Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 27
जालन्धरस्य दूतप्रेषणम् — Jalandhara Sends an Envoy to Kailāsa
The Provocation of Śiva
अहं रत्नाधिनाथोस्मि सा च स्त्रीरत्नसंज्ञिता । तस्मान्ममैव सा योग्या नैव भिक्षाशिनस्तव
ahaṃ ratnādhināthosmi sā ca strīratnasaṃjñitā | tasmānmamaiva sā yogyā naiva bhikṣāśinastava
「我は宝蔵の主、彼女は『女人の宝』と称えられる。ゆえに彼女は我にのみふさわしい。施しにて生きる汝には決してふさわしくない。」
A worldly claimant/king-like figure (opponent in the Yuddhakhaṇḍa narrative) speaking with pride
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Bhikṣāṭana
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; the verse dramatizes paśu-bhāva: the bound soul equates worth with wealth and social status, misreading Śiva’s bhikṣā as poverty rather than transcendence.
Significance: Used as a cautionary exemplar: pride in ‘ratna’ (wealth) is pāśa (bondage) that blinds one to Pati; reflection supports dispassion and devotion.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It exposes the voice of worldly ego—measuring worth by wealth and status—and contrasts it with the Shaiva ideal of vairāgya (detachment), showing how possessiveness becomes pasha (bondage) that blocks devotion and right discernment.
In Linga/Saguna-Shiva worship, the devotee approaches Shiva with humility and surrender, not ownership and pride. This verse highlights an anti-devotional stance—claiming persons and ‘treasures’ as property—opposed to the surrendered attitude encouraged in Shiva Purana worship.
A practical takeaway is cultivating humility through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and adopting simple living (as a corrective to pride), optionally supported by Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of renunciation and Shiva-centered identity.