Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 32
तुलसी-शङ्खचूडोपाख्यानम् — Viṣṇu’s Disguise and the Tulasī Episode
Prelude to Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Fall
तद्दृष्ट्वा तुलसीरूपं ज्ञात्वा विष्णुं तु चिह्नतः । पातिव्रत्यपरित्यागात् क्रुद्धा सा तमुवाच ह
taddṛṣṭvā tulasīrūpaṃ jñātvā viṣṇuṃ tu cihnataḥ | pātivratyaparityāgāt kruddhā sā tamuvāca ha
Als sie jene trügerische Gestalt in der Form der Tulasī sah und Viṣṇu an den Zeichen erkannte, sprach sie—erzürnt, weil ihre eheliche Treue (pātivratya) verletzt worden war—zu ihm.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the episode; within the story, the immediate speaker is the woman addressing Viṣṇu)
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga locus; recognition (cihnataḥ) breaks the concealment and triggers the ethical consequence (śāpa), a common purāṇic aetiological mechanism.
Significance: Serves as kathā-śravaṇa material emphasizing discernment (cihna-jñāna) and the peril of dharma-violation.
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: destructive
FAQs
It highlights how dharma and inner integrity are central: when fidelity and truth are disrupted through deception, the mind turns to righteous anger, and karma unfolds. In a Shaiva reading, such episodes ultimately point to the need for purity and surrender to Pati (Śiva) beyond worldly entanglements.
Though the verse centers on Viṣṇu’s disguise, the Yuddhakhaṇḍa context frames worldly conflicts and moral tensions as catalysts that drive beings toward the stable refuge of Saguna Śiva—worship of the Liṅga as the unwavering support when social roles and identities become unstable.
A practical takeaway is vigilance (viveka) and purity of conduct: maintain truthful speech and restraint, and stabilize the mind with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” optionally while wearing rudrākṣa and applying tripuṇḍra as reminders of Śiva-centered discipline.