Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 48
कामप्रहारः — The Subduing of Kāma (Desire) / Kāma’s Assault and Its Futility
शिव उवाच । हे देवास्सुप्रसन्नोऽस्मि जीवयिष्यामि चांतरे । कामः स मद्गणो भूत्वा विहरिष्यति नित्यशः
śiva uvāca | he devāssuprasanno'smi jīvayiṣyāmi cāṃtare | kāmaḥ sa madgaṇo bhūtvā vihariṣyati nityaśaḥ
Śiva dijo: «Oh Devas, estoy sumamente complacido. A su debido tiempo lo devolveré a la vida; y ese Kāma, hecho miembro de mis gaṇas, se recreará y servirá eternamente en mi presencia».
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse presents Śiva as Pati (the Lord) who disciplines and then redeems: even kāma (desire), once purified by divine will, can be transformed from a binding force into service within Śiva’s order (gaṇa), indicating grace that converts bondage into devotion.
As Saguna Śiva, the compassionate Lord responds to the Devas and governs cosmic functions. Linga-worship emphasizes this same lordship: Śiva is both the transcendent reality and the personal Lord who grants boons, restores order, and reorients human impulses toward dharma and bhakti.
A practical takeaway is disciplined purification of desire through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with bhakti and self-restraint; offer the mind’s impulses to Śiva as service, as Kāma is redirected into Śiva’s gaṇa rather than allowed to bind the soul.