ध्यानयज्ञः, संसार-विष-निरूपणम्, पाशुपतयोगः, परा-अपरा विद्या, चतुर्वस्था-विचारः (अध्यायः ८६)
अग्निरिन्द्रस् तथा विष्णुर् मित्रो देवः प्रजापतिः आधिदैविकमेवं हि चतुर्दशविधं क्रमात्
agnirindras tathā viṣṇur mitro devaḥ prajāpatiḥ ādhidaivikamevaṃ hi caturdaśavidhaṃ kramāt
آگنی، اِندر، وِشنو، مِتر، دیو اور پرجاپتی—یوں ترتیب کے ساتھ آدھیدَیوِک نظام چودہ قسم کا بیان ہوا ہے۔ شَیو فہم میں یہ مایا کے اندر کارگزار حاکم ہیں؛ مگر پتی شِو سب شمار سے ماورا، برتر پروردگار ہے۔
Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It frames the cosmos as governed by presiding deities (ādhidaivika) in a structured order; Linga-worship directs the devotee beyond these delegated powers to Śiva as Pati, the ultimate refuge and source of all divine functions.
By listing the ādhidaivika powers as a counted set, it implicitly contrasts them with Śiva-tattva: Śiva is not merely one presiding function but the transcendent Lord who empowers and surpasses the entire fourteenfold divine administration.
The takeaway is contemplative discipline: in Pāśupata-oriented practice, one recognizes devas as adhidaiva supports within bondage (pāśa) and turns the mind through japa and Linga-upāsanā toward Pati (Śiva), the liberator of the paśu (soul).