Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 48
हिरण्यनेत्रस्य तपः — Hiraṇyanetra’s Austerity and the Boon
मंत्रिण ऊचुः । हिरण्यनेत्रस्य सुतो महात्मा दैत्याधिराजोऽन्धकनामधेयः । त्रैलोक्यनाथो भवकृन्निदेशादिहोपविष्टोऽद्य विहारशाली
maṃtriṇa ūcuḥ | hiraṇyanetrasya suto mahātmā daityādhirājo'ndhakanāmadheyaḥ | trailokyanātho bhavakṛnnideśādihopaviṣṭo'dya vihāraśālī
Die Minister sprachen: „Der großherzige Sohn Hiraṇyanetras, Andhaka genannt, der oberste König der Daityas, ist auf Geheiß Bhavas (des Herrn Śiva) zum Herrscher der drei Welten geworden und sitzt heute hier in dieser Lusthalle in königlicher Muße.“
The ministers (mantriṇaḥ) of the Daityas/Andhaka’s court
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhava
Sthala Purana: This verse alludes to Andhaka’s rise to sovereignty ‘by Bhava’s command’, a narrative device in the Andhaka cycle where Śiva permits/ordains a temporary lordship that later becomes the occasion for the asura’s pride and fall.
FAQs
It highlights that even immense worldly authority—“lordship of the three worlds”—operates under Bhava (Śiva) and is therefore contingent; Shaiva Siddhānta reads this as a reminder that true refuge is Pati (Śiva), not transient power.
By naming Śiva as “Bhava,” the verse points to Saguna Śiva as the active Lord who issues commands and governs cosmic order; Linga-worship centers on this same Lord as the supreme source of grace and restraint over all beings, including Daityas.
The takeaway is humility before Śiva’s sovereignty: practice japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and cultivate detachment, remembering that status and enjoyment (vihāra) are impermanent without Śiva’s grace.