Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 38
शिशुकस्य शिवशास्त्रप्राप्तिः (Śiśuka’s Attainment of Śaiva Teaching and Grace)
सर्वस्मादधिको ऽस्त्येव शिवः परमकारणम् । तत्कृतं हि जगत्सर्वं ब्रह्माद्यास्तस्य किंकराः
sarvasmādadhiko 'styeva śivaḥ paramakāraṇam | tatkṛtaṃ hi jagatsarvaṃ brahmādyāstasya kiṃkarāḥ
แท้จริงพระศิวะทรงยิ่งกว่าสรรพสิ่ง และทรงเป็นเหตุสูงสุด จากพระองค์เท่านั้นจักรวาลทั้งปวงจึงบังเกิด แม้พระพรหมและเทพทั้งหลายก็เป็นเพียงผู้รับใช้ของพระองค์
Suta Goswami (narrating Shaiva doctrine to the sages of Naimisharanya, as typical of Purana discourse in the Vāyavīya Saṃhitā)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Type: stotra
Cosmic Event: cosmogony (origin of jagat from the Supreme Cause)
FAQs
It establishes Śiva as Pati—the transcendent Lord and Supreme Cause—while all other powers, including Brahmā, function under His sovereignty; realizing this hierarchy turns devotion toward the ultimate source of both bondage and liberation.
If Śiva is the Supreme Cause, then the Śiva-liṅga is worshiped as the accessible Saguna support (ālambana) of that supreme reality—honoring the liṅga is honoring the very source from which the cosmos and the gods arise.
A direct takeaway is to center one’s sādhana on Śiva as the highest—japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with liṅga-dhyāna, optionally accompanied by bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as Shaiva marks of single-pointed refuge in Śiva.