Shloka 26
देवाः वैकुण्ठगमनम् तथा विष्णोः अवतारस्तुतिः | Devas Go to Vaikuṇṭha and Praise Viṣṇu’s Avatāras
लक्ष्म्युवाच । अहं ते वल्लभा नाथ भक्ता यदि च सर्वदा । तत्कथं ते मम भ्राता युद्धे वध्यः कृपानिधे
lakṣmyuvāca | ahaṃ te vallabhā nātha bhaktā yadi ca sarvadā | tatkathaṃ te mama bhrātā yuddhe vadhyaḥ kṛpānidhe
Lakṣmī said: “O Lord, if I am always your beloved and devoted (bhaktā), then how is it that my brother is to be slain in this battle, O treasure-house of compassion?”
Lakshmi
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
The verse highlights a central Shaiva theme: personal devotion and divine compassion do not cancel the workings of dharma and karma. Lakṣmī’s question frames the tension between bhakti-driven intimacy with the Lord and the impartial moral order that governs outcomes in conflict.
Addressing the Lord as “Nātha” and “Kṛpānidhi” reflects Saguna devotion—relating to God as a compassionate, responsive person. In Shiva Purana spirituality, such devotion matures when the devotee also accepts the Lord’s governance of cosmic law, which Linga-worship symbolically represents as the steady, impartial axis of dharma.
A practical takeaway is to pair heartfelt prayer with surrender: worship with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while contemplating that the Lord’s compassion operates through dharma, not merely through personal preference.