Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 37
वैवाहिकानुष्ठानसमापनं दानप्रशंसा च / Completion of Wedding Rites and Praise of Gifts
Dāna
स्वाहोवाच । स्थिरो भव महादेव स्त्रीणां वचसि साम्प्रतम् । विवाहे व्यवहारोऽस्ति पुरन्ध्रीणां प्रगल्भता
svāhovāca | sthiro bhava mahādeva strīṇāṃ vacasi sāmpratam | vivāhe vyavahāro'sti purandhrīṇāṃ pragalbhatā
Svāhā dit : «Sois ferme, ô Mahādeva, face aux paroles des femmes en cet instant. Dans les affaires de mariage, il y a bien des usages du monde, et les femmes peuvent se montrer hardies dans leurs mots et leurs actes.»
Svāhā
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; it functions as social-theological counsel within the marriage narrative—worldly vyavahāra is acknowledged while Śiva’s steadiness (dhairya) is urged.
Significance: Ethical instruction for householders: steadiness and discernment amid speech and social negotiation; indirectly supports the dharma of vivāha as a stage for Śiva–Śakti līlā.
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva ideal of steadiness (dhairya) in Śiva: even while engaging with worldly situations like marriage, one should remain inwardly firm—symbolically, Pati (Śiva) is untouched by changing speech and social pressures (pāśa).
Saguna Śiva participates in worldly līlā and dharma, yet remains ‘sthira’—the same steadiness devotees contemplate in Liṅga worship: the unmoving center of consciousness amid shifting worldly transactions.
The practical takeaway is mental steadiness: while performing daily duties, hold to japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to remain composed and dharmic amid emotional or social turbulence.