जलंधरयुद्धे मायाप्रयोगः — Jalandhara’s Māyā in the Battle with Śiva
ततो जलंधरो वेगात्त्रिभिर्विव्याध सायकैः । आपुंखमग्नैस्तं रुद्रं शिरस्युरसि चोदरे
tato jalaṃdharo vegāttribhirvivyādha sāyakaiḥ | āpuṃkhamagnaistaṃ rudraṃ śirasyurasi codare
Then Jalandhara, rushing forward with force, pierced Rudra with three arrows—driven in up to the feathers—striking him in the head, the chest, and the belly.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
It portrays the divine līlā where Rudra appears as a warrior within the world’s drama, yet in Shaiva Siddhānta the Supreme (Pati) is ultimately untouched in essence—showing that apparent injury belongs to the manifested play, not to Shiva’s transcendent nature.
The verse highlights Saguna Shiva—Rudra as the personal Lord who participates in cosmic events. Linga worship steadies the devotee in the truth that the same Lord who appears in form and action is also the formless Absolute worshiped as the Linga.
A practical takeaway is to take refuge in Shiva through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and inner surrender (śaraṇāgati), remembering that the Lord protects the devotee even amid conflict and agitation.