Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 12
हंस-वराह-रूपग्रहण-कारणम्
The Reason for Assuming the Swan and Boar Forms
विवेको नैव लब्धश्च यतो हंसो व्यलीयत । शिवस्वरूपतत्त्वस्य ज्योतिरूपस्य नारद
viveko naiva labdhaśca yato haṃso vyalīyata | śivasvarūpatattvasya jyotirūpasya nārada
Faute d’avoir obtenu le discernement véritable, le Haṃsa (l’âme-mental subtil) se résorba et disparut. Ô Nārada, cela advient lorsque l’on ne réalise pas la réalité essentielle de la propre nature de Śiva, Śiva qui est la Forme même de la Lumière (Jyoti).
Brahma (narrating to Narada within the Srishti Khanda frame)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: General jyoti-tattva teaching: Śiva is jyotirūpa; failure to recognize this leads to dissolution of the aspirant’s discriminative stance (haṃsa).
Significance: Contemplation of Śiva as jyotis is presented as the key to stable viveka and liberation-oriented knowledge.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
Offering: dipa
FAQs
It teaches that without viveka (right discernment), the seeker’s subtle inner principle (haṃsa) becomes unstable and ‘dissolves’—i.e., loses the capacity to realize Truth. Liberation depends on recognizing Shiva-tattva as Jyoti, the self-luminous Reality beyond confusion.
The Linga is revered as the sign of the formless, self-effulgent Jyoti-Shiva. Saguna worship (forms, rituals, mantra) is meant to mature into viveka that reveals the same Shiva as inner Light—so devotion culminates in realization of Shiva’s svarupa.
Cultivate viveka through japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditation on Shiva as inner Jyoti (light in the heart), supported by Shaiva disciplines like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as aids to steady remembrance.