Shloka 42
दधीचाश्रमगमनम् — Viṣṇu’s Disguise and Dadhīca’s Fearlessness
Kṣu’s Request
एतस्मिन्नंतरे तत्रागमन्मत्संगतः क्षुवः । अवारयंतं निश्चेष्टं पद्मयोनिं हरिं सुरान्
etasminnaṃtare tatrāgamanmatsaṃgataḥ kṣuvaḥ | avārayaṃtaṃ niśceṣṭaṃ padmayoniṃ hariṃ surān
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Kṣuva—who was in my company—arrived there. He restrained them: the lotus-born Brahmā, Hari (Viṣṇu), and the gods, who had become motionless and powerless.
Sūta Gosvāmin
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: No Jyotirliṅga; the intervention motif—an authoritative figure restraining Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and devas—functions as a narrative ‘grace-check’ that halts adharmic escalation.
Significance: Models the Śaiva ideal that true authority is the power to pacify and restore dharma; readers emulate restraint (śama) and seek higher counsel before action.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights that even the highest cosmic powers (Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the devas) can be rendered ineffective when the Supreme Lord’s will prevails; in Shaiva Siddhanta, Pati (Śiva) alone is ultimately sovereign, and all other agencies act only by His sanction.
The verse supports the Purāṇic theme that the devas’ capacities are subordinate to Śiva’s manifest governance (saguṇa īśvaratva). Linga-worship trains the devotee to recognize that all cosmic functions—creation, preservation, and regulation—depend upon Śiva, the Lord signified by the Linga.
A key takeaway is inner restraint (nirodha) through japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” accompanied by calmness and humility; applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and maintaining a steady, non-reactive mind aligns one’s action with Śiva’s higher order.