Shloka 29
जालन्धरस्य दूतप्रेषणम् — Jalandhara Sends an Envoy to Kailāsa
The Provocation of Śiva
वयं रत्नभुजस्त्वं तु योगी खलु दिगम्बरः । स्वस्त्रीरत्नं देहि मह्यं राज्ञस्सुखकराः प्रजाः
vayaṃ ratnabhujastvaṃ tu yogī khalu digambaraḥ | svastrīratnaṃ dehi mahyaṃ rājñassukhakarāḥ prajāḥ
“We are enjoyers of jewels and royal delights, whereas you are truly a yogin, Digambara—clad in the directions. Therefore give to me your jewel-like wife, for a king’s subjects are meant to be sources of his comfort.”
A lustful king addressing Lord Shiva (in ascetic form) within the Yuddhakhaṇḍa narrative
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhikṣāṭana
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; the verse intensifies the adharma of objectifying Śakti and treating subjects/women as instruments of royal pleasure—precisely the māyā-pāśa that Śiva’s ascetic form overturns.
Significance: Functions as a dharma-śikṣā within Purāṇic narrative: devotion to Śiva entails restraint, respect for Śakti, and rejection of exploitative kingship; recitation is taken to purify kāma and lobha.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse exposes the king’s delusion: mistaking power and pleasure as entitlement, he violates dharma by objectifying another’s wife. In Shaiva thought, such ego (ahaṅkāra) and desire (kāma) bind the soul (paśu) with pasha, while the yogic path of Shiva points toward restraint and liberation.
Though not directly about the Liṅga, it contrasts worldly kingship with Shiva’s Saguna form as the renunciate-yogin (digambara). Worship of Shiva—often through the Liṅga—cultivates purity, detachment, and reverence for dharma, countering the very arrogance and lust displayed here.
The implied remedy is self-restraint supported by Shiva-upāsanā: japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), meditation on Shiva as the inner witness, and adopting purifying disciplines such as bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and ethical vows to curb desire.