Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 22
दक्षयज्ञदर्शनम् — The Vision of Dakṣa’s Great Sacrifice
and the Onset of Vīrabhadra’s Terror
अथोवाच गणाध्यक्षो देवान्विष्णुपुरोगमान् । मन्त्राः प्रमाणं न कृता युष्माभिर्बलगर्वितैः
athovāca gaṇādhyakṣo devānviṣṇupurogamān | mantrāḥ pramāṇaṃ na kṛtā yuṣmābhirbalagarvitaiḥ
Bấy giờ vị thủ lĩnh các gaṇa của Śiva nói với chư thiên, đứng đầu là Viṣṇu: “Các ngươi kiêu căng vì sức lực, đã không tôn kính các thần chú như thẩm quyền, cũng không lấy chúng làm thước đo chân chính cho hành vi đúng đắn.”
Gaṇādhyakṣa (chief of Shiva’s gaṇas)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narration; the verse asserts mantra-pramāṇa (mantra as authoritative measure), a key Siddhānta principle for right ritual and liberation.
Type: rudram
FAQs
It warns that mere power (bala) without submission to sacred authority (mantra as pramāṇa) becomes ego-driven bondage; Shaiva teaching emphasizes humility and mantra-niṣṭhā as the correct measure of dharma and spiritual progress.
In Śaiva practice, Saguna Śiva is approached through mantra and ritual order; the verse implies that honoring mantra as pramāṇa is essential for right worship—outer strength or status cannot replace disciplined devotion to Śiva’s revealed means.
Adopt mantra-japa with humility—especially Śiva-mantras such as the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—treating mantra as the guiding standard for conduct rather than acting from pride or force.