Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 5
हिरण्यनेत्रस्य तपः — Hiraṇyanetra’s Austerity and the Boon
वर्षायुतं तत्र तपश्चचार जजाप जाप्यं विधृतैकपादः । आहारहीनो नियमोर्द्ध्वबाहुः कर्त्तुं न शक्यं हि सुरा सुरैर्यत्
varṣāyutaṃ tatra tapaścacāra jajāpa jāpyaṃ vidhṛtaikapādaḥ | āhārahīno niyamorddhvabāhuḥ karttuṃ na śakyaṃ hi surā surairyat
There he performed austerities for ten thousand years, and he repeated the mantra fit to be repeated. Standing on a single foot, without food, observing strict vows with arms held aloft, he undertook a discipline that is indeed impossible for both the devas and the asuras to accomplish.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Role: liberating
FAQs
It highlights tapas and mantra-japa as a fierce purification of the limited self (paśu), showing that unwavering discipline can surpass even divine and demonic capacities when directed toward Shiva as the supreme Pati.
The verse emphasizes embodied practice—vows, japa, and yogic restraint—which in Shiva Purana tradition commonly culminate in Saguna Shiva worship such as Linga-sevā, where disciplined devotion becomes fit to receive Shiva’s grace.
Sustained mantra-japa with niyama (vows), fasting or regulated diet, and steady yogic posture; for Shaiva practice this can be aligned with Panchākṣarī japa ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") along with vrata observances (especially on Mahāśivarātri).