Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 3

जलंधरयुद्धे मायाप्रयोगः — Jalandhara’s Māyā in the Battle with Śiva

Devanagari script

अंतर्धानगतां मायां दृष्ट्वा बुद्धो हि शंकरः । चुक्रोधातीव संहारी लौकिकीं गतिमाश्रितः

Transliteration

aṃtardhānagatāṃ māyāṃ dṛṣṭvā buddho hi śaṃkaraḥ | cukrodhātīva saṃhārī laukikīṃ gatimāśritaḥ

Translation

Al ver que Māyā se desvanecía en el ocultamiento, Śaṅkara comprendió con claridad la situación. Entonces el gran Disolvente, Señor del saṃhāra, se encendió en intensa ira, asumiendo un modo de acción mundano para la batalla.

Word by Word

• antardhāna-gatām: gone into hiding, vanished
• antardhāna-gatām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antardhāna (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (गम्-धातु से क्त)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa “gone into disappearance/hidden”; qualifies māyām

• māyām: māyā, illusion
• māyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त अव्यय) “having seen”

• buddhaḥ: aware, awakened
• buddhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: budh (धातु) + kta (क्त) / buddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kṛdanta PPP used adjectivally, Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; “aware/awakened”; agrees with śaṃkaraḥ

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), emphasis

• śaṃkaraḥ: Śaṅkara
• śaṃkaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• cukrodha: became angry
• cukrodha: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: krudh (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect/लिट्), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• atīva: exceedingly
• atīva: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: Intensifier adverb (kriyāviśeṣaṇa)

• saṃhārī: the destroyer
• saṃhārī: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃ-hṛ (धातु) + ṇin (णिन्)
• Form: Agent noun (कर्तृवाचक कृदन्त) with ṇin; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; epithet of Śiva

• laukikīm: worldly
• laukikīm: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: laukika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; qualifies gatim

• gatim: state, course
• gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• āśritaḥ: having resorted to
• āśritaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-śri (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta PPP, Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; takes object gatim: “having resorted to”

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Maya

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The verse highlights that Shiva is never deluded by Māyā; He recognizes concealment instantly and, for the protection of cosmic order, manifests an appropriate (worldly) mode—showing that the Lord remains transcendent even while acting within the world.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

It supports Saguna-upāsanā: devotees worship Shiva as the active Lord who engages in līlā—taking forms and emotions like ‘wrath’ to subdue adharma—while the Linga signifies His unchanging, formless reality behind these manifest actions.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with steady discrimination (viveka) to see through Māyā’s concealment, supported by Shaiva markers like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of Shiva’s saṃhāra of inner delusion.