Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 1
क्रौञ्चशरणागमनम् तथा बाणासुरवधः
Krauñca Seeks Refuge; Slaying of Bāṇāsura
ब्रह्मोवाच । एतस्मिन्नंतरे तत्र क्रौञ्चनामाचलो मुने । आजगाम कुमारस्य शरणं बाणपीडित
brahmovāca | etasminnaṃtare tatra krauñcanāmācalo mune | ājagāma kumārasya śaraṇaṃ bāṇapīḍita
Brahmā sagte: In der Zwischenzeit, o Weise, kam der Berg namens Krauñca – von Pfeilen gequält – dorthin und suchte Zuflucht zu den Füßen von Kumāra (Skanda).
Brahma
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse sets up a refuge-seeking motif (śaraṇāgati) in the Skanda narrative, where distress drives beings toward divine protection.
Significance: General Śaiva teaching: taking refuge in the Lord’s sphere (Śiva’s son Kumāra) is a doorway to anugraha (grace) and release from pāśa (affliction).
Role: liberating
FAQs
It highlights śaraṇāgati (taking refuge): when a being is afflicted, turning to the divine for protection becomes the first step toward grace and relief—an essential Shaiva Siddhanta theme of the Lord’s compassion responding to surrender.
Though the verse names Kumāra, he functions as the Lord’s empowered form within Saguna devotion—showing that approaching Shiva’s manifest powers (Shiva’s family and attendants) with humility mirrors approaching the Liṅga as the accessible, grace-giving presence of Pati.
A practical takeaway is to adopt śaraṇāgati through japa—especially the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and to pray for protection and purification when facing suffering, aligning one’s will with Shiva’s grace.