Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 34
विष्णुचेष्टितवर्णनम् / Account of Viṣṇu’s Stratagem and Its Aftermath
आकाशवाण्युवाच । अहमेव त्रिधा भिन्ना तिष्ठामि त्रिविधैर्गुणैः । गौरी लक्ष्मीः सुरा ज्योती रजस्सत्त्वतमोगुणैः
ākāśavāṇyuvāca | ahameva tridhā bhinnā tiṣṭhāmi trividhairguṇaiḥ | gaurī lakṣmīḥ surā jyotī rajassattvatamoguṇaiḥ
Die Himmelsstimme sprach: „Ich allein verweile, dreifach erscheinend durch die drei Guṇas. Durch rajas bin ich Gaurī; durch sattva bin ich Lakṣmī, der glückverheißende Glanz; und durch tamas bin ich Surā, die dunkle, verwirrende Macht—so stehe ich als die drei Eigenschaften.“
Ākāśavāṇī (celestial voice / divine proclamation)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga; a doctrinal proclamation: one divine power manifests triadically through the guṇas, naming forms (Gaurī/Lakṣmī/Surā) as functional modalities of prakṛti/māyā.
Significance: Encourages discernment (viveka): recognize guṇa-driven appearances as māyā’s play; seek the transcendent Lord beyond guṇas through devotion and grace.
Shakti Form: Gaurī
Role: creative
FAQs
It teaches that the one divine power (Śakti) manifests the cosmos through the three guṇas—rajas, sattva, and tamas—yet remains fundamentally one; liberation comes by recognizing and transcending guṇa-bound experience through Shiva’s grace.
Linga-worship centers the mind on Shiva as the Lord beyond the guṇas (nirguṇa) while honoring His manifest power (saguṇa) as Śakti; the verse explains how the same divine potency appears in different modes, which devotion to the Linga helps purify and surpass.
Cultivate sattva through Shiva-pūjā—japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing rudrākṣa, and applying tripuṇḍra bhasma—so the mind rises beyond tamas and rajas toward steady devotion and inner clarity.