Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 29
हिरण्यकशिपोः क्रोधः तथा देवप्रजाकदनम् — Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath and the Affliction of Devas and Beings
दृष्टस्स दैत्यैरतुलप्रभावस्ते रेभिरे ते हि तथैव सर्वे । सिंहं च तं सर्वमयं निरीक्ष्य प्रह्लादनामा दितिजेन्द्रपुत्रः । उवाच राजानमयं मृगेन्द्रो जगन्मयः किं समुपागतश्च
dṛṣṭassa daityairatulaprabhāvaste rebhire te hi tathaiva sarve | siṃhaṃ ca taṃ sarvamayaṃ nirīkṣya prahlādanāmā ditijendraputraḥ | uvāca rājānamayaṃ mṛgendro jaganmayaḥ kiṃ samupāgataśca
Lorsque les Daityas virent cet être à la puissance sans égale, tous rugirent d’une même voix. Contemplant ce lion, comme l’incarnation de toute l’existence, Prahlāda—fils du roi des Daityas—dit : «Qu’est donc ce lion, formé du principe souverain et pénétrant l’univers, qui vient d’arriver ?»
Suta Goswami (narrating the Yuddhakhaṇḍa account to the sages)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
FAQs
The verse highlights a vision of the Divine as jaganmaya—pervading all—evoking both fear and reverence; it points to the Shaiva insight that the Lord’s manifested (saguna) form can reveal the all-pervasive supreme reality that underlies conflict and cosmos alike.
Like the Liṅga, which signifies the limitless Pati beyond form while being worshiped in form, the ‘all-made lion’ is a saguna epiphany that directs the mind to the formless, all-pervading sovereignty of Shiva who contains and transcends the universe.
A practical takeaway is jaganmaya-dhyāna—meditating on Shiva as all-pervading while repeating the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and offering bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder that all forms arise and dissolve in the Lord.