Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 26
युद्धप्रसङ्गः—देवगणयुद्धे शिवविष्णुसंयोगः / Battle Episode—Śiva–Viṣṇu Convergence in the Devas’ Conflict
बहवो देवताश्चैव मया दृष्टास्तथा पुनः । दानवा बहवो दैत्या यक्षगंधर्वराक्षसाः
bahavo devatāścaiva mayā dṛṣṭāstathā punaḥ | dānavā bahavo daityā yakṣagaṃdharvarākṣasāḥ
«J’ai vu bien des dieux, maintes et maintes fois ; et de même, bien des Dānavas et des Daityas, ainsi que des Yakṣas, des Gandharvas et des Rākṣasas.»
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
FAQs
The verse emphasizes the vast hierarchy of beings—divine, semi-divine, and demonic—within saṃsāra; from a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, all such categories remain within the domain of Pāśa (bondage) unless they turn toward Pati, Lord Shiva, who alone grants true liberation.
By listing many orders of beings, the text implicitly points to a single supreme refuge beyond them: Shiva, worshipped as the Liṅga (Saguna symbol revealing the transcendent). Liṅga-upāsanā is presented as a universal path accessible to all—Devas or Asuras—through devotion and right conduct.
A practical takeaway is to adopt steady Shiva-smaraṇa through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and simple Liṅga-pūjā, reinforcing that spiritual progress does not depend on one’s class of being but on turning the mind toward Shiva.