Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 36
शिवस्य परापरब्रह्मस्वरूपनिर्णयः / Determination of Śiva as Higher and Lower Brahman
यावत्पशुर्नैव पश्यत्यनीशं १ पुराणं भुवनस्येशितारम् । तावद्दुःखे वर्तते बद्धपाशः संसारे ऽस्मिञ्चक्रनेमिक्रमेण
yāvatpaśurnaiva paśyatyanīśaṃ 1 purāṇaṃ bhuvanasyeśitāram | tāvadduḥkhe vartate baddhapāśaḥ saṃsāre 'smiñcakranemikrameṇa
Selama paśu—jiwa yang terikat—belum memandang Tuhan yang tanpa permulaan, Yang Purba, Penguasa segala alam; selama itu ia tetap dalam dukacita, terbelenggu oleh ikatan, berputar dalam saṁsāra ini menurut putaran berulang pada bibir roda.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shaiva Siddhanta teaching on paśu–pāśa–pati to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga narrative; it is a doctrinal statement of bondage: until paśu beholds Pati, pāśa keeps the soul rotating in saṃsāra.
Significance: Didactic: motivates darśana/jñāna of Paśupati; without it, the pilgrim remains on the ‘wheel-rim’ of repetitive births.
FAQs
It states the Shaiva Siddhanta principle that suffering continues as long as the paśu (individual soul) does not directly realize Pati—Shiva, the independent and primordial Lord; realization breaks the logic of bondage and ends cyclic sorrow.
The verse points to ‘seeing’ the Lord who rules the worlds; in practice, devotees approach this realization through saguna upāsanā such as Shiva-Linga worship, which steadies devotion and knowledge until the bound soul recognizes Shiva as the inner Lord.
A practical takeaway is steady Shiva-upāsanā—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with dhyāna on Shiva as the world-ruler—aimed at transforming mere belief into direct insight that cuts the pāśa (bond).