Shloka 37
अनरण्यसुता–पिप्पलादचरितम् / The Episode of Anaraṇya’s Daughter and Sage Pippalāda
आकाशोसौ दिशस्सर्वा यदि नश्यन्तु वायवः । तथापि साध्वीशापस्तु न नश्यति कदाचन
ākāśosau diśassarvā yadi naśyantu vāyavaḥ | tathāpi sādhvīśāpastu na naśyati kadācana
Selbst wenn der Himmel selbst, alle Himmelsrichtungen und die Winde vergingen, vergeht doch der Fluch, den eine keusche und dharmatreue Frau ausgesprochen hat, niemals zu irgendeiner Zeit.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: pralaya (hyperbolic: even sky/directions/winds perish)
FAQs
It teaches that spiritual power (śakti) rooted in dharma—especially the truth-force of a sādhvī—has an enduring efficacy that even cosmic dissolution imagery cannot negate, emphasizing karmic inevitability and moral causality.
In Shaiva thought, Saguna Shiva upholds ṛta and dharma in the manifest world; this verse supports the Purāṇic theme that Shiva’s cosmos runs on moral law, so devotion to the Liṅga is inseparable from reverence for dharma and the sanctity of righteous speech.
A practical takeaway is disciplined speech (satya and ahiṃsā) alongside Shaiva japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—so one’s words become purified and aligned with Shiva’s dharmic order.