Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 21

युद्धप्रारम्भवर्णनम् — Description of the Commencement of Battle

Devanagari script

उभे सेनं तदा तेषामगर्जेतां वनोपमे । भयंकरेऽत्यवीराणामितरेषां सुखावहे

Transliteration

ubhe senaṃ tadā teṣāmagarjetāṃ vanopame | bhayaṃkare'tyavīrāṇāmitareṣāṃ sukhāvahe

Translation

तब उन दोनों सेनाओं ने वन के समान गर्जना की। वह गर्जना अत्यन्त कायरों के लिए भयावह थी, परन्तु वीरों के लिए हर्ष और धैर्य देने वाली।

Word by Word

• ubhe: both (two)
• ubhe: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ubhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Dual (द्विवचन); adjective qualifying implied 'sene'

• sene: the two armies
• sene: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: senā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Nominative (1st), Dual; subject with ubhe

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• agarjetām: roared
• agarjetām: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: garj (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra (लङ्, imperfect/past), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Dual; parasmaipada; with augment a-

• vana-upame: like a forest
• vana-upame: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक) + upamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Nominative (1st), Dual; tatpuruṣa: 'vanasya upame' (forest-like), qualifying sene

• bhayaṃkare: terrifying
• bhayaṃkare: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhayaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Nominative (1st), Dual; karmadhāraya: 'bhayaṃ karoti' (fear-causing), qualifying sene

• ati-avīrāṇām: of the very cowardly
• ati-avīrāṇām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (अव्यय) + avīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Plural; avyayībhāva with ati- intensifier; 'of the very unheroic/cowardly'

• itareṣām: of the others
• itareṣām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Plural

• sukhāvahe: bringing happiness
• sukhāvahe: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Nominative (1st), Dual; tatpuruṣa: 'sukhasya āvaha' (bringing happiness), qualifying sene

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time: the battlefield-roar evokes kāla’s drumbeat that terrifies the timid and steels the brave; Mahākāleśvara’s sthala tradition centers on Śiva’s supremacy over Time and death, granting fearlessness to devotees.

Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for fearlessness (abhaya), victory over death-anxiety, and steadiness in crisis—mirrored by the verse’s contrast between cowards and the valiant.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Kāla-pratīti (the felt presence of Time) symbolized by the armies’ thunderous roar.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kartikeya

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The same external event (the thunderous roar of battle) produces fear in the unsteady mind and strength in the courageous—showing that inner guna-disposition and dharmic resolve shape one’s experience.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

In the Kumāra-khaṇḍa setting, courage and protection are seen as expressions of Saguna Shiva’s grace working through his divine power (especially via Skanda/Kartikeya); devotion steadies the heart so turmoil no longer terrifies.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate steadiness through japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and Shaiva discipline (bhasma/tripuṇḍra with remembrance of Shiva), so the mind becomes ‘valiant’ and not shaken by fear.