Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 13
अग्नीषोमात्मकविश्ववर्णनम् / The Universe as Agni–Soma
Fire and Nectar
असकृच्चाग्निना दग्धं जगद्यद्भस्मसात्कृतम् । अग्नेर्वीर्यमिदं चाहुस्तद्वीर्यं भस्म यत्ततः
asakṛccāgninā dagdhaṃ jagadyadbhasmasātkṛtam | agnervīryamidaṃ cāhustadvīryaṃ bhasma yattataḥ
Mereka menyatakan bahawa bhasma (abu suci) itulah sendiri daya Agni; kerana dunia ini berulang kali dibakar oleh api hingga menjadi abu; maka abu yang terhasil itu disebut sebagai kekuatan Api.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Aghoramūrti
Cosmic Event: cyclic conflagration (world repeatedly reduced to ash)
FAQs
This verse grounds bhasma in cosmic truth: all compounded existence is ultimately reduced to ash, so bhasma becomes a Shaiva reminder of impermanence, purification, and the soul’s turning from pasha (bondage) toward Pati (Shiva).
In Saguna Shiva worship, bhasma is offered and worn as Tripuṇḍra to honor Shiva as the transformer who dissolves impurity; it also points beyond form to the Nirguna reality—when all forms are ‘burned away,’ the devotee seeks Shiva alone as the abiding Truth.
The verse supports the Shaiva practice of applying bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) with mantra—commonly alongside Om Namaḥ Śivāya—as a daily contemplation that the ego and attachments are to be ‘burned’ in the fire of knowledge and devotion.