Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 26
कालतत्त्वनिर्णयः / Doctrine of Kāla (Time) and Its Subordination to Śiva
न यस्य कालो न च बंधमुक्ती न यः पुमान्न प्रकृतिर्न विश्वम् । विचित्ररूपाय शिवाय तस्मै नमःपरस्मै परमेश्वराय
na yasya kālo na ca baṃdhamuktī na yaḥ pumānna prakṛtirna viśvam | vicitrarūpāya śivāya tasmai namaḥparasmai parameśvarāya
礼敬至上主、至高自在天湿婆（Parameśvara Śiva）：时间于彼不适用；于彼无系缚亦无解脱；彼非补鲁沙（puruṣa），非原质（prakṛti），亦非显现之宇宙；然而彼能示现奇妙多样之形相。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: A doxology to Parameśvara: Śiva is beyond kāla and beyond the duality of bondage and liberation; He is not reducible to puruṣa, prakṛti, or the manifest cosmos, yet manifests ‘vicitra-rūpa’ for the sake of the world and devotees.
Significance: Directs devotion to the transcendent Pati who alone can remove pāśa; stabilizes Siddhānta distinction: paśu’s bandha-mukti are real for the soul, but not attributes of Śiva.
Mantra: vicitrarūpāya śivāya tasmai namaḥ parasmai parameśvarāya
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse proclaims Śiva as Parameśvara who transcends time and all dualities such as bondage and liberation, revealing Him as the ultimate Reality (Pati) beyond soul, matter, and cosmos, yet capable of compassionate manifestation for devotees.
It harmonizes nirguṇa and saguṇa: Śiva is beyond prakṛti and the universe (nirguṇa), yet ‘vicitra-rūpa’—He takes many forms (saguṇa). The Liṅga is worshiped as the timeless, attribute-transcending symbol through which the Supreme becomes accessible.
Meditate on Śiva as the transcendent Parameśvara while chanting the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” contemplating that He is beyond time and dualities, and offering inner salutations to the Liṅga as the Supreme ground of liberation.