Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 18
शिवस्य परापरब्रह्मस्वरूपनिर्णयः / Determination of Śiva as Higher and Lower Brahman
प्रधानं प्रकृतिं प्राहुःक्षेत्रज्ञं पुरुषं तथा । त्रयोविंशतितत्त्वानि व्यक्तमाहुर्मनीषिणः
pradhānaṃ prakṛtiṃ prāhuḥkṣetrajñaṃ puruṣaṃ tathā | trayoviṃśatitattvāni vyaktamāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ
Para resi menyatakan bahawa Pradhāna ialah Prakṛti, dan bahawa Sang “Pengenal Medan” (Kṣetrajña) itulah Puruṣa. Mereka juga mengatakan bahawa alam yang termanifestasi terdiri daripada dua puluh tiga tattva.
Suta Goswami (narrating Vāyavīya philosophical teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It distinguishes the insentient ground of experience (Prakṛti/Pradhāna) from the conscious knower (Kṣetrajña/Puruṣa), preparing the Shaiva Siddhanta insight that liberation comes by transcending the tattvas and bonds (pāśa) through the grace of Pati (Śiva).
By mapping reality into Prakṛti, the knower, and the manifest tattvas, the text points to Śiva as the supreme Lord beyond and governing these categories; Linga worship focuses the mind on that Pati—who is not merely one more tattva, but the transcendent and immanent Lord who grants release.
A practical takeaway is tattva-viveka (discernment meditation): contemplate the body-mind as part of the manifested principles while resting as the knower, and support this with japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” to seek Śiva’s grace for freedom from pāśa.