Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 8
रुद्रस्य रणप्रवेशः तथा दैत्यगणानां बाणवृष्टिः
Rudra Enters the Battlefield; the Daityas’ Arrow-Storm
बाणैस्संछादयामासुर्द्रुतं रुद्रगणांश्च ते । अंगानि चिच्छिदुर्वीराः शुंभाद्या निखिला मुने
bāṇaissaṃchādayāmāsurdrutaṃ rudragaṇāṃśca te | aṃgāni cicchidurvīrāḥ śuṃbhādyā nikhilā mune
Ô sage, Śumbha et les autres guerriers valeureux couvrirent promptement les troupes des Gaṇas de Rudra d’une pluie de flèches; et, dans la fureur du combat, ils tranchèrent et transpercèrent leurs membres.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Rudra
FAQs
The verse depicts intense conflict around Rudra’s gaṇas, symbolizing how forces of adharma violently strike at Shiva’s devotees and divine order; in Shaiva Siddhanta, such battles also mirror the inner struggle where ignorance and ego attack the soul’s movement toward Shiva (Pati).
Though the verse is martial, it belongs to Saguna Shiva’s līlā—Shiva’s manifest sphere where Dharma is defended through divine agencies like the Rudragaṇas; devotion to the Liṅga anchors the worshipper in Shiva as the supreme refuge beyond worldly conflict, while honoring his active protection in the manifested realm.
A practical takeaway is steadiness in japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and wearing Rudrākṣa/Tripuṇḍra as reminders of Shiva’s protection—maintaining inner composure when ‘arrows’ of distraction, anger, and fear strike.