Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 11
मेनायाः क्रोध-विलापः — Menā’s Lament and Reproach
to the Sage
हित्वा ब्रह्मजलं दूरे पीतं कूपोदकं त्वया । सूर्यं हित्वा तु खद्योतो गृहीतो यत्नतस्त्वया
hitvā brahmajalaṃ dūre pītaṃ kūpodakaṃ tvayā | sūryaṃ hitvā tu khadyoto gṛhīto yatnatastvayā
«Arrojando lejos el agua inmensa, semejante al océano (de la verdad superior), has elegido beber sólo agua de pozo. Abandonando al Sol, con gran empeño has tomado un simple luciérnaga.»
Lord Shiva (instructing in the Pārvatīkhaṇḍa narrative context)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
Offering: dipa
FAQs
It warns against exchanging the vast, liberating reality of the Supreme (Pati—Shiva) for small, limited substitutes—worldly attainments that require effort yet yield little. It urges viveka (discernment) and turning toward moksha.
The verse contrasts the ‘Sun’ of the highest refuge with the ‘firefly’ of lesser objects; in Shaiva Siddhanta practice, Linga worship is a concrete (saguṇa) focus that leads the devotee beyond limited desires toward Shiva’s supreme grace.
Adopt daily Shiva-upasana with steadiness: japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and meditation on Shiva as the highest aim, cultivating vairagya so attention is not spent on ‘small lights’ of distraction.