Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 5
देव्याः क्रोधः शक्तिनिर्माणं च
Devī’s Wrath and the Manifestation of the Śaktis
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि हाहादुःखमुपागतम् । कथं दुःखं विनश्येतास्याऽतिदुखं ममाधुना
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi hāhāduḥkhamupāgatam | kathaṃ duḥkhaṃ vinaśyetāsyā'tidukhaṃ mamādhunā
„Was soll ich tun, und wohin soll ich gehen? Ach—Kummer ist über mich gekommen. Wie kann dieser Schmerz vergehen? Gerade jetzt hat mich ein unerträgliches Leid ergriffen.“
A distressed devotee/character within the Kumārakhaṇḍa narrative (as narrated by Sūta Gosvāmin)
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Frames the existential helplessness (ākiñcanya) that turns the bound soul toward Śiva’s anugraha; such lament is ritually transmuted in pilgrimage into surrender and prayer.
FAQs
The verse captures the soul’s helplessness under duḥkha (bondage-born suffering). In a Shaiva Siddhanta reading, such anguish becomes the turning point that drives the paśu (individual) to seek Pati (Lord Shiva) and His anugraha (grace), by which sorrow is truly uprooted.
The cry “where shall I go?” implies that worldly supports fail; the stable refuge is Saguna Shiva approached through the Śiva-liṅga—symbol of the ever-present Pati. Liṅga-worship channels grief into surrender (śaraṇāgati) and remembrance, preparing the mind for Shiva’s protecting presence.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with simple liṅga-abhisheka (water) and wearing Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence; these calm the mind and orient suffering toward devotion and grace.