Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 3
Hari’s Special Mercy, Śiva’s Quick Boons, and the Deliverance from Vṛkāsura
श्रीशुक उवाच शिव: शक्तियुत: शश्वत् त्रिलिङ्गो गुणसंवृत: । वैकारिकस्तैजसश्च तामसश्चेत्यहं त्रिधा ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca śivaḥ śakti-yutaḥ śaśvat tri-liṅgo guṇa-saṁvṛtaḥ vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṁ tridhā
Śrī Śukadeva said: Lord Śiva is always united with his personal energy, the material nature. Manifesting himself in three features in response to the entreaties of nature’s three modes, he thus embodies the threefold principle of material ego in goodness, passion and ignorance.
FAQs
This verse states that Lord Śiva, though eternally united with Śakti, is described as manifesting in relation to the three modes of nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance—indicating his connection with material qualities in cosmic administration.
In this chapter’s theological explanation, Śukadeva clarifies categories of divinity and cosmic functions, describing how Śiva is associated with the guṇas in the workings of creation, maintenance, and dissolution.
A devotee can observe which mode influences thoughts and actions, reduce tamas and rajas through discipline and purity, and ultimately transcend even sattva by steady bhakti focused on the Supreme Lord.