach of limited intellect and ego; even exalted deities cannot “measure” Him, and humility before Shiva’s infinitude becomes the doorway to grace.
The verse situates the Liṅga as a revelatory form through which the boundless (ultimately transcendent) Shiva becomes worship-worthy and contemplatable; the Liṅga points to Shiva’s immeasurable reality while remaining a concrete focus for devotion and ritual.
A practical takeaway is Liṅga-dhyāna: meditate on Shiva as limitless light and presence, paired with steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” cultivating humility and surrender rather than a desire to “conquer” the divine by mere effort.