Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 33
गिलासुर-आक्रमणम् तथा शिवसैन्य-समाह्वानम् — The Assault of Gila and Śiva’s Mobilization
तदीयाद्विष्यन्दात्क्षिति तलगतैरन्धकगणैरतिव्याप्तघोरं विकृतवदनं स्वात्मसदृशम् । दधत्कल्पांताग्निप्रतिमवपुषा भूतपतिना त्रिशूले नोद्भिन्नस्त्रिपुररिपुणा दारुणतरम्
tadīyādviṣyandātkṣiti talagatairandhakagaṇairativyāptaghoraṃ vikṛtavadanaṃ svātmasadṛśam | dadhatkalpāṃtāgnipratimavapuṣā bhūtapatinā triśūle nodbhinnastripuraripuṇā dāruṇataram
De son corps se répandirent sur la surface de la terre des cohortes d’Andhakas, se propageant partout en un flot effroyable. Chacun portait un visage difforme et terrifiant, semblable à son propre être. Pourtant le Seigneur des Bhūtas, dont la forme flamboyait tel le feu de la fin des âges, ne fut pas percé même par le trident de l’Ennemi de Tripura (Śiva) ; au contraire, il devint plus terrible encore.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka
Type: rudram
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: kalpa-anta (pralaya) imagery
FAQs
The verse depicts the demonic tendency of ego and ignorance to multiply and pervade consciousness, while Śiva—Pati, the sovereign Lord—remains unshaken and ultimately subdues such darkness; it points to the Shaiva Siddhānta view that only the Lord’s grace can overcome the expanding power of mala (impurity).
By presenting Śiva as Bhūtapati and Tripurāri with a kalpānta-agni-like form, the text emphasizes Saguna Śiva—worshipped in the Liṅga—as the accessible, protective Lord whose manifested power destroys inner and outer obstacles.
Contemplate Śiva as Tripurāri/Bhūtapati while repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and pair it with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of dissolution of ego and steadfast refuge in the Lord.