Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 6
वृन्दायाः दुष्स्वप्न-दर्शनं तथा पातिव्रत्य-भङ्गोपक्रमः / Vṛndā’s Ominous Dreams and the Prelude to the Breach of Chastity
कृष्णप्रसूनभूषाढ्यं क्रव्यादगणसेवितम् । दक्षिणाशां गतं मुंडं तमसा च वृतं तदा
kṛṣṇaprasūnabhūṣāḍhyaṃ kravyādagaṇasevitam | dakṣiṇāśāṃ gataṃ muṃḍaṃ tamasā ca vṛtaṃ tadā
കൃഷ്ണപുഷ്പങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കരിക്കപ്പെട്ടും ക്രവ്യാദഗണങ്ങൾ സേവിച്ചും നിന്ന ആ മുണ്ഡം അപ്പോൾ ദക്ഷിണദിക്കിലേക്ക് നീങ്ങി, അന്ധകാരത്തിൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ടു.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Kālabhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; the southward-moving severed head and kravyāda-gaṇas evoke Yama-direction and cremation-ground imagery, functioning as a saṃhāra-omen.
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
FAQs
The verse depicts a tamasic omen—darkness, fearsome attendants, and movement toward the southern quarter—signaling the dominance of obscuring impurity (tamas) and the approach of destructive consequence. In a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, it underscores how consciousness veiled by mala and tamas gravitates toward suffering, while Shiva’s grace alone dispels that darkness.
Such ominous imagery functions as a contrast to the Linga—Shiva’s saguna sign that stabilizes the mind and purifies tamas. The narrative implicitly points devotees toward taking refuge in Shiva’s worship (arcana, japa, dhyana), by which the darkness of fear and impurity is removed.
A practical takeaway is tamas-shamana: perform Panchakshara japa (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), apply Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) with remembrance of Shiva, and maintain sattvic conduct—these are traditional Shaiva means to counter inner darkness and inauspicious fear.