Shloka 38
जलंधरयुद्धे मायाप्रयोगः — Jalandhara’s Māyā in the Battle with Śiva
वडवाया मुखं बद्धं गृहीत्वा तां करेण तु । तत्क्षणादेव सकलमेकार्णवमभूत्तदा
vaḍavāyā mukhaṃ baddhaṃ gṛhītvā tāṃ kareṇa tu | tatkṣaṇādeva sakalamekārṇavamabhūttadā
Seizing her with his hand and restraining the mouth of the mare-faced one, at that very instant everything became a single ocean.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
Sthala Purana: The mare-faced Vaḍavā (submarine fire) motif is cosmological; here it functions as a battle-cosmic reversal (everything becoming one ocean), not a Jyotirliṅga foundation legend.
Significance: Meditation on Śiva’s capacity to collapse differentiated worlds into undivided waters—symbol of pralaya and the Lord’s control over destructive forces.
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: Pralaya-like inundation imagery (ekārṇava)
FAQs
It portrays the supremacy of Pati (Lord Shiva) over overwhelming cosmic forces: when the uncontrolled power is checked, the world-state shifts instantly, reminding the devotee that all conditions—creation, preservation, and dissolution—move under Shiva’s governance.
The episode emphasizes Saguna Shiva as the active Lord who restrains and directs destructive energies. In Linga worship, the devotee approaches Shiva as the stable axis of reality—beyond chaos—seeking protection, order, and grace.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with bhakti and inner restraint (niyama), contemplating Shiva as the controller of turbulent impulses, just as he restrains the overwhelming force depicted in the verse.