Shloka 29
अवधूतेश्वरलीला (Avadhūteśvara-līlā) — Śiva Tests Indra’s Pride on the Way to Kailāsa
अवधूत उवाच । क्रोधाच्च निस्सृतन्तेजो धारयामि स्वनेत्रतः । कथं हि कंचुकीं सर्पस्संधत्ते चोज्ज्ञितां पुनः
avadhūta uvāca | krodhācca nissṛtantejo dhārayāmi svanetrataḥ | kathaṃ hi kaṃcukīṃ sarpassaṃdhatte cojjñitāṃ punaḥ
Avadhūta said: “From anger, fiery radiance has burst forth; I restrain it from my own eyes. How could a serpent take up again the slough it has cast off, and put it on once more?”
Avadhūta
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
FAQs
It teaches vairāgya (dispassion): once the seeker has cast off the old “covering” of bondage and ignorance, returning to it is unnatural—like a serpent re-wearing its discarded skin. Restraining the ‘fire from the eyes’ also points to mastering wrath and directing inner energy toward liberation.
In Shaiva Siddhanta, devotion to Saguna Shiva (Linga worship) purifies the paśu (individual soul) and loosens pāśa (bondage). The verse underscores that true purification is meant to be irreversible—devotion should culminate in stable detachment rather than repeated return to former passions.
A practical takeaway is krodha-nigraha (restraint of anger) through japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and steady dhyāna on Shiva’s calm, auspicious form, so that inner heat becomes tapas (spiritual discipline) rather than destructive rage.