नन्दिकेशावतारवर्णनम् (Nandikeśa Avatāra Varṇanam) — “Account of the Descent/Origin of Nandikeśvara”
अहं च विष्णुर्भगवान्द्रुहिणश्च महामुने । अयोनिजं मृत्युहीनं पुत्रं दातुं न शक्नुमः
ahaṃ ca viṣṇurbhagavāndruhiṇaśca mahāmune | ayonijaṃ mṛtyuhīnaṃ putraṃ dātuṃ na śaknumaḥ
O dakilang muni, ni ako, ni ang mapagpalang Panginoong Viṣṇu, ni si Druhiṇa (Brahmā) ay hindi makapagkakaloob ng anak na hindi isinilang sa sinapupunan at malaya sa kamatayan. Ang gayong biyaya ay lampas sa amin; tanging ang Kataas-taasang Śiva, ang Pati na lampas sa pagsilang at pagkabulok, ang makapagbibigay ng higit sa nilikhang kalikasan.
Brahma (Druhiṇa)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadashiva
The verse establishes a Shaiva Siddhānta hierarchy: created deities operate within māyā and karma, while Śiva as Pati alone transcends birth and death. Therefore, truly “deathless” grace is not a product of creation but a gift of the Supreme.
The Liṅga signifies Śiva’s reality beyond form and limitation; worship of Saguna Śiva through the Liṅga leads the devotee toward the deathless, unborn principle (Nirguna) that Brahmā and Viṣṇu cannot manufacture as a worldly boon.
A practical takeaway is steadfast Śiva-upāsanā—especially japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with devotion—seeking Śiva’s grace for liberation rather than demanding impossible worldly boons.