Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 60
दीक्षितपुत्रस्य दैन्यचिन्ता तथा शिवरात्र्युपासनाप्रसङ्गः / The Initiate’s Son in Distress and the Occasion of Śivarātri Worship
अनेनैव स धर्मेण यावज्जीवं दमो नृपः । धर्मर्द्धिं महतीं प्राप्य कालधर्मवशं गतः
anenaiva sa dharmeṇa yāvajjīvaṃ damo nṛpaḥ | dharmarddhiṃ mahatīṃ prāpya kāladharmavaśaṃ gataḥ
ഹേ രാജാവേ! ഇതേ ധർമ്മം അനുസരിച്ച് ദമൻ ജീവപര്യന്തം നിലകൊണ്ടു. ധർമ്മജന്യമായ മഹാസമൃദ്ധി പ്രാപിച്ച്, അവസാനം കാലധർമ്മത്തിന്റെ അധീനനായി പോയി.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; it concludes a moral arc: sustained dharma yields prosperity, yet all embodied beings finally submit to Kāla (Time).
Significance: Reinforces impermanence: merit supports a good life and auspicious passage, but liberation requires Śiva’s anugraha beyond worldly dharmarddhi.
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: kāla-dharma (inevitability of death under Time)
FAQs
It teaches that sustained dharma yields “dharma-ṛddhi” (righteous prosperity), yet even the most virtuous must submit to kāla (Time); therefore one should seek Shiva, the Lord beyond time, not merely worldly gain.
The verse underscores that worldly righteousness culminates in death under Time’s law; Linga-worship directs the devotee from dharma and merit toward devotion to Saguna Shiva, the compassionate Lord who grants grace leading beyond the bonds of time and karma.
Live with dharma daily and pair it with Shaiva remembrance—regular japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and simple Linga-pūjā—so that spiritual focus remains on Shiva beyond kāla.