Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 35
पाशुपतज्ञानप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Pāśupata Knowledge
Paśu–Pāśa–Paśupati
सृजत्यपि च विश्वात्मा त्रिधा भिन्नस्तु रक्षति । कालः करोति सकलं कालस्संहरति प्रजाः
sṛjatyapi ca viśvātmā tridhā bhinnastu rakṣati | kālaḥ karoti sakalaṃ kālassaṃharati prajāḥ
सृष्टी करतानाही विश्वात्मा त्रिरूपाने भिन्न भासूनही निश्चयच रक्षण करतो; काळ सर्व काही घडवतो आणि काळच प्रजांचा संहार करतो।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: No direct jyotirliṅga narrative; the verse interprets the triadic appearance (tridhā bhinnaḥ) as functional differentiation while affirming the one Viśvātmā as protector and as Kāla governing all change.
Significance: Encourages seeing preservation and dissolution as expressions of the same Lord; supports equanimity and surrender (śaraṇāgati) as a preparatory disposition for anugraha.
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: Time (kāla) as the universal instrument of change; dissolution of prajāḥ implies pralaya/niyati
FAQs
It teaches that the One Lord (Pati), as the inner Self of the universe, manifests the triad of functions—creation, preservation, and dissolution—while remaining the single sovereign reality; Kala (Time) is His regulating power that ripens karma and brings beings to transformation and release.
The Linga signifies the one Shiva beyond change, while Saguna Shiva is worshiped as the Lord who performs the three cosmic acts; this verse links both by showing that the One appears as the tri-functional ruler of the cosmos through Kala.
Meditate on Shiva as Mahākāla (Lord of Time) while repeating the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” cultivating detachment from time-bound change and offering all actions to the Lord who creates, sustains, and dissolves.