नन्दिकेश्वरोत्पत्तिः — Nandikesvara’s Origin, Shiva’s Boons, and the Rise of Sacred Rivers
न दृष्टमेवमाश्चर्यम् आयुर्वर्षादतः परम् इत्युक्तवति विप्रेन्द्रः शिलादः पुत्रवत्सलः
na dṛṣṭamevamāścaryam āyurvarṣādataḥ param ityuktavati viprendraḥ śilādaḥ putravatsalaḥ
न दृष्टमेवमाश्चर्यम् आयुर्वर्षादतः परम् । इत्युक्तवति विप्रेन्द्रः शिलादः पुत्रवत्सलः ॥
Suta Goswami (narrating the episode of Śilāda within the Linga Purana’s Purva-Bhaga)
It frames the human condition as bound by finite āyus (lifespan), setting up the need for Śiva’s anugraha (grace) accessed through Linga-upāsanā to loosen pasha (bondage) and move the pashu (soul) toward liberation under Pati (Śiva).
By highlighting the shock of mortality’s limit, the narrative implicitly points to Śiva-tattva as that which is not limited by time (kāla) or measure—Pati who can overrule karmic finitude through grace, a key Shaiva Siddhānta theme.
The verse itself is narrative, but it signals the turn toward Śaiva sādhanā—especially Linga-pūjā and Pāśupata-oriented discipline—undertaken to transcend the bondage of time and death.