Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 41
त्रिपुरदाहवर्णनम् | Tripura-dāha-varṇanam
Description of the Burning of Tripura
सन्निपातो हि येषां नो विद्यते नाशकारकः । दैत्यानामन्यसत्त्वानां भावाभावे कृताकृते
sannipāto hi yeṣāṃ no vidyate nāśakārakaḥ | daityānāmanyasattvānāṃ bhāvābhāve kṛtākṛte
For those beings in whom there is no conjunction of causes that becomes the instrument of destruction—whether among the Daityas or among other creatures—there is, in the states of existence and non-existence, neither ‘done’ nor ‘undone’, that is, no binding consequence can be said to arise.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Yuddhakhaṇḍa account to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: A metaphysical aside: where the ‘sannipāta’ (conjunction of causal conditions) that produces destruction is absent, the dualities of bhāva/abhāva and kṛta/akṛta lose operative force. In Siddhānta terms, this hints at how karmic causality binds only within māyā’s causal nexus.
Significance: Encourages philosophical discernment: seeing ‘done/undone’ as binding only under pāśa; supports contemplative detachment and reliance on Śiva’s grace to transcend causal entanglement.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights that destruction and karmic consequence depend on a specific conjunction of causes; without that operative nexus, events do not yield binding ‘done/undone’ results—pointing to Shiva as the ultimate governor beyond mere material causality.
In Shaiva understanding, Saguna Shiva (worshipped as the Liṅga) is the Lord who presides over creation, preservation, and dissolution; this verse underscores that outcomes like destruction are not random but occur under a higher order ultimately rooted in Shiva’s governance.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with Tripuṇḍra and Rudrākṣa, cultivating insight that Shiva alone is the decisive cause beyond shifting conditions of bhāva/abhāva.