Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 5
गजासुरतपः–देवलोकक्षोभः
Gajāsura’s Austerities and the Disturbance of the Worlds
अवध्योहं भविष्यामि स्त्रीपुंसैः कामनिर्जितः । संविचार्येति मनसाऽभूत्तपोरतमानसः
avadhyohaṃ bhaviṣyāmi strīpuṃsaiḥ kāmanirjitaḥ | saṃvicāryeti manasā'bhūttaporatamānasaḥ
彼は心に念じた。「我は不殺不壊となり、女または男より起こる欲に征服されぬ者となろう。」そう思惟して、苦行に心を据え、タパスに専念した。
Suta Goswami (narrating the Yuddhakhaṇḍa episode to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; the verse spotlights the asuric pursuit of ‘avadhyatva’ (invulnerability), a classic boon-request that later necessitates divine intervention.
Significance: Didactic: seeking invulnerability and desirelessness as mere power (rather than vairāgya grounded in knowledge) becomes another pāśa—bondage through ambition.
FAQs
The verse highlights the impulse to seek freedom from vulnerability—especially the bondage of kāma (desire). In a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, desire is a form of pāśa (bond) that veils the soul; the turn toward tapas indicates a disciplined effort to purify the mind and move toward Shiva’s grace.
Becoming “unconquered by desire” is sustained not merely by willpower but by steady devotion. Linga worship and Saguna Shiva upāsanā (with japa and pūjā) stabilize the mind, redirecting it from sense-objects toward Shiva, the Pati (Lord) who can sever pāśa.
A practical takeaway is tapas supported by mantra-japa—especially the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—along with simple disciplines like bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) dhāraṇa and breath-steadying meditation to reduce the agitation of kāma.