Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 36
हंस-वराह-रूपग्रहण-कारणम्
The Reason for Assuming the Swan and Boar Forms
ब्रह्मांडस्य तथा नाशे वैकुण्ठस्य च तस्य च । कदाचिदेव देवर्षे नाशो नास्ति तयोरिह
brahmāṃḍasya tathā nāśe vaikuṇṭhasya ca tasya ca | kadācideva devarṣe nāśo nāsti tayoriha
Ô sage divin, lorsque survient la dissolution du brahmāṇḍa, Vaikuṇṭha et cette demeure suprême ne périssent pas en vérité ; ici, il n’y a jamais destruction pour ces deux—seuls les mondes d’en bas se résorbent.
Lord Shiva (Rudra) instructing Devarshi Narada
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: Pralaya: dissolution of brahmāṇḍa; assertion of imperishability of higher abodes (Vaikuṇṭha and ‘that’ supreme abode)
FAQs
The verse teaches that pralaya dissolves manifest worlds, but not the transcendent divine realm; it points the seeker toward the deathless refuge beyond changing creation, aligning with Shaiva Siddhanta’s emphasis on liberation (moksha) under the Lord’s grace.
Linga worship trains the mind to rest in Shiva as the unchanging ground of all change; by contemplating Shiva through the saguna symbol (the Linga), the devotee is led toward the imperishable reality that is not destroyed even when the brahmāṇḍa dissolves.
Meditate on Shiva as the eternal refuge beyond pralaya while japa of the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” ideally with vibhuti (Tripundra) and rudraksha as reminders of impermanence and the deathless Lord.