Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 10
हिरण्यकशिपोः क्रोधः तथा देवप्रजाकदनम् — Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath and the Affliction of Devas and Beings
स तेपे मंदरद्रोण्यां तपः परमदारुणम् । ऊर्द्ध्वबाहुर्नभोदृष्टिः षादांगुष्ठाश्रितावनिः
sa tepe maṃdaradroṇyāṃ tapaḥ paramadāruṇam | ūrddhvabāhurnabhodṛṣṭiḥ ṣādāṃguṣṭhāśritāvaniḥ
Là, dans la vallée de Mandara, il accomplit une austérité d’une rigueur extrême : debout, les bras levés, le regard fixé vers le ciel, ne touchant la terre que par six orteils, demeurant ferme dans un tapas farouche pour obtenir la grâce de Śiva.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Mandara-droṇī is presented as a tapas-kṣetra where severe austerity compels divine attention; the narrative functions like a generic sthala motif: intense tapas draws Mahādeva’s darśana/boon.
Significance: Tapas-sthāna paradigm: visiting/remembering such sites valorizes restraint and devotion, oriented toward Śiva’s anugraha rather than mere siddhi.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights tapas as disciplined self-offering: the devotee restrains body and mind to purify karma and become fit for Shiva’s anugraha (grace), through which bondage (pāśa) is loosened and liberation becomes possible.
Such austerity is a preparatory means for Saguna Shiva-upāsanā—seeking the Lord’s manifest compassion and guidance—after which the devotee becomes qualified for deeper contemplation of Shiva’s supreme reality beyond form.
It suggests steady, vow-based practice: firm posture, one-pointed upward contemplation, and endurance. In Shaiva practice this is commonly paired with japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and observances like bhasma-dhāraṇa and Rudrākṣa-dhāraṇa, according to one’s capacity.