Shloka 8
त्रिपुरवर्णनम् (Tripura-varṇanam) — “Description of Tripura”
तारकाख्यस्तु तज्जेष्ठो विद्युन्माली च मध्यमः । कमलाक्षः कनीयांश्च सर्वे तुल्यबलास्सदा
tārakākhyastu tajjeṣṭho vidyunmālī ca madhyamaḥ | kamalākṣaḥ kanīyāṃśca sarve tulyabalāssadā
Of them, the one named Tāraka was the eldest; Vidyunmālī was the middle; and Kamalākṣa was the youngest—yet all of them were always equal in strength.
Sūta Gosvāmin
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
The verse highlights that worldly power can appear perfectly balanced among those driven by asuric ambition; in Shaiva Siddhanta, such power remains within pāśa (bondage) unless oriented toward Śiva (Pati), the true source of strength and liberation.
By contrasting equal asuric might with the higher sovereignty of Śiva, the narrative implicitly points to Saguna Śiva worship (including the Liṅga) as the refuge that subdues ego-based power and restores dharma through divine order.
A practical takeaway is to cultivate humility through japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while applying tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder that all embodied strength is transient without Śiva’s grace.