Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 34
शङ्खचूडदूतागमनम् — The Arrival of Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Envoy
and Praise of Śiva
क्रीडाभांडमिदं विश्वं कालस्य परमात्मनः । स ददाति यदा यस्मै तस्यै तस्यैश्वर्यं भवे त्तदा
krīḍābhāṃḍamidaṃ viśvaṃ kālasya paramātmanaḥ | sa dadāti yadā yasmai tasyai tasyaiśvaryaṃ bhave ttadā
এই সমগ্ৰ বিশ্ব কালৰূপ পৰমাত্মাৰ ক্ৰীড়াভাণ্ড। তেওঁ যাক যেতিয়া দান কৰে, তেতিয়াই সেইজনৰ ঐশ্বৰ্য আৰু সমৃদ্ধি উদয় হয়।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time presides in Ujjayinī; the verse’s doctrine—universe as the plaything of the Supreme Time—aligns with Mahākāla theology where kāla grants and withdraws aiśvarya according to cosmic order.
Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for mastery over fear of time/death, steadiness amid rise and fall of fortune, and insight into the Lord’s dispensation of power.
FAQs
It teaches that worldly rise and fall are governed by Shiva as Kala (Time), the Supreme Self; recognizing the universe as His play fosters detachment and surrender (śaraṇāgati) rather than ego-driven pride.
By seeing all outcomes as granted by Shiva, the devotee approaches the Linga as the visible support of the Lord’s governance—offering worship with humility, knowing aiśvarya is His gift, not personal entitlement.
Japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with contemplation that success and loss are movements of Kala under Shiva, paired with simple Linga-puja and Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence.