Lord Śiva: The Greatest Vaiṣṇava

vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of all devotees.

What is the difference between Kṛṣṇa and Śiva?

Learned scholars in transcendental subjects have carefully analyzed the summum bonum Kṛṣṇa to have sixty-four principal attributes. All the expansions or categories of the Lord possess only some percentages of these attributes. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of the attributes cent percent. And His personal expansions such as svayam-prakāśa, tad-ekātmā up to the categories of the avatāras who are all viṣṇu-tattva, possess up to ninety-three percent of these transcendental attributes. Lord Śiva, who is neither avatāra nor āveśa nor in between them, possesses almost eighty-four percent of the attributes.

kṣīraṁ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt
sañjāyate na tu tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ
yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 45)

“Milk changes into yogurt when mixed with a yogurt culture, but actually it is constitutionally nothing but milk. Similarly, Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, assumes the form of Lord Śiva [Śambhu] for the special purpose of material transactions. I offer my obeisances at His lotus feet.”

(The real nature of Śambhu, the presiding deity of Maheśa-dhāma, is described.) Śambhu is not a second Godhead other than Kṛṣṇa. Those, who entertain such discriminating sentiment, commit a great offense against the Supreme Lord. The supremacy of Śambhu is subservient to that of Govinda; hence they are not really different from each other. The nondistinction is established by the fact that just as milk treated with acid turns into curd so Godhead becomes a subservient when He Himself attains a distinct personality by the addition of a particular element of adulteration. This personality has no independent initiative. The said adulterating principle is constituted of a combination of the stupefying quality of the deluding energy, the quality of nonplenitude of the marginal potency and a slight degree of the cstatic-cum-cognitive principle of the plenary spiritual potency. This specifically adulterated reflection of the principle of the subjective portion of the Divinity is Sadāśiva, in the form of the effulgent masculine-symbol-god Śambhu from whom Rudradeva is manifested.

In the work of mundane creation as the material cause, in the work of preservation by the destruction of sundry asuras and in the work of destruction to conduct the whole operation, Govinda manifests Himself as guṇa-avatāra in the form of Śambhu who is the separated portion of Govinda imbued with the principle of His subjective plenary portion. The personality of the destructive principle in the form of time has been identified with that of Śambhu by scriptural evidences that have been adduced in the commentary. The purport of the Bhāgavata ślokas, viz., vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ, etc., is that Śambhu, in pursuance of the will of Govinda, works in union with his consort Durgādevī by his own time energy. He teaches pious duties (dharma) as stepping-stones to the attainment of spiritual service in the various tantra-śāstras, etc., suitable for jīvas in different grades of the conditional existence. In obedience to the will of Govinda, Śambhu maintains and fosters the religion of pure devotion by preaching the cult of illusionism (Māyāvāda) and the speculative āgama-śāstras. The fifty attributes of individual souls are manifest in a far vaster measure in Śambhu and five additional attributes not attainable by jīvas are also partly found in him. So Śambhu cannot be called a jīva.He is the lord of jīva but yet partakes of the nature of a separated portion of Govinda. (Brahmā saṁhitā 5.45 p.)

Can one get the same result by worshiping Śiva or Kṛṣṇa?

The leaders of nonsensical persons are still more nonsensical because they preach openly and foolishly that one can worship any form of demigod and get the same result. This sort of preaching is not only against the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā, or those of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but is also foolish, just as it is foolish to claim that with the purchase of any travel ticket one may reach the same destination. No one can reach Bombay from Delhi by purchasing a ticket for Baroda.

Worship of demigods is discouraged herein because even the greatest demigods like Brahmā and Śiva only represent part of the opulence of the Supreme Lord. He is the origin of everyone born, and no one is greater than Him. He is samatā, which means that no one is superior to Him and that no one is equal to Him. Another name for God is asamaurdhva, which means that no one is equal to or greater than Him. In the Viṣṇu-mantra it is said that one who considers the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in the same category with demigods-be they even Brahmā or Śiva-becomes at once an atheist.  (BG 10.42 p.)

There are many foolish persons who say that one can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa or chant the name of Kālī or Durgā or Śiva because they are all the same. If one thinks that the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the names and activities of the demigods are on the same level, or if one accepts the holy name of Viṣṇu to be a material sound vibration, that is also an offense. (SB 3.15.25 p.)

In what way do devotees of Lord Krishna offer respect to Lord Śiva?

It is said, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of all devotees. Therefore all devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are also devotees of Lord Śiva. In Vṛndāvana there is Lord Śiva’s temple called Gopīśvara. The gopīs used to worship not only Lord Śiva but Kātyāyanī, or Durgā, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa does not disrespect Lord Śiva, but worships Lord Śiva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Consequently whenever a devotee worships Lord Śiva, he prays to Lord Śiva to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa, and he does not request material profit. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) it is said that generally people worship demigods for some material profit. Kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ. Driven by material lust, they worship demigods, but a devotee never does so, for he is never driven by material lust. That is the difference between a devotee’s respect for Lord Śiva and an asura’s respect for him. The asura worships Lord Śiva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation.

Because Lord Śiva is a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he loves all the devotees of the Supreme Lord. Lord Śiva told the Pracetās that because they were devotees of the Lord, he loved them very much. Lord Śiva was not kind and merciful only to the Pracetās; anyone who is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very dear to Lord Śiva. Not only are the devotees dear to Lord Śiva, but he respects them as much as he respects the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, devotees of the Supreme Lord also worship Lord Śiva as the most dear devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They do not worship him as a separate Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the list of nāma-aparādhas that it is an offense to think that the chanting of the name of Hari and the chanting of Hara, or Śiva, are the same. The devotees must always know that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that Lord Śiva is His devotee. A devotee should be offered respect on the level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and sometimes even more respect. Indeed, Lord Rāma, the Personality of Godhead Himself, sometimes worshiped Lord Śiva. If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord? This is the conclusion. From this verse it appears that Lord Śiva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality. Actually he loves one who is devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (SB 4.24.30 purport)

Should devotees of Krishna discourage others from worshiping Lord Śiva?

Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, in Winnipeg there is one very pious east Indian man who for many years has been worshiping somewhat, worshiping Lord Śiva. And his wife is also a very quite chaste woman and sincere follower—and so were her parents—of Lord Śiva. And he is reading your Bhagavad-gītā. He visits our temple. And I have given him the first volume of Canto Four which discusses Lord Śiva a great deal. And he has read in one of your purports that Kṛṣṇa is more pleased when you worship His devotee than when you worship Him directly. And Lord Śiva is a very great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So he has now interpreted that to mean that if he worships Lord Śiva so nicely, then actually he is pleasing Kṛṣṇa more. So he is experiencing some difficulty because of this and I’m not quite sure how to instruct him that actually…

Prabhupāda: Difficulty?

Brahmānanda: That… Our Godbrother has difficulty in replying to this interpretation that Kṛṣṇa says, “You can please Me by worshiping My devotee,” and Lord Śiva is the devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So therefore this man says, “Then I shall worship Lord Śiva. In that way I shall please Kṛṣṇa.”

Prabhupāda: But if he accepts Lord Śiva is devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then by worshiping Lord Śiva he will be benefited. If he thinks Lord Śiva is independent, then he will not be benefited.

Devotee (3): I’ve got him to accept that Lord Śiva is devotee of Kṛṣṇa, but there’s no practical instruction in his worldly activities coming.

Prabhupāda: No, vaiṣṇavānām yathā śambhuḥ: “Amongst the Vaiṣṇavas, Śaṁbhu, Lord Śiva, is the greatest Vaiṣṇava.” So we worship Lord Śiva as Vaiṣṇava. We gives respect to Vaiṣṇavas. So why not Lord Śiva? Lord Śiva is a big Vaiṣṇava. But generally, the devotees of Lord Śiva, they take Lord Śiva is independent God. That is offensive. If you know that Lord Śiva is also a devotee, you can give more respect to Lord Śiva. Kṛṣṇa will be pleased.

Devotee (3): Śrīla Prabhupāda, he does not chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, he chants oṁ śivāya namaḥ.

Prabhupāda: That’s all right.
Devotee (3): It’s all right?

Prabhupāda: He will gradually become devotee. When God, Lord Śiva, will be pleased upon him, he will advise to worship.

Devotee (3): He is already trying to tell him to follow in your footsteps surely, so just before I left he said he will try once again to chant sixteen rounds of japa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. He has tried already. He has a taste for…

Prabhupāda: If he simply understands that Lord Śiva is a Vaiṣṇava and if he worships Lord Śiva, then he will get the benefit. (Room conversation, Chicago, July 9, 1975)

What is the relationship between Lord Śiva and ghosts?

Lord Śiva, the king of the ghosts, sitting on the back of his bull carrier, travels at this time, accompanied by ghosts who follow him for their welfare.

Purport: Lord Śiva, or Rudra, is the king of the ghosts. Ghostly characters worship Lord Śiva to be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization. Māyāvādī philosophers are mostly worshipers of Lord Śiva, and Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Śiva for preaching godlessness to the Māyāvādī philosophers. Ghosts are bereft of a physical body because of their grievously sinful acts, such as suicide. The last resort of the ghostly characters in human society is to take shelter of suicide, either material or spiritual. Material suicide causes loss of the physical body, and spiritual suicide causes loss of the individual identity. Māyāvādī philosophers desire to lose their individuality and merge into the impersonal spiritual brahmajyoti existence. Lord Śiva, being very kind to the ghosts, sees that although they are condemned, they get physical bodies. He places them into the wombs of women who indulge in sexual intercourse regardless of the restrictions on time and circumstance. (SB 3.14.24, p.)

Why do so many ladies worship Lord Śiva?

Lord Śiva is the husband of Satī, one of the sisters of Diti. Diti invoked the pleasure of her sister Satī so that Satī would request her husband to excuse her. Besides that, Lord Śiva is the worshipable lord of all women. He is naturally very kind towards women, on whom even the uncivilized hunters also show their mercy. Since Lord Śiva is himself associated with women, he knows very well their defective nature, and he might not take very seriously Diti’s unavoidable offense, which occurred due to her faulty nature. Every virgin girl is supposed to be a devotee of Lord Śiva. Diti remembered her childhood worship of Lord Śiva and begged his mercy. (SB 3.14.36 p.)

Today in Hindu society, unmarried girls are still taught to worship Lord Śiva with the idea that they may get husbands like him. Lord Śiva is the ideal husband, not in the sense of riches or sense gratification, but because he is the greatest of all devotees. Vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Śambhu, or Lord Śiva, is the ideal Vaiṣṇava. He constantly meditates upon Lord Rāma and chants Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Lord Śiva has a Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, which is called the Viṣṇusvāmī-sampradāya. Unmarried girls worship Lord Śiva so that they can expect a husband who is as good a Vaiṣṇava as he. The girls are not taught to select a husband who is very rich or very opulent for material sense gratification; rather, if a girl is fortunate enough to get a husband as good as Lord Śiva in devotional service, then her life becomes perfect. The wife is dependent on the husband, and if the husband is a Vaiṣṇava, then naturally she shares the devotional service of the husband because she renders him service. This reciprocation of service and love between husband and wife is the ideal of a householder’s life. (SB 3.23.1 p.)

Why does Śiva have snakes all over his body?

In order to get release from the false ego, one has to worship Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa is also worshiped through Lord Śiva; the snakes which cover the body of Lord Śiva are representations of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Lord Śiva is always absorbed in meditation upon Saṅkarṣaṇa. One who is actually a worshiper of Lord Śiva as a devotee of Saṅkarṣaṇa can be released from false, material ego. (SB 3.26.21 p.)

Do Vaiṣṇavas take the prasāda of Lord Śiva?

It is said that among all the devotees of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Śiva is the greatest. Thus the remnants of foodstuff left by him are accepted by other devotees as mahā-prasāda, or great spiritual foodstuff. The remnants of foodstuff offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa are called prasāda, but when the same prasāda is eaten by a great devotee like Lord Śiva, it is called mahā-prasāda. Lord Śiva is so great that he does not care for the material prosperity for which every one of us is so eager. Pārvatī, who is the powerful material nature personified, is under his full control as his wife, yet he does not use her even to build a residential house. He prefers to remain without shelter, and his great wife also agrees to live with him humbly. People in general worship goddess Durgā, the wife of Lord Śiva, for material prosperity, but Lord Śiva engages her in his service without material desire. He simply advises his great wife that of all kinds of worship, the worship of Viṣṇu is the highest, and greater than that is the worship of a great devotee or anything in relation with Viṣṇu. (SB 3.14.26 p.)

What is the position of Lord Śiva?

Lord Viṣṇu is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead. Lord Śiva is in the marginal position between the Personality of Godhead and the living entities, or jīvas. Brahmā is always a jīva-tattva.  Lord Śiva is not an ordinary living being. He is the plenary portion of the Lord, but because Lord Śiva is in direct touch with material nature, he is not exactly in the same transcendental position as Lord Viṣṇu. The difference is like that between milk and curd. Curd is nothing but milk, and yet it cannot be used in place of milk. (SB/1/3/5)

In the Vāmana Purāṇa it is said that the same Viṣṇu expands Himself as Brahmā and Śiva to direct the different qualities. (CC Adi 5.104 p.)

Maheśvara, or Lord Śiva, is not an ordinary living being, nor is he equal to Lord Viṣṇu. Effectively comparing Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva, the Brahma-saṁhitā says that Viṣṇu is like milk, whereas Śiva is like curd. Curd is nothing like milk, but nevertheless it is milk also. (CC Adi 5.105 p.)

What does it mean that “Lord Śiva is non-different from Kṛṣṇa”?

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-sandarbha (213), has clearly defined that a pure devotee’s observation of the spiritual master and Lord Śiva as one with the Personality of Godhead exists in terms of their being very dear to the Lord, not identical with Him in all respects. (CC Adi 1.46 p.)

Who are the expansions of Lord Śiva?

Rudra, who is an expansion of Sadāśiva and who appears in unlimited universes, is also a guṇāvatāra [qualitative incarnation] and is the ornament of all the demigods in the endless universes.

Purport: There are eleven expansions of Rudra, or Lord Śiva. They are as follows: Ajaikapāt, Ahibradhna, Virūpākṣa, Raivata, Hara, Bahurūpa, Devaśreṣṭha Tryambaka, Sāvitra, Jayanta, Pināki and Aparājita. Besides these expansions there are eight forms of Rudra called earth, water, fire, air, sky, the sun, the moon and soma-yājī. Generally all these Rudras have five faces, three eyes and ten arms. Sometimes it is found that Rudra is compared to Brahmā and considered a living entity. But when Rudra is explained to be a partial expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is compared to Śeṣa. Lord Śiva is therefore simultaneously an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu and, in his capacity for annihilating the creation, one of the living entities. As an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu he is called Hara, and he is transcendental to the material qualities, but when he is in touch with tamo-guṇa he appears contaminated by the material modes of nature. This is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Brahma-saṁhitā.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, it is stated that Lord Rudra is always associated with the material nature when she is in the neutral, unmanifested stage, but when the modes of material nature are agitated he associates with material nature from a distance. In the Brahma-saṁhitā the relationship between Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva is compared to that of milk and yogurt. Milk is converted into yogurt by certain additives, but although milk and yogurt have the same ingredients, they have different functions. Similarly, Lord Śiva is an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu, yet because of his taking part in the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation, he is considered to be changed, like milk converted into yogurt. In the Purāṇas it is found that Durgā appears sometimes from the heads of Brahmā and sometimes from the heads of Viṣṇu. The annihilator, Rudra, is born from Saṅkarṣaṇa and the ultimate fire to burn the whole creation. In the Vāyu Purāṇa there is a description of Sadāśiva in one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. That Sadāśiva is a direct expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s form for pastimes. It is said that Sadāśiva (Lord Śambhu) is an expansion from the Sadāśiva in the Vaikuṇṭha planets (Lord Viṣṇu) and that his consort, Mahāmāyā, is an expansion of Ramādevī, or Lakṣmī. Mahāmāyā is the origin or birthplace of material nature. (CC Adi 6.79, p.)

Is Lord Śiva worshiped through the taking of intoxicants?

We should always consider the position of the īśvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the īśvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Śiva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many psuedo-devotees of Lord Śiva who want to indulge in smoking gāñjā (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Śiva they are calling death very near. Similarly, there are some psuedo-devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa who prefer to imitate the Lord in His rāsa-līlā, or dance of love, forgetting their inability to lift Govardhana Hill. It is best, therefore, that one not try to imitate the powerful, but simply follow their instructions; nor should one try to occupy their posts without qualification. There are so many “incarnations” of God without the power of the Supreme Godhead. (BG 3.24 p.)

What is the nature of the worshipers of different devas (gods)?

When the mode of goodness is mixed with the mode of passion, one worships the sun-god, Vivasvān. When the mode of goodness is mixed with the mode of ignorance, he worships Gaṇapati, or Gaṇeśa. When the mode of passion is mixed with the mode of ignorance, one worships Durgā, or Kālī, the external potency. When one is simply in the mode of ignorance, he becomes a devotee of Lord Śiva because Lord Śiva is the predominating deity of the mode of ignorance within this material world. However, when one is completely free from the influence of all the modes of material nature, he becomes a pure Vaiṣṇava on the devotional platform. (CC Madhya 24.330 p.)

Why did Lord Ramachandra worship Śiva?

He  (Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Rāma) likes to worship His devotee. Sometimes the father takes the child on his shoulder. Does it mean the child is more important than the father? They say the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, there is no such incidence as Rāmacandra worships Śiva. It is later on, interpretation. But even if He does so, what is the wrong here? (Room conversation, Dec 23, 1975 Mumbai)

Dialogue between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna from the Mahābhārata

Mahābhārata, Shanti Parva (12.328.15 onwards, dialogue between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna) [machine-readable text of the Mahābhārata based on the Poona Critical Edition produced by Muneo Tokunaga, Kyoto, Japan]:

brāhme rātrikṣaye prāpte tasya hy amitatejasaḥ
prasādāt prādurabhavat padmaṁ padmanibhekṣaṇa
tatra brahmā samabhavat sa tasyaiva prasādajaḥ (15)

In the brahmā muhūrta, at the end of the night, due to the mercy of the extremely brilliant Lord, a lotus emerged from His navel and in that lotus, Brahmā was born, of course, due to His grace.

ahnaḥ kṣaye lalāṭāc ca suto devasya vai tathā
krodhāviṣṭasya saṁjajñe rudraḥ saṁhārakārakaḥ (16)

At the end of the day, the Lord [present as antaryāmī of Brahmā *] created Rudra out of krodha-guna, to enable him to be the ‘samhara-karta’. Thus, these two ‘fine-among-wise’, Brahmā and Rudra, are known to have been born out of grace and anger respectively.

* This interpretation is necessary because in the later sections of Moksadharma, Brahmā addresses Rudra as a son.

etau dvau vibudhaśreṣṭhau prasādakrodhajau smṛtau
tadādeśitapanthānau sṛṣṭisaṁhārakārakau
nimittamātraṁ tāv atra sarvaprāṇivarapradau (17)

Thus, they carry out the instructed tasks of creation and destruction. However, they, the givers of boons to all the creatures, are just the agents.

kapardī jaṭilo muṇḍaḥ śmaśānagṛhasevakaḥ
ugravratadharo rudro yogī tripuradāruṇaḥ (18)

[Rudra has] braided hair with knot of an ascetic and rest of the head bald. He dwells in the home of graveyard, steadfast on vigorous penance as a yogi. He is ferocious to Tripurāsura, destroyed Daksayajna and took away the eyes of Bhaga.

dakṣakratuharaś caiva bhaganetraharas tathā
nārāyaṇātmako jñeyaḥ pāṇḍaveya yuge yuge (19)

O Arjuna, know that in every yuga, Rudra is ‘nārāyaṇātmaka’. (This phrase can mean: one whose indweller is Nārāyaṇa, one who is always immersed in Nārāyaṇa.)

tasmin hi pūjyamāne vai devadeve maheśvare
saṁpūjito bhavet pārtha devo nārāyaṇaḥ prabhuḥ (20)

It is the Lord, the prabhu, the Nārāyaṇa *IN* Maheshvara (the worshipable, the lord of the devas), who is actually worshiped.

ahaṁ ātmā hi lokānāṁ viśvānāṁ pāṇḍunandana
tasmād ātmānam evāgre rudraṁ saṁpūjayāmy ahaṁ (21)

yady ahaṁ nārcayeyaṁ vai īśānaṁ varadaṁ śivam
ātmānaṁ nārcayet kaś cid iti me bhāvitaṁ manaḥ
mayā pramāṇaṁ hi kṛtaṁ lokaḥ samanuvartate (22)

O son of Pāṇḍu, I am, indeed, the Ātmā, the indweller of this universe and the worlds. Therefore, I worship myself first, even when I worship Rudra. If I did not worship Rudra, the bestower of boons, in such a way (i.e., worshiping the indwelling Lord first), some would not worship Me, the indwelling Lord, at all – this is my opinion.

pramāṇāni hi pūjyāni tatas taṁ pūjayāmy ahaṁ
yas taṁ vetti sa māṁ vetti yo ‘nu taṁ sa hi mām anu (23)

Whatever I follow and give due worth as a pramaṇa, the world follows that. Such pramāṇas have to be duly followed; therefore I follow them.

rudro nārāyaṇaś caiva sattvaṁ ekaṁ dvidhākṛtam
loke carati kaunteya vyaktisthaṁ sarvakarmasu (24)

Whoever knows him, knows Me. Whoever follows him, follows Me. (Though) the world, in all its actions, worships two gods, Rudra and Nārāyaṇa, it is actually one only who is worshiped.

na hi me kena cid deyo varaḥ pāṇḍavanandana
iti saṁcintya manasā purāṇaṁ viśvam īśvaram
putrārtham ārādhitavān ātmānam ahaṁ ātmanā (25)

O Son of Pāṇḍu, there is, of course, nobody who can grant Me boons. Knowing that well, I worship Myself, Who am the beginningless and universal power, known as Sarveśvara, for the sake of getting sons.

na hi viṣṇuḥ praṇamati kasmai cid vibudhāya tu
ṛta ātmānam eveti tato rudraṁ bhajāmy ahaṁ (26)

Indeed Viṣṇu does not bow to any one [and even when He bows to Himself, He does so] for the sake of showing the path to the wise. Therefore, it is the truth that I worship myself even when I worship Rudra.