Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 3
रुद्रस्य परमात्मत्वे ब्रह्मपुत्रत्वादिसंशयप्रश्नः — Questions on Rudra’s Supremacy and His ‘Sonship’ to Brahmā
सब्रह्मकमिमं लोकं सविष्णुमपि पावकम् । यः संहरति संक्रुद्धो युगांते समुपस्थिते
sabrahmakamimaṃ lokaṃ saviṣṇumapi pāvakam | yaḥ saṃharati saṃkruddho yugāṃte samupasthite
เมื่อถึงปลายยุค ครั้นกาลแห่งปรลัยมาถึง พระองค์ทรงกริ้วในกิจแห่งการสังหาร แล้วทรงรวบคืนโลกทั้งปวงนี้ พร้อมทั้งพรหมา พร้อมทั้งวิษณุ และแม้ปาวกะ (อัคนี)
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya discourse to the sages, describing Shiva as the supreme dissolver)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who grants protection and liberation; Ujjayinī’s Mahākāleśvara is famed as a svayaṃbhū liṅga where Śiva’s kāla-tattva is especially contemplated (popular sthala traditions emphasize His supremacy over death/time).
Significance: Darśana/abhiṣeka is sought for fearlessness before death, removal of time-bound afflictions, and mokṣa-oriented grace.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: yugānta / pralaya (cosmic dissolution)
FAQs
The verse establishes Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who transcends and governs even the cosmic offices of Brahma and Vishnu—showing that all manifested powers are ultimately reabsorbed into Shiva at pralaya, guiding the seeker toward detachment and liberation.
By declaring Shiva as the one who dissolves the entire cosmos, the verse supports Linga worship as devotion to the timeless ground of being—Saguna Shiva as the accessible Lord of dissolution, and the Linga as the sign of the Nirguna reality beyond all forms.
Meditate on Shiva as the inner dissolver of bondage (pāśa) through japa of the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” supported by Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha as reminders of impermanence and reabsorption into Shiva.