Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 60
हंस-वराह-रूपग्रहण-कारणम्
The Reason for Assuming the Swan and Boar Forms
अवोचं पुनरेवेशं महारुद्रं महेश्वरम् । जन्ममृत्युभयाविष्टास्सृज देव प्रजा इति
avocaṃ punareveśaṃ mahārudraṃ maheśvaram | janmamṛtyubhayāviṣṭāssṛja deva prajā iti
Dann sprach ich erneut zu jenem Herrn—Mahārudra, Maheśvara: „O Deva, erschaffe die Lebewesen, denn sie sind vom Schrecken vor Geburt und Tod überwältigt.“
Brahmā
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Cosmic Event: pre-creation deliberation: request for prajā-sarga under the shadow of saṃsāra (birth-death fear)
FAQs
It frames saṃsāra as a condition dominated by the fear of birth and death, and presents Mahārudra (Pati, the Supreme Lord) as the conscious source who initiates creation while also being the ultimate refuge for liberation from that fear.
By addressing Mahārudra as the personal Lord who actively creates and governs, the verse supports Saguna Shiva devotion; in Linga-worship, the devotee approaches the same Maheśvara as the manifest focus of grace who transcends birth-death even while presiding over creation.
A practical takeaway is to meditate on Shiva as Mahāmṛtyuñjaya—the remover of fear of death—through japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and remembrance of Shiva’s lordship over janma-mṛtyu.