He is the Lord who is intimately connected with knowledge, the beautiful one who bears the Halahala poison. In his dance, he holds aloft the mighty trident, shining with radiance as the supreme Lord of dancers. He is the sovereign of the universe, the great god, three-eyed, and the destroyer of Tripura. Ever youthful in form, he embodies forbearance, stands as the protector of righteousness, and his banner bears the noble bull. He is the vanquisher of Kama, the enemy of Andhaka, the king among Siddhas, and is sky-clad. As the consort of Shri, he is Shankara, the creator, the lord of all knowledge, ever pure and sinless. He is known as Aruna, of many forms, Virupaksha, imperishable in his essence. His nature is existence, consciousness, and bliss—he is the soul of all beings and the sustainer of life. He is the giver of knowledge, the bestower of liberation, and fulfills the desires of his devotees. Wielding the trident, he is the Lord of creatures, Shambhu, self-born, the Lord of the mountain, and ever gracious. There are countless other divine names of his, as spoken of in the ancient texts. It is said, “Because I delight in circumambulation and have taken the form of the Śoṇa mountain, I have made this place my eternal abode, O daughter of the mountain, never leaving it.” The goddess then asked, “Tell me, O lord of the Śoṇa mountain, the greatness of circumambulation. At what time, in what manner, and by whom should circumambulation be performed, as it was done in the past?” He replied, “Listen, O goddess, to the greatness as taught to me by Maheśvara. All the gods and sages are gathered around me on every side. Whatever sins exist, even those from previous births—thousands of Aśvamedha sacrifices and tens of thousands of Vājapeya sacrifices—even for one deprived of all marks, devoid of ritual acts, or of low birth—the merit gained from visiting all holy places, performing all sacrifices, and all righteous acts—” He continued, “With one step in circumambulation, the earthly world is traversed; with the second, the mid-space. With one step, mental sin is removed; with the next, verbal sin. Indeed, all sins are wiped away with a single step. Here are thousands of hermitages of great sages and perfected beings. Here I dwell eternally, perfected and at the forefront, worshipped by the gods.” “It is heard that the form here is made of a pillar of fire, beginning with red. This liṅga is composed of eight forms, intensely radiant and made of pure light. For the one who circumambulates it, there is no rebirth. By the touch of the dust from his feet, the entire earth is purified. He bows in every direction, meditates, and offers praise with joined palms.” “Just as a woman near childbirth walks without distress, so too should one who has bathed, wears pure garments, and is adorned with sacred ash and rudrākṣa beads proceed. While the Manus and thousands of gods go ahead, he considers the crowds, the great throng, and the possible obstructions on the path. Or, he recites the names of Shiva with excellent songs, or listens with undistracted mind and reverence to my greatness. Through various meritorious gifts and acts of kindness to those in need, he gains further merit.” “In the Kṛta age, the liṅga was of fire; in the Tretā, it was of jewel-mountain. At other times, its form is crystal, or red, and self-luminous. Ultimately, it is beyond the reach of speech and mind, immeasurable by its very nature.