Shloka 2
सतीविरहानन्तरं शम्भोश्चरितम् / Śiva’s Conduct After Satī’s Separation
सतीविरहयुक्शंम्भुः किं चक्रे चरितन्तथा । तपः कर्तुं कदायातो हिमवत्प्रस्थमुत्तमम्
satīvirahayukśaṃmbhuḥ kiṃ cakre caritantathā | tapaḥ kartuṃ kadāyāto himavatprasthamuttamam
Von der Trauer der Trennung von Satī durchdrungen: Was tat Śambhu damals, und wie lebte er? Und wann begab er sich zu den erhabensten Höhen des Himavān, um Tapas, die heilige Askese, zu vollziehen?
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Jyotirlinga: Kedāranātha
Sthala Purana: Śiva, bereft of Satī, withdraws from worldly engagement and turns to tapas in the Himālaya; this Himalayan ascetic setting resonates with the Kedāra-region where Śiva is especially worshipped as the great yogin.
Significance: Tapas and viraha are reframed as yoga leading to inner purification and readiness for Śiva’s anugraha; pilgrims seek removal of pāśa (bondage) and steadiness in bhakti.
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse frames Śiva’s viraha (separation from Satī) as the backdrop for tapas—showing how sorrow is transmuted into inwardness, restraint, and yogic steadiness, preparing the ground for the divine unfolding that leads to Pārvatī’s advent.
Śiva’s movement to Himavān for austerity highlights Saguna Śiva’s lived līlā—he becomes approachable as the Lord who embodies yoga and renunciation. In Linga-worship, devotees contemplate this same stillness and tapas as the Lord’s grace-form that draws the soul toward purification and liberation.
The verse points to tapas and yogic perseverance: steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), meditation on Śiva’s form or the Liṅga, and disciplined sādhana supported by Śaiva markers like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa, performed with vairāgya and devotion.