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ISAVASYA UPANISHAD
omnipotent who is the manifested form of that indefinable. Svetasvatara Upanishad is of much later period and is essentially a Saivite Upanishad.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 1:8 The Lord, Isa, supports all this which has been joined together-the perishable and the imperishable, the manifest, the effect and the unmanifest, the cause. The same Lord, the Supreme Self, devoid of Lordship, becomes bound because of assuming the attitude of the enjoyer. The jiva again realizes the Supreme Self and is freed from all fetters.
samyuktam etat kşaram aksaram ca vyaktāvyaktam bharate viśvam iśaḥ / anīšaś cātmā bad"yate b"oktrb"āvāj jñātvā devam mucyate sarvapāśaih //
The interesting aspect of this particular verse is that it speaks of Isa, laying aside his Lordship and binding himself to the form of a man and it is this that leads to freedom from bondage. There are other variations of translations on the basis of Advaita which tries to avoid this interpretation.
Phil 2:5-8 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 3. 8 I know that mighty Person, sun-coloured beyond the darkness: By knowing Him indeed a man surpasses Death; No other path is there to go.
Isa in the Puranas
Puranas came into existence only much later. The dates of the various Puranas will give some idea of the time scale.
In some temples Siva is shown with five faces: Panchanana Siva. Each of the faces has a name and represents a specific aspect. These five faces are Isana, Tatpurusa, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojata. Isana faces south east and represents Iswara aspect of Siva known as Sadasiva, or the Eternal Siva.
Panca-vaktra Siva (five forms of Siva with five faces) are Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusa, and Isana. (SB 8.7.29, Garuda Purana 1.21)
"Sleeping or awake, Siva is constantly absorbed in meditation on Krsna. As is Krsna, so is Sambhu; there is no difference between Madhava and Isa." (Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Prakriti Khanda 2.56.61)
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