Shloka 12
भैरवावतारवर्णनम् (Bhairavāvatāra-varṇanam) — “Description of the Descent/Manifestation of Bhairava”
ब्रह्मोवाच । हे सुरा ऋषयः सर्व्वे सुमत्या शृणुतादरात् । वच्म्यहं परमं तत्त्वमव्ययं वै यथार्थतः
brahmovāca | he surā ṛṣayaḥ sarvve sumatyā śṛṇutādarāt | vacmyahaṃ paramaṃ tattvamavyayaṃ vai yathārthataḥ
Brahmā disse: «Ó deuses e todos os sábios ṛṣis, ouvi com atenção, com mente límpida e nobre. Declararei a Realidade suprema e imperecível, verdadeiramente, tal como ela é.»
Brahma
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga passage; Brahmā prepares to teach ‘parama tattva’—but the prior verse frames him as māyā-mohita, so his forthcoming exposition is narratively positioned as limited/conditioned.
Significance: Highlights the need to test teachings against Śiva-tattva and guru-paramparā; encourages seekers to rely on Śiva’s anugraha for right view.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It functions as a solemn preface: Brahmā urges reverent listening and announces that the teaching to follow concerns the highest, imperishable tattva—understood in Shaiva thought as the ultimate Lord (Pati) and the truth that leads toward liberation.
By introducing the “supreme Reality,” it prepares the listener to understand how Saguna worship (such as devotion to the Shiva-linga) serves as a doorway to realizing Shiva’s highest, unchanging nature beyond limitation.
The immediate practice is śravaṇa (reverent listening) with steady mind (sumati); as a Shaiva takeaway, it supports disciplined hearing/recitation of Shiva teachings alongside mantra-japa such as the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) to internalize the tattva being taught.