Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 9
अन्धक-प्रश्नः — Inquiry into Andhaka
Genealogy and Nature
व्यास उवाच । को ह्यंधको वै भगवन्मुनीश कस्यान्वये वीर्यवतः पृथिव्याम् । जातो महात्मा बलवान् प्रधानः किमात्मकः कस्य सुतोंऽधकश्च
vyāsa uvāca | ko hyaṃdhako vai bhagavanmunīśa kasyānvaye vīryavataḥ pṛthivyām | jāto mahātmā balavān pradhānaḥ kimātmakaḥ kasya sutoṃ'dhakaśca
ವ್ಯಾಸನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಹೇ ಭಗವನ್ ಮುನೀಶ್ವರ! ಈ ಅಂಧಕನು ಯಾರು? ಭೂಮಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮಿ, ಮಹಾತ್ಮ, ಬಲಿಷ್ಠ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಧಾನನು ಯಾವ ವಂಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಿಸಿದನು? ಅವನ ಸ್ವಭಾವವೇನು, ಮತ್ತು ಅಂಧಕನು ಯಾರ ಪುತ್ರ?
Vyāsa
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
This verse frames a dharmic inquiry: true understanding begins by discerning a being’s origin (janma), nature (svabhāva), and causes (kāraṇa). In Shaiva thought, such inquiry prepares the listener to see how power without right orientation toward Pati (Shiva) becomes bondage (pāśa) rather than liberation.
By asking “who is Andhaka and of what nature,” the text sets up the contrast between asuric self-assertion and surrender to Saguna Shiva (the Lord approachable through Linga-worship). The coming narrative typically shows that strength and lineage do not replace devotion and humility before Shiva.
The practical takeaway is reflective inquiry (svādhyāya) paired with Shiva-smaraṇa: recite the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” while contemplating one’s own nature and impulses, so power and desire become disciplined by devotion rather than ego.