Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 8
शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti
Para–Apara Ontology
शिवयोर्वै वशे विश्वं न विश्वस्य वशे शिवौ । ईशितव्यमिदं यस्मात्तस्माद्विश्वेश्वरौ शिवौ
śivayorvai vaśe viśvaṃ na viśvasya vaśe śivau | īśitavyamidaṃ yasmāttasmādviśveśvarau śivau
विश्व शिव-शिवेच्या अधीन आहे; शिव (युगल) विश्वाच्या अधीन नाहीत. हे जग शासनीय असल्यामुळे शिवच ‘विश्वेश्वर’ आहेत.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha as the Lord who rules the cosmos; the verse’s epithet aligns with the Kāśī tradition where Śiva is worshipped as the universal sovereign granting liberation.
Significance: Darśana of Viśvanātha is held to confer viśvavyāpin-aiśvarya-bodha and, in Kāśī theology, mokṣa through Śiva’s anugraha.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It establishes Shiva as Pati (the Supreme Lord) who governs the cosmos and is never conditioned by it—affirming divine sovereignty and the path of liberation through recognizing Shiva’s supreme lordship.
Calling Shiva “Viśveśvara” supports Saguna worship—approaching the transcendent Lord through the Linga as the sovereign presence who rules and sustains the universe while remaining beyond worldly limitation.
Contemplate Shiva as Viśveśvara while repeating the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), offering water and bilva to the Linga, and meditating on surrender (śaraṇāgati) to the Lord who alone governs all.