Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 51
भद्रस्य दिव्यरथारोहणं शङ्खनादश्च — Bhadra’s Divine Chariot-Ascent and the Conch-Blast
महांतस्ते सुरगणान्मंडूकानिवडुंडुभाः । प्राणैर्वियोजयामासुः पपुश्च रुधिरासवम्
mahāṃtaste suragaṇānmaṃḍūkānivaḍuṃḍubhāḥ | prāṇairviyojayāmāsuḥ papuśca rudhirāsavam
Ces puissants Ḍuṇḍubhas abattirent les cohortes des dieux comme s’il ne s’agissait que de simples grenouilles, les séparant de leur souffle vital ; et ils burent même leur sang tel un breuvage enivrant.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse functions as a battlefield tableau illustrating the collapse of deva-power under a darker, destructive force, preparing the narrative ground for Śiva’s restoring intervention elsewhere in the saṃhitā.
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
FAQs
It highlights the fragility of embodied power—even devas can be overwhelmed—pointing to the Shaiva Siddhanta view that only Pati (Lord Shiva) is the ultimate refuge beyond the bonds of karma, fear, and death.
The brutality of the scene underscores why devotees seek the stabilizing grace of Saguna Shiva through Linga-worship: the Linga represents the unwavering Lord who protects and liberates when worldly supports (even divine armies) fail.
A practical takeaway is to steady the prāṇa through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and to adopt purificatory Shaiva observances such as Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa—cultivating sattva and devotion amid भय (fear) and tamas.