Shloka 10
कैलासमार्गे शङ्करस्य परीक्षा — Śiva Tests the Approachers on the Kailāsa Path
पुरन्दर उवाच । कस्त्वं भोः कुत आयातः किं नाम वद तत्त्वतः । स्वस्थानेसंस्थितश्शंभु किं वान्यत्र गतः प्रभुः
purandara uvāca | kastvaṃ bhoḥ kuta āyātaḥ kiṃ nāma vada tattvataḥ | svasthānesaṃsthitaśśaṃbhu kiṃ vānyatra gataḥ prabhuḥ
Purandara (Indra) said: “Sir, who are you? From where have you come? Tell me your name truthfully. Is Śambhu, the Lord, established in His own abode, or has that Supreme Master gone elsewhere?”
Purandara (Indra)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Bhairava
FAQs
The verse emphasizes tattva-jijñāsā—seeking the truth of identity and the Supreme Lord. Indra’s questions reflect the Shaiva Siddhanta impulse to discern Pati (Śiva) as the Prabhu who is not limited by place, even while presiding over His abode.
By asking where Śambhu is, the verse points to the devotee’s search for the Lord’s accessible presence. In Linga and Saguna worship, Śiva is approached as the manifest, gracious Prabhu—present to devotees even when His cosmic actions appear elsewhere.
The practical takeaway is truthful inquiry and remembrance of Śiva as Prabhu: mentally repeat the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while contemplating Śambhu as ever-established in His own nature and simultaneously free to act everywhere.