Shloka 12
Śivāṣṭamūrti-varṇanam
Description of Shiva’s Eight Forms
आत्मा तस्याष्टमं रूपं शिवस्य परमात्मनः । व्यापिकेतरमूर्तीनां विश्वं तस्माच्छिवात्मकम्
ātmā tasyāṣṭamaṃ rūpaṃ śivasya paramātmanaḥ | vyāpiketaramūrtīnāṃ viśvaṃ tasmācchivātmakam
Ātman, diri individu, ialah rupa kelapan Shiva, Paramātman. Maka, daripada rupa-rupa-Nya—yang meliputi segalanya dan yang terzahir setempat—seluruh alam semesta pada hakikatnya bersifat Shiva.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadashiva
Significance: Supports the Śaiva Siddhānta contemplative move: recognize Śiva as the inner ruler of both vyāpaka (all-pervading) and avayāpaka/itara (localized) manifestations; pilgrimage here is ‘antar-yātrā’ (inner recognition).
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that the soul’s inner reality is inseparable from Shiva’s supreme principle: Shiva is both transcendent and immanent, so the universe and the self are to be contemplated as Shivamaya (pervaded by Shiva).
By affirming Shiva’s localized forms alongside His all-pervading nature, it supports Saguna worship—such as Linga-puja—as a valid approach to the same Supreme Shiva who also pervades all beings as the inner Self.
Meditate on Shiva as the indwelling Self while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and perform Linga worship with the insight that the deity is both within (Ātman) and present as the sanctified form (mūrti).