Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 66
कामशापानुग्रहः (Kāmaśāpānugraha) — “The Curse and Grace Concerning Kāma”
इति भीतो रतिपतिस्तत्क्षणात्त्यक्तमार्गणः । प्रादुर्बभूव प्रत्यक्षं शापं श्रुत्वातिदारुणम्
iti bhīto ratipatistatkṣaṇāttyaktamārgaṇaḥ | prādurbabhūva pratyakṣaṃ śāpaṃ śrutvātidāruṇam
Entendant cette malédiction d’une effroyable dureté, Kāma, Seigneur de l’Amour, fut saisi de peur et, sur-le-champ, abandonna sa flèche ; puis il se manifesta en personne, visible devant eux.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
FAQs
The verse shows how kāma (desire), even when powerful, becomes powerless before dharma and the higher authority of Śiva’s order; fear arises when desire oversteps its bounds, and surrender replaces aggression.
In Śaiva thought, Saguna Śiva is the immediate moral and cosmic governor: when desire is checked, one turns from outward compulsion to direct encounter with the divine order—supporting Linga-worship as a stabilizing focus for the mind.
A practical takeaway is restraint of desire through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and steadying the mind with simple Śiva-upāsanā (e.g., Tripuṇḍra-bhasma and inward recollection) when impulses surge.