Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 31
कार्त्तिकेयान्वेषण-नन्दिसंवाद-वर्णनम्
Search for Kārttikeya and the Nandī Dialogue
रात्रिरुवाच । न चक्रुर्बालकं ताश्च लोचनानामगोचरम् । प्राणेभ्योपि प्रीतिपात्रं यः पोष्टा तस्य पुत्रकः
rātriruvāca | na cakrurbālakaṃ tāśca locanānāmagocaram | prāṇebhyopi prītipātraṃ yaḥ poṣṭā tasya putrakaḥ
Rātri sprach: Jene Frauen konnten das Kind nicht sehen, denn es lag jenseits der Reichweite ihrer Augen. Und doch war er—teurer als der eigene Lebenshauch—der geliebte Sohn dessen, der ihn nährte und beschützte.
Rātri (personified Night)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse highlights divine concealment: what is most precious can remain unseen to ordinary perception, yet is sustained by a higher protecting power—pointing to the Shaiva insight that grace (anugraha) operates beyond the senses.
Like the Linga—often approached as a visible support for the Invisible—this verse contrasts sensory limitation with inner certainty and devotion, implying that Saguna worship leads the mind toward the transcendent reality that cannot be grasped by the eyes alone.
A practical takeaway is sense-withdrawal and remembrance: japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with focused bhāva, treating Shiva as the inner protector (poṣṭā) when outer perception feels limited.