Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 34
विष्णुचेष्टितवर्णनम् / Account of Viṣṇu’s Stratagem and Its Aftermath
आकाशवाण्युवाच । अहमेव त्रिधा भिन्ना तिष्ठामि त्रिविधैर्गुणैः । गौरी लक्ष्मीः सुरा ज्योती रजस्सत्त्वतमोगुणैः
ākāśavāṇyuvāca | ahameva tridhā bhinnā tiṣṭhāmi trividhairguṇaiḥ | gaurī lakṣmīḥ surā jyotī rajassattvatamoguṇaiḥ
আকাশবাণী বলল—আমি একাই ত্রিগুণে ত্রিধা হয়ে অবস্থান করি। রজসে আমি গৌরী, সত্ত্বে আমি লক্ষ্মী—শুভ জ্যোতিরূপা, আর তমসে আমি সুরা (মোহিনী শক্তি)—এই ত্রিগুণেই আমি স্থিত।
Ākāśavāṇī (celestial voice / divine proclamation)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga; a doctrinal proclamation: one divine power manifests triadically through the guṇas, naming forms (Gaurī/Lakṣmī/Surā) as functional modalities of prakṛti/māyā.
Significance: Encourages discernment (viveka): recognize guṇa-driven appearances as māyā’s play; seek the transcendent Lord beyond guṇas through devotion and grace.
Shakti Form: Gaurī
Role: creative
FAQs
It teaches that the one divine power (Śakti) manifests the cosmos through the three guṇas—rajas, sattva, and tamas—yet remains fundamentally one; liberation comes by recognizing and transcending guṇa-bound experience through Shiva’s grace.
Linga-worship centers the mind on Shiva as the Lord beyond the guṇas (nirguṇa) while honoring His manifest power (saguṇa) as Śakti; the verse explains how the same divine potency appears in different modes, which devotion to the Linga helps purify and surpass.
Cultivate sattva through Shiva-pūjā—japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing rudrākṣa, and applying tripuṇḍra bhasma—so the mind rises beyond tamas and rajas toward steady devotion and inner clarity.