Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 32
तारक-कुमार-युद्धवर्णनम् / Description of the Battle between Tāraka and Kumāra
कुमारेण हतस्सोतिवीरस्स खलु तारकः । लयं ययौ च तत्रैव सर्वेषां पश्यतां मुने
kumāreṇa hatassotivīrassa khalu tārakaḥ | layaṃ yayau ca tatraiva sarveṣāṃ paśyatāṃ mune
أيها الحكيم، وعلى مرأى الجميع، قُتل تارَكا—وإن كان بطلًا شديد البأس—على يد كُمارا، ثم بلغ في الموضع نفسه «لايا» (الانحلال والفناء).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Rudra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It portrays the inevitable dissolution (laya) of adharmic power: even the strongest egoic force collapses when confronted by divinely empowered dharma, here embodied by Kumāra, the commander born of Shiva’s grace.
Kumāra acts as Shiva’s saguna instrument—Shiva’s protective power expressed in form—showing that devotion to Shiva’s manifest aspect safeguards cosmic order and removes obstructive forces.
Contemplate “laya” as inner dissolution: in japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), offer pride, anger, and fear into Shiva, praying for the destruction of inner ‘Tāraka’ (the tyrant of ego).