Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 18
रुद्रस्य रणप्रवेशः तथा दैत्यगणानां बाणवृष्टिः
Rudra Enters the Battlefield; the Daityas’ Arrow-Storm
सूर्यस्य मंडलं भित्त्वा यायाद्वै परमं पदम् । परिव्राट् परमज्ञानी रणे यत्संमुखे हतः
sūryasya maṃḍalaṃ bhittvā yāyādvai paramaṃ padam | parivrāṭ paramajñānī raṇe yatsaṃmukhe hataḥ
सूर्य-मंडल को भेदकर वह निश्चय ही परम पद को प्राप्त होता है। वह परमज्ञानी परिव्राजक है; रण में उसके सम्मुख जो मारा जाता है, वही उस सर्वोच्च अवस्था को पहुँचता है।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakshinamurti
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: Post-mortem ascent imagery: 'piercing the solar orb' as a cosmological passage to the supreme state
FAQs
It extols the spiritual potency of the truly realized renunciate devoted to Shiva: contact with such a knower is portrayed as a direct cause for reaching the supreme state, indicating the liberating power of Shiva-jñāna that cuts bondage (pāśa).
In Shaiva Siddhanta, Saguna Shiva (worshiped as the Linga) grants grace that matures the soul into jñāna and vairāgya; the verse highlights the fruit of that grace—liberation—embodied in the paramajñānī who has internalized Shiva through disciplined worship and realization.
The takeaway is cultivation of Shiva-jñāna through steady japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with purity and renunciation; pairing it with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa supports remembrance of Shiva and detachment leading toward the supreme goal.