Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 34
अन्धकादिदैत्ययुद्धे वीरकविजयः — Vīraka’s Victory over Andhaka’s Forces
प्रचंडवातप्रभवा च देवी क्षुधावपुस्त्वंकुशपाणि रेव । कल्पान्तवह्निप्रतिमां गदां च पाणौ गृहीत्वा धनदोद्भवा च
pracaṃḍavātaprabhavā ca devī kṣudhāvapustvaṃkuśapāṇi reva | kalpāntavahnipratimāṃ gadāṃ ca pāṇau gṛhītvā dhanadodbhavā ca
Dann erschien die Göttin—aus einem rasenden Sturmwind hervorgegangen—in der Gestalt des Hungers und hielt in der Hand den Aṅkuśa (Elefantenhaken). Auch Revatī und die Göttin, die aus Dhanada (Kubera) entsprang, ergriffen je eine lodernde Keule, gleich dem Feuer am Ende eines Kalpa, und schritten zum Kampf voran.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Durgā
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: kalpānta-vahni imagery (end-of-aeon conflagration)
FAQs
The verse depicts Shakti manifesting as fierce, protective powers—storm-born, hunger-formed, and end-of-aeon fire-like—showing that cosmic preservation and dissolution operate through the Lord’s Śakti in the realm of saguna (manifest) action.
While the Liṅga points to Shiva’s transcendent reality, the battle imagery highlights saguna Shiva’s governance through Śakti: devotees worship the Liṅga while recognizing that the manifest energies (Devi’s forms) execute divine protection, restraint, and destruction of adharma.
Meditate on Shiva–Shakti unity with the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while visualizing inner impurities being burned like kalpānta fire; as a simple ritual aid, apply Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) with remembrance of Shiva’s protective power.