Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 2
त्रिपुरवर्णनम् (Tripura-varṇanam) — “Description of Tripura”
इदानीं ब्रूहि सुप्रीत्या चरितं वरमुत्तमम् । शंकरो हि यथा रुद्रो जघान विहरन्खलान्
idānīṃ brūhi suprītyā caritaṃ varamuttamam | śaṃkaro hi yathā rudro jaghāna viharankhalān
À présent, avec une grande affection, dis-nous ce récit très excellent et sublime : comment Śaṅkara, en vérité en tant que Rudra, tandis qu’il allait librement en son jeu, abattit les méchants.
Sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (addressing Sūta Gosvāmin)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
Sthala Purana: The verse is a request to hear Rudra’s destruction of the wicked (khalān) in the Tripura cycle; it is not tied here to a specific Jyotirliṅga origin legend.
Type: stotra
FAQs
The verse frames Rudra’s destruction of the wicked as a divine, dharma-restoring act of Śiva (Śaṅkara). In Shaiva thought, even fierce action is ultimately compassionate—removing adharmic forces that bind beings and obstruct right order.
It points to Saguna Śiva—Śiva with attributes—who manifests as Rudra to intervene in the world. Linga worship honors the same Lord as both transcendent (beyond form) and immanent (active protector), with Rudra-leela expressing His worldly governance.
A practical takeaway is to remember Śiva as both Śaṅkara and Rudra while chanting the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” cultivating devotion and inner purification—asking the Lord to remove inner “wickedness” (anger, ego, delusion) as He removes outer adharma.