Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 33
शिवदूतस्य शङ्खचूडकुलप्रवेशः — The Śiva-Envoy’s Entry into Śaṅkhacūḍa’s City
कालाधीनं जगत्सर्वं विज्ञेयं सचराचरम् । कालाद्भवति सर्वं हि विनश्यति च कालतः
kālādhīnaṃ jagatsarvaṃ vijñeyaṃ sacarācaram | kālādbhavati sarvaṃ hi vinaśyati ca kālataḥ
Sabe que todo este universo—o que se move e o que não se move—está sob o governo do Tempo (Kāla). Do Tempo tudo nasce, e pelo Tempo também tudo perece.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana discourse to the sages at Naimisharanya, within the Rudra Saṃhitā narrative frame)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who subdues death and governs dissolution; the jyotirliṅga tradition associates Him with the supremacy of Kāla over all beings, yet Kāla itself is under Śiva.
Significance: Worship of Mahākāla is sought for fearlessness before death/time, removal of karmic afflictions, and steadiness in dharma.
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: Kāla as the universal principle of origination and dissolution (cosmic temporality underlying yugas/kalpas).
FAQs
It teaches vairāgya (dispassion) by showing that all conditioned existence is time-bound—arising and dissolving under Kāla—thereby directing the seeker toward Shiva (Pati), who grants liberation beyond worldly change.
Linga-worship anchors the mind in the timeless Lord: while the world is governed by Kāla, devotion to Saguna Shiva through the Linga leads the devotee toward realizing Shiva’s transcendence over time and dissolution.
Meditate on impermanence while japa-ing the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”); offer water and bilva to the Shiva-linga with the resolve to detach from the time-bound and seek Shiva’s grace for moksha.