Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 7
कौशिकी-गौरी तथा शार्दूलरूप-निशाचरस्य पूर्वकर्मवर्णनम् | Kauśikī-Gaurī and Brahmā’s account of the tiger-formed niśācara
ब्रह्मोवाच । पशौ देवि मृगाः क्रूराः क्व च ते ऽनुग्रहः शुभः । आशीविषमुखे साक्षादमृतं किं निषिच्यते
brahmovāca | paśau devi mṛgāḥ krūrāḥ kva ca te 'nugrahaḥ śubhaḥ | āśīviṣamukhe sākṣādamṛtaṃ kiṃ niṣicyate
Brahmā sprach: „O Devī, Tiere und wilde Geschöpfe sind von Natur aus grausam — wo ist da dein heilvoller Erbarmen für sie? Soll man den Nektar der Amṛta unmittelbar in das Maul einer Giftschlange gießen?“
Brahma
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva Siddhanta concern of adhikāra (spiritual fitness): divine grace is supremely auspicious, yet when the recipient remains dominated by cruelty and tamas, that grace may be rejected or even misused—like nectar offered to a venomous serpent.
Linga-worship is approached with śuddhi (purification), bhakti, and humility; the verse warns that without inner transformation, sacred gifts and teachings about Saguna Shiva can fail to bear fruit, because the ‘pashu’ nature resists Shiva’s elevating anugraha.
The takeaway is to prepare oneself to receive Shiva’s grace: daily japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), observance of purity and compassion (ahiṃsā), and disciplined worship (optionally with bhasma and rudrākṣa) so the mind becomes a fit vessel for amṛta-like anugraha.