Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 31
राहोः शिरच्छेदन-कारणकथनम् / The Account of Rāhu’s Beheading
Cause and Background
अद्रयो मद्भयात्त्रस्तास्स्वकुक्षिस्था यतः कृताः । अन्येऽपि मद्द्विषस्तेन रक्षिता दितिजाः पुरा
adrayo madbhayāttrastāssvakukṣisthā yataḥ kṛtāḥ | anye'pi maddviṣastena rakṣitā ditijāḥ purā
„Weil die Berge, erschreckt vor meiner furchtbaren Macht, dazu gebracht wurden, in ihrem eigenen ‘Bauch’ zu verbleiben (das heißt: ihr inneres Feuer und ihre Kräfte zu zügeln). Und einst wurden sogar andere, von Diti geborene Dämonen—obwohl sie mir feind waren—von ihm beschützt.“
Lord Shiva (inferred, Yuddhakhaṇḍa dialogue where Shiva asserts his supremacy and recalls past protections granted by a deity/agent)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: No Jyotirliṅga is named. The content is a boast/recall of cosmic control and protection—motifs often attached to Paśupati/Rudra’s lordship over beings and natural powers.
Significance: Emphasizes Śiva’s (or the supreme agent’s) capacity to restrain and protect even adversaries—supporting the Siddhānta view that Pati governs both nigraha (restraint) and anugraha (beneficence) for cosmic order.
Cosmic Event: Mythic recollection of primordial ordering of mountains and protection of daityas (purā)
FAQs
It highlights Shiva as the supreme regulator (Pati) whose mere awe sustains cosmic balance—restraining even vast natural forces like mountains—and shows that divine protection can extend beyond likes and dislikes, serving dharma and the larger order.
Saguna Shiva is praised here as the active Lord who governs nature and history; Linga-worship trains the devotee to recognize this all-pervading sovereignty—Shiva’s presence as the stabilizing axis behind both protection and restraint.
A practical takeaway is to cultivate śaraṇāgati (surrender) through japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” ideally with vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa, meditating on Shiva as the inner governor who contains and purifies destructive impulses.