Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 21
शक्त्यादिसृष्टिनिरूपणम् / The Account of Creation Beginning with Śakti
अप्रज्ञाते जगत्यस्मिन्नेक एव महेश्वरः । उपास्य रजनीं कृत्स्नां परां माहेश्वरीं ततः
aprajñāte jagatyasminneka eva maheśvaraḥ | upāsya rajanīṃ kṛtsnāṃ parāṃ māheśvarīṃ tataḥ
当此世界尚未显现、亦未为人所知之时，唯有大天摩诃提婆（Maheśvara）独自存在。其后，祂通宵礼敬至上的湿婆实相（Māheśvarī），于是更深的神圣展开随之发生。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Shakti Form: Umā
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: pre-manifest (avyakta) cosmic state prior to unfolding
FAQs
It asserts Pati (Maheshvara) as the sole, transcendent reality before manifestation, implying that liberation arises by turning the mind from the unmanifest world to Shiva, the supreme Lord.
Even when Shiva is taught as the one before creation (nirguṇa transcendence), the Purana frames approach through upāsanā—devotional worship—often expressed as saguna worship such as Linga-upāsanā leading the devotee toward the supreme Māheśvara truth.
Night-long worship (jāgaraṇa) and sustained upāsanā—akin to Mahāśivarātri observance—supporting mantra-japa (e.g., Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and steady contemplation of Shiva as the supreme reality.