Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 17
दुन्दुभिनिर्ह्रादनिर्णयः / Dundubhinirhrāda’s Stratagem: Targeting the Brāhmaṇas
यत्र यत्र हि तीर्थेषु यत्र यत्राश्रमेषु च । संति सर्वेऽग्रजन्मानस्ते मयाद्यास्समंततः
yatra yatra hi tīrtheṣu yatra yatrāśrameṣu ca | saṃti sarve'grajanmānaste mayādyāssamaṃtataḥ
حيثما وُجدت مواطنُ الحجّ المقدّسة (تيرثا)، وحيثما وُجدت الآشرامات، فهناك يحضر جميعُ أولئك الموقَّرون من ذوي الميلاد الأسمى—وأنا، الأوّل الأزلي، أُحيط بهم من كلّ جانب.
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Śiva declares his primordial omnipresence around the ‘agrajanmānaḥ’ (venerable foremost beings) in all tīrthas and āśramas—Kāśī/Viśveśvara functioning as the paradigmatic kṣetra where this presence is especially recognized.
Significance: Affirms that tīrthas/āśramas are sanctified by Śiva’s presence; pilgrimage is not mere travel but encounter with the Pati who surrounds and protects the sādhus.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse teaches Shiva’s omnipresence in all sanctified spaces—tīrthas and āśramas—affirming that holiness is fulfilled when one recognizes the Ādi-Śiva as the indwelling Lord and witness around the sages and seekers.
Tīrthas and āśramas often center on Linga worship and disciplined sādhana. The verse supports Saguna devotion by stating that Shiva is tangibly present in sacred locales, while also implying the deeper truth that the same Shiva pervades everywhere as the Primordial Reality.
Practice constant स्मरण (remembrance) of Shiva in all holy settings—chanting the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offering bhakti at tīrthas (especially Jyotirlinga sites), and maintaining ashrama-like discipline with purity, bhasma/Tripuṇḍra, and japa.