Shloka 18
युद्धप्रस्थान-वर्णनम्
Departure to the Battlefield and the Śaiva Overlordship over the Devas
नाऽप्श्यात्तस्य संस्थानं स्तंभस्यानलवर्चसः । श्रांतः स सूकरहरिः प्राप पूर्वं रणांगणम्
nā'pśyāttasya saṃsthānaṃ staṃbhasyānalavarcasaḥ | śrāṃtaḥ sa sūkarahariḥ prāpa pūrvaṃ raṇāṃgaṇam
He could not perceive the limit or true form of that pillar, radiant like blazing fire. Exhausted, Hari—who had taken the form of a boar—returned first to the battlefield.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Sthala Purana: This verse emphasizes the failure of even Viṣṇu (as Varāha) to find the base of the fiery stambha, a standard Liṅgodbhava teaching used in many liṅga-sthalas to ground the doctrine of Śiva’s immeasurability.
Significance: Contemplation of the ananta-liṅga cultivates humility and surrender—preconditions for anugraha in Śaiva Siddhānta.
Cosmic Event: Cosmic ‘measuring contest’ collapses: Viṣṇu’s descent through pātālas ends in fatigue, underscoring the pillar’s ananta nature.
FAQs
It teaches that the Supreme Lord (Shiva as the infinite Linga) is immeasurable by ordinary effort; even a great deity becomes exhausted when trying to grasp the Absolute by mere searching rather than surrender and grace.
The fiery pillar symbolizes Shiva’s boundless reality revealed through the Linga—Saguna worship becomes a doorway to contemplate the Nirguna, the limitless Lord who cannot be contained by form or endpoint.
Meditate on the Linga as infinite light (jyoti) while repeating the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” cultivating humility and surrender rather than pride in one’s power or knowledge.