Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 27
अन्धक-प्रश्नः — Inquiry into Andhaka
Genealogy and Nature
सनत्कुमार उवाच । गौरी ततो भृत्यवचो निशम्य कारुण्यभावात्सहिता सखीभिः । नानाप्रकारैर्बहुभिर्ह्युपायैश्चकार रक्षां स्वसुतस्य यद्वत्
sanatkumāra uvāca | gaurī tato bhṛtyavaco niśamya kāruṇyabhāvātsahitā sakhībhiḥ | nānāprakārairbahubhirhyupāyaiścakāra rakṣāṃ svasutasya yadvat
সনৎকুমাৰে ক’লে—তেতিয়া গৌৰীয়ে ভৃত্যসকলৰ কথা শুনি, কৰুণাভাৱে, সখীসকলৰ সৈতে মিলি নিজৰ পুত্ৰৰ ৰক্ষাৰ ব্যৱস্থা কৰিলে। নানা প্ৰকাৰ বহু উপায়ে তেওঁ ৰক্ষা কৰিলে—যেনে মায়ে কৰে।
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Shakti Form: Gaurī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights Śakti’s karuṇā (compassion) as an active, protective grace: Gaurī responds to counsel and safeguards her son, illustrating how divine compassion operates through timely, skillful means for the welfare of devotees and the maintenance of dharma.
In Saguna worship, devotees approach Shiva together with Śakti—Shiva as Pati (Lord) and Gaurī as the compassionate power that protects and nurtures. The verse underscores that divine protection is not abstract; it is experienced as motherly grace supporting the devotee’s path to Shiva.
A practical takeaway is to seek protection through devotional remembrance: japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with reverence to Gaurī-Śiva, and a simple sankalpa for rakṣā (protection), aligning one’s actions with compassion and dharma.