Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 32
अन्धकादिदैत्ययुद्धे वीरकविजयः — Vīraka’s Victory over Andhaka’s Forces
सहस्रनेत्रा युधि सुस्थिरा च सदुर्जया दैत्यशतैरधृष्या । वैश्वानरी शक्तिरसौम्यवक्त्रा याम्या च दंडोद्यतपाणिरुग्रा
sahasranetrā yudhi susthirā ca sadurjayā daityaśatairadhṛṣyā | vaiśvānarī śaktirasaumyavaktrā yāmyā ca daṃḍodyatapāṇirugrā
In jener Schlacht stand die Śakti namens Sahasranetrā—fest und unerschütterlich im Kampf—schwer zu bezwingen und selbst von Hunderten Dānavas nicht zu überwältigen. Dort war auch die Śakti Vaiśvānarī, mit grimmigem, unlächelndem Antlitz; und die Śakti der Richtung Yamas (Yāmyā), furchtbar, den Strafstab hoch erhoben—jede offenbarte im Krieg die unbesiegbare Macht des Herrn.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
FAQs
The verse highlights that victory in dharmic struggle is ultimately the movement of Śiva’s Śakti—invincible, many‑seeing, and unassailable. In Śaiva Siddhānta terms, the Lord (Pati) acts through His power (Śakti) to subdue adharma, protecting souls and restoring order.
These fierce Śaktis are Saguna manifestations—nameable, describable forms of the Lord’s power. Linga worship centers the devotee in Śiva as the supreme Pati, while remembering that His protective and transformative energies (Śakti) operate in the world to remove obstacles and defeat inner ‘demonic’ tendencies.
A practical takeaway is protective japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with a Rudrākṣa mālā, and applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) while contemplating Śiva-Śakti as the fearless inner power that steadies the mind (‘susṭhirā’) against turmoil.