Shloka 37
शिवशिवयोर्जगत्पितृमातृत्व-प्रतिपादनं तथा मेनायाः विमोहः (Śiva–Śivā as Cosmic Father and Mother; Menā’s Delusion and the Sages’ Intervention)
कन्यकां दुःखिने दत्त्वा कन्याघाती भवेत्पिता । को वेद शंकरो दुःखी कुबेरो यस्य किंकरः
kanyakāṃ duḥkhine dattvā kanyāghātī bhavetpitā | ko veda śaṃkaro duḥkhī kubero yasya kiṃkaraḥ
By giving one’s daughter to a sorrowful, wretched man, a father becomes, as it were, a slayer of his own daughter. Who can say that Śaṅkara is “unfortunate,” when Kubera himself stands as His attendant?
Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages, conveying the intent of the Pārvatīkhaṇḍa narrative)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches that judging worth by external conditions (poverty, sorrow, ascetic appearance) is spiritually immature; Śiva, the supreme Pati, may appear as a mendicant yet remains the Lord whom even Kubera serves—so devotion should rest on divine reality, not worldly status.
Like the Liṅga—simple in form yet infinite in meaning—Śiva’s outer simplicity can veil His supreme sovereignty; the verse supports Saguna Śiva-bhakti by affirming that the Lord’s manifested form and leelā may look ordinary while being transcendent in essence.
Practice steady bhakti that is not swayed by appearances: daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) remembrance, cultivating the insight that Śiva’s grace—not worldly wealth—is the true refuge.