Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 47
अनुग्रह-स्वातन्त्र्य-प्रमाणविचारः | Inquiry into Pramāṇa, Divine Autonomy, and Grace
न हि काष्ठं ज्वलत्यूर्ध्वमग्निरेव ज्वलत्यसौ । काष्ठस्यांगारता नाग्नेरेवमत्रापि योज्यताम्
na hi kāṣṭhaṃ jvalatyūrdhvamagnireva jvalatyasau | kāṣṭhasyāṃgāratā nāgnerevamatrāpi yojyatām
Не дерево поистине пылает — пылает лишь огонь. То, что дерево становится углём, не есть превращение огня. Так и здесь применимо то же рассуждение: изменение принадлежит орудию, а не Господу, дарующему ему силу.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya philosophical teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
FAQs
The verse uses the fire-and-wood analogy to teach that transformation belongs to the finite vehicle (body, mind, and world), while Shiva—the supreme Pati and inner power—remains unchanged, pure, and self-luminous.
In Linga worship, the devotee approaches Shiva through a sacred form, yet this verse reminds us that the form and the worshipper undergo change, while Shiva (signified by the Linga) is the steady, unmodified reality that makes all experience possible.
Meditate while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), contemplating Shiva as the unchanging ‘fire’ of consciousness and the body-mind as the ‘wood’ that changes—support this with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence and inner purity.