Shloka 28
गिलासुर-आक्रमणम् तथा शिवसैन्य-समाह्वानम् — The Assault of Gila and Śiva’s Mobilization
प्रमत्तैर्वेतालैस्सुदृढकरतुंडैरपि खगैवृकैर्नानाभेदैश्शवकुणपपूर्णास्यकवलैः । विकीर्णे संग्रामे कनककशिपोर्वंशजनकश्चिरं युद्धं कृत्वा हरिहरमहेन्द्रैश्च विजितः
pramattairvetālaissudṛḍhakaratuṃḍairapi khagaivṛkairnānābhedaiśśavakuṇapapūrṇāsyakavalaiḥ | vikīrṇe saṃgrāme kanakakaśiporvaṃśajanakaściraṃ yuddhaṃ kṛtvā hariharamahendraiśca vijitaḥ
When the battle was thrown into chaos—amid frenzied vetālas, fierce birds with hard, powerful beaks, and wolves of many kinds, their mouths stuffed with morsels of corpses—then the progenitor of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s lineage fought for a long time, but was ultimately defeated by Hari (Viṣṇu), Hara (Śiva), and Mahendra (Indra).
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
FAQs
The verse portrays the collapse of asuric arrogance: even a powerful progenitor of a demonic line is overcome when the divine powers aligned with dharma—Śiva (Hara), Viṣṇu (Hari), and Indra (Mahendra)—act together. It emphasizes that tamas and violence ultimately consume themselves, while divine order prevails.
By naming Hara as a decisive divine force, the verse supports Saguna Śiva-bhakti—worship of Śiva as the active Lord who destroys impurity and protects cosmic balance. In Linga worship, the devotee remembers Śiva as the remover of fear and the purifier who ends the reign of adharma.
A practical takeaway is fearlessness through japa and purification: recite the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa, contemplating Śiva as Hara who dissolves inner tamas, anger, and pride—the roots of asuric downfall.