Shloka 23
जलंधरयुद्धे मायाप्रयोगः — Jalandhara’s Māyā in the Battle with Śiva
ततः परमसंक्रुद्धो रुद्रो रौद्रवपुर्धरः । प्रलयानलवद्धोरो बभूव सहसा प्रभुः
tataḥ paramasaṃkruddho rudro raudravapurdharaḥ | pralayānalavaddhoro babhūva sahasā prabhuḥ
Then Rudra, the Lord, becoming supremely enraged, assumed a fierce Rudra-form; suddenly he appeared terrifying—like the fire of cosmic dissolution—manifesting his saguna might to subdue adharma.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; the imagery ‘pralayānala’ frames Rudra as the cosmic dissolver whose wrath subdues adharma.
Significance: Meditation on Rudra’s raudra-vapuḥ cultivates fearlessness and detachment; it reorients the paśu from worldly security to reliance on the Lord who alone controls pralaya.
Type: rudram
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: mahapralaya
FAQs
It shows Śiva as Pati (the supreme Lord) who manifests a fierce saguna form not out of ordinary passion, but as divine governance—burning adharma like pralaya-fire and restoring the conditions for liberation-oriented dharma.
The Liṅga signifies the transcendent (nirguṇa) Śiva, while this verse highlights his accessible manifestation (saguṇa) as Rudra; devotees worship the Liṅga while revering that the same Śiva can appear as Raudra to protect cosmic order.
Contemplate Rudra as the inner fire that burns impurities, and take refuge in japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of detachment and protection.