Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 22
दक्षयज्ञदर्शनम् — The Vision of Dakṣa’s Great Sacrifice
and the Onset of Vīrabhadra’s Terror
अथोवाच गणाध्यक्षो देवान्विष्णुपुरोगमान् । मन्त्राः प्रमाणं न कृता युष्माभिर्बलगर्वितैः
athovāca gaṇādhyakṣo devānviṣṇupurogamān | mantrāḥ pramāṇaṃ na kṛtā yuṣmābhirbalagarvitaiḥ
Lalu ketua gaṇa Śiva berkata kepada para dewa, dengan Viṣṇu di hadapan mereka: “Wahai kamu yang angkuh dengan kekuatan, kamu tidak memuliakan mantra sebagai ukuran yang berwibawa, dan tidak menjadikannya neraca sejati bagi perbuatan yang benar.”
Gaṇādhyakṣa (chief of Shiva’s gaṇas)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narration; the verse asserts mantra-pramāṇa (mantra as authoritative measure), a key Siddhānta principle for right ritual and liberation.
Type: rudram
FAQs
It warns that mere power (bala) without submission to sacred authority (mantra as pramāṇa) becomes ego-driven bondage; Shaiva teaching emphasizes humility and mantra-niṣṭhā as the correct measure of dharma and spiritual progress.
In Śaiva practice, Saguna Śiva is approached through mantra and ritual order; the verse implies that honoring mantra as pramāṇa is essential for right worship—outer strength or status cannot replace disciplined devotion to Śiva’s revealed means.
Adopt mantra-japa with humility—especially Śiva-mantras such as the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—treating mantra as the guiding standard for conduct rather than acting from pride or force.