Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 36
शिवस्य परापरब्रह्मस्वरूपनिर्णयः / Determination of Śiva as Higher and Lower Brahman
यावत्पशुर्नैव पश्यत्यनीशं १ पुराणं भुवनस्येशितारम् । तावद्दुःखे वर्तते बद्धपाशः संसारे ऽस्मिञ्चक्रनेमिक्रमेण
yāvatpaśurnaiva paśyatyanīśaṃ 1 purāṇaṃ bhuvanasyeśitāram | tāvadduḥkhe vartate baddhapāśaḥ saṃsāre 'smiñcakranemikrameṇa
Hangga’t ang paśu—ang kaluluwang nakagapos—ay hindi pa nakakakita sa Panginoong walang pasimula, ang Sinaunang Isa, ang Soberanong Tagapamahala ng mga daigdig, hanggang doon ito’y nananatili sa dalamhati, nakatali sa mga gapos, at umiikot sa saṁsāra sa paulit-ulit na ikot ng gilid ng gulong.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shaiva Siddhanta teaching on paśu–pāśa–pati to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga narrative; it is a doctrinal statement of bondage: until paśu beholds Pati, pāśa keeps the soul rotating in saṃsāra.
Significance: Didactic: motivates darśana/jñāna of Paśupati; without it, the pilgrim remains on the ‘wheel-rim’ of repetitive births.
FAQs
It states the Shaiva Siddhanta principle that suffering continues as long as the paśu (individual soul) does not directly realize Pati—Shiva, the independent and primordial Lord; realization breaks the logic of bondage and ends cyclic sorrow.
The verse points to ‘seeing’ the Lord who rules the worlds; in practice, devotees approach this realization through saguna upāsanā such as Shiva-Linga worship, which steadies devotion and knowledge until the bound soul recognizes Shiva as the inner Lord.
A practical takeaway is steady Shiva-upāsanā—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with dhyāna on Shiva as the world-ruler—aimed at transforming mere belief into direct insight that cuts the pāśa (bond).