Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 29
सर्गविभागवर्णनम्
Classification of Creation: the Nine Sargas and the Streams of Beings
प्रजासन्तानहेतोश्च प्रयतध्वमतन्द्रिताः । एवमुक्ताश्च रुरुदुर्दुद्रुवुश्च समन्ततः । रोदनाद्द्रावणाच्चैव ते रुद्रा नामतः स्मृताः । ये रुद्रास्ते खलु प्राणा ये प्राणास्ते महात्मकाः
prajāsantānahetośca prayatadhvamatandritāḥ | evamuktāśca rurudurdudruvuśca samantataḥ | rodanāddrāvaṇāccaiva te rudrā nāmataḥ smṛtāḥ | ye rudrāste khalu prāṇā ye prāṇāste mahātmakāḥ
« Pour la continuité des créatures, efforcez-vous avec ardeur et sans négligence. » Ainsi exhortés, ils pleurèrent et coururent en tous sens. À cause de leurs pleurs (rodana) et du fait qu’ils font fuir (drāvaṇa), on se souvient d’eux sous le nom de « Rudras ». En vérité, ces Rudras sont les prāṇas ; et ces prāṇas sont les puissances magnanimes qui soutiennent la vie incarnée.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse links the Rudras with prāṇa (life-breath), teaching that Shiva’s Rudra-power is not merely cosmic but also the inner force sustaining all beings; recognizing this leads the seeker toward Shaiva insight that Pati (Shiva) pervades and governs the pashu through the very breath of life.
By identifying Rudra with prāṇa, the text encourages Saguna devotion to Shiva as the living indweller: Linga worship is not only external ritual but also internalization—offering one’s breath, attention, and vitality to the Lord who stands as the support of embodied existence.
A practical takeaway is prāṇāyāma and mantra-japa: steady the prāṇa and repeat the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with awareness that the breath itself is Rudra’s presence; this aligns inner yoga with Shaiva devotion.