Shloka 16
अवधूतेश्वरलीला (Avadhūteśvara-līlā) — Śiva Tests Indra’s Pride on the Way to Kailāsa
इत्युदीर्य्य ततो वज्री संनिरीक्ष्य क्रुधा हि तम् । हन्तुन्दिगम्बरं वज्रमुद्यतं स चकार ह
ityudīryya tato vajrī saṃnirīkṣya krudhā hi tam | hantundigambaraṃ vajramudyataṃ sa cakāra ha
Having spoken thus, Indra (the wielder of the thunderbolt) then fixed his gaze upon him in anger, and, intending to strike down the sky-clad ascetic, he raised his thunderbolt to slay him.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; the raised vajra marks the peak of Indra’s bondage-driven agency, setting the stage for Śiva’s corrective intervention (typically culminating in humbling and eventual grace).
Cosmic Event: storm-like portent (implied by vajra imagery)
FAQs
It highlights how worldly authority and ego (symbolized by Indra’s anger) fails before the transcendent Rudra principle; the Shaiva teaching is to overcome krodha and recognize Shiva as the supreme Pati beyond all celestial powers.
The “Digambara” points to Shiva’s ascetic, world-transcending Saguna form—worship reminds devotees that Shiva is not bound by status, ornament, or possession, and that true refuge is in Shiva rather than in fear of cosmic powers.
A practical takeaway is anger-control through japa of the Panchakshara mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and cultivating vairagya (detachment), aligning the mind with Rudra’s calm, unpossessive Digambara ideal.