Shloka 20
व्योमवाणी-श्रवणं, गणानां शरणागमनं, सती-दाह-वृत्तान्तः — Hearing the Heavenly Voice; The Gaṇas Seek Refuge; Account of Satī’s Self-Immolation
उत्पाट्यैकां जटां रुद्रो लोकसंहारकारकः । आस्फालयामास रुषा पर्वतस्य तदोपरि
utpāṭyaikāṃ jaṭāṃ rudro lokasaṃhārakārakaḥ | āsphālayāmāsa ruṣā parvatasya tadopari
Rudra, the divine power who brings about the dissolution of the worlds, tore out a single lock of His matted hair; and in wrath He struck and hurled it down upon the mountain there.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Vīrabhadra
Sthala Purana: From Rudra’s jaṭā a destructive emissary is classically born (Vīrabhadra motif), leading to the breaking of Dakṣa’s sacrifice—symbolizing the dissolution of ritualism devoid of devotion.
Significance: Meditation on this episode is used to cultivate vairāgya and surrender, recognizing Śiva as the ultimate dissolver of worlds and ego.
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: World-dissolution imagery (loka-saṃhāra) invoked as theological backdrop
FAQs
It reveals Rudra as the Lord of saṃhāra—His mere will (symbolized by a single lock of hair) is sufficient to shake and subdue the manifested world, urging the devotee to take refuge in Pati, the supreme controller beyond ego and instability.
The verse emphasizes Saguna Shiva’s tangible, awe-inspiring sovereignty in līlā; Linga-worship trains the mind to recognize that all powers of creation, preservation, and dissolution rest in Shiva, who is approached through sacred form while remaining ultimately transcendent.
Contemplate Rudra’s saṃhāra-śakti while japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence and surrendering anger and pride into Shiva’s purifying fire.