Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 50
राहोः शिरच्छेदन-कारणकथनम् / The Account of Rāhu’s Beheading
Cause and Background
जलंधर उवाच । मया देवा हता युद्धे उत्तिष्ठंति कथं पुनः । ततः संजीविनी विद्या नैवान्यत्रेति वै श्रुता
jalaṃdhara uvāca | mayā devā hatā yuddhe uttiṣṭhaṃti kathaṃ punaḥ | tataḥ saṃjīvinī vidyā naivānyatreti vai śrutā
ജലന്ധരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഞാൻ യുദ്ധത്തിൽ ദേവന്മാരെ വധിച്ചു; എങ്കിൽ അവർ വീണ്ടും എങ്ങനെ എഴുന്നേൽക്കുന്നു? ‘സംജീവിനി’ വിദ്യ അവിടെയേ ഉള്ളൂ, മറ്റെവിടെയും ഇല്ലെന്ന് ഞാൻ കേട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു।
Jalandhara
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It highlights that worldly victory and destruction are not final; higher divine ordination and subtle spiritual powers (vidyā) can restore life, reminding the seeker that ultimate sovereignty lies beyond ego and force—under the Lord’s cosmic governance.
In the Yuddhakhaṇḍa context, such life-restoring powers operate within the Lord’s manifested (saguṇa) order. Linga-worship centers the devotee in Shiva as the supreme regulator of creation, preservation, dissolution, concealment, and grace—by whose will even defeat can be reversed.
The verse points to the potency of mantra-vidyā; a practical takeaway is steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with purity and devotion, seeking Shiva’s protection and inner renewal rather than occult power.