Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 25
कार्त्तिकेयान्वेषण-नन्दिसंवाद-वर्णनम्
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गंगोवाच । वीर्यं सोढुमशक्ताहं तव शंकर लोकप । व्याकुलाऽति प्रभो नाथ न्यक्षिपं शरकानने
gaṃgovāca | vīryaṃ soḍhumaśaktāhaṃ tava śaṃkara lokapa | vyākulā'ti prabho nātha nyakṣipaṃ śarakānane
ગંગા બોલી—હે શંકર, લોકપાલ! તારા વીર્ય‑તેજને હું સહન કરી શકતી નથી. અતિ વ્યાકુળ થઈ, હે પ્રભુ નાથ, મેં તેને શરકાનનમાં (નળકાંઠાના વનમાં) નાંખી દીધું.
Ganga
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Sthala Purana: Gaṅgā, overwhelmed by Śiva’s tejas, casts it into the Śara (reed) forest—an etiological marker for Skanda/Kārttikeya’s eventual manifestation in a liminal watery-reedy landscape.
Significance: Reinforces Gaṅgā’s salvific role: she can carry Śiva’s power for the world’s good, yet even she requires release into a prepared locus—suggesting ritual ‘kṣetra’ and ‘pātra’ are essential.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse highlights Śiva’s immeasurable tejas (divine potency) and the cosmic need for a proper vessel to contain it—pointing to Śiva as Pati (the Supreme Lord) whose power must be approached with reverence, purity, and right receptivity.
In Śaiva tradition, the Liṅga signifies the controlled, auspicious presence of Śiva’s infinite power in a form accessible to devotees. Gaṅgā’s inability to bear the raw potency underscores why Saguna upāsanā (worship with form) and sacred symbols channel divine energy safely for devotion and grace.
A practical takeaway is disciplined reverence toward Śiva’s śakti through mantra-japa (especially Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and purity observances; the verse implicitly teaches containment and steadiness rather than forcing intense energies without preparation.