Shloka 22
दुन्दुभिनिर्ह्रादनिर्णयः / Dundubhinirhrāda’s Stratagem: Targeting the Brāhmaṇas
प्रवेशमुटजानां च निर्गमं हि विलोकयन् । यामिन्यां व्याघ्ररूपेणाभक्षयद्ब्राह्मणान्बहून्
praveśamuṭajānāṃ ca nirgamaṃ hi vilokayan | yāminyāṃ vyāghrarūpeṇābhakṣayadbrāhmaṇānbahūn
Watching the comings and goings at the sages’ forest-huts, in the night he assumed the form of a tiger and devoured many brāhmaṇas.
Sūta Gosvāmin
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
The verse highlights adharma expressed as deceit and violence against the dharmic community; in Shaiva understanding, such cruelty strengthens pāśa (bondage) and leads to downfall, while Shiva ultimately restores dharma and protects the righteous.
By showing the threat to ascetics and brāhmaṇas, the narrative implicitly points to Saguna Shiva as the protector (rakṣaka) of dharma; devotion to Shiva—often centered on the Liṅga—becomes a refuge that invokes His grace to remove fear and adharma.
The practical takeaway is protective Shiva-upāsanā: steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and regular Liṅga-pūjā with bhasma/tripuṇḍra and rudrākṣa, cultivating fearlessness and dharmic discernment.