Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 53
भद्रस्य दिव्यरथारोहणं शङ्खनादश्च — Bhadra’s Divine Chariot-Ascent and the Conch-Blast
विशिखोन्मथितैर्गात्रैर्बहुभिश्छिन्नसन्धिभिः । विवृत्तनयनाः केचिन्निपेतुर्भूतले मृताः
viśikhonmathitairgātrairbahubhiśchinnasandhibhiḥ | vivṛttanayanāḥ kecinnipeturbhūtale mṛtāḥ
Leurs membres, déchirés et broyés par des traits barbelés, et maintes articulations tranchées, certains—les yeux retournés vers le haut—tombèrent sur la terre, morts.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; the verse shifts from gore to a psychological-yogic simile: beings lacking ātma-nirodha become confused and mutually entangled—an image of tirodhāna (obscuration) under māyā.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It starkly portrays the perishability of the body bound by pāśa (limitation and karma). In Shaiva Siddhānta terms, such scenes intensify vairāgya (dispassion) and turn the seeker toward Pati—Śiva—who alone grants release beyond death.
The verse highlights that worldly power and physical form collapse, whereas devotion to Saguna Śiva—worshipped as the Liṅga—anchors the mind in the Deathless Lord. Liṅga-pūjā is thus presented as a refuge from the instability of embodied existence.
A practical takeaway is japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with remembrance of Śiva as the inner Self, supported by Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as aids to steadiness and detachment.