Shloka 19
Yatinātha-līlā: Śiva’s Test of the Bhilla Devotees at Arbuda Mountain
प्रातरुत्थाय स यतिर्दृष्ट्वा हिंस्रैश्च भक्षितम् । भिल्लं वने चरंतं वै दुःखितोऽभूदतीव हि
prātarutthāya sa yatirdṛṣṭvā hiṃsraiśca bhakṣitam | bhillaṃ vane caraṃtaṃ vai duḥkhito'bhūdatīva hi
പ്രഭാതത്തിൽ എഴുന്നേറ്റ് ആ യതി ഹിംസക മൃഗങ്ങൾ ഭക്ഷിച്ചതിനെ കണ്ടു; വനത്തിൽ ഭില്ലൻ സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്നതും കണ്ടപ്പോൾ അവൻ അത്യന്തം ദുഃഖിതനായി।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
Cosmic Event: Transition from night to dawn mirrors movement from tirodhāna (darkness/veiling) toward the possibility of anugraha (insight through suffering).
FAQs
The verse highlights the tender conscience of a yati: true renunciation is not indifference but refined sensitivity to suffering, a quality that aligns the soul (paśu) toward Shiva (Pati) by loosening the bonds (pāśa) of cruelty and hardness of heart.
Linga-worship in the Shiva Purana is repeatedly linked with inner purity and compassion. The ascetic’s grief signals the sattvic disposition expected of a Shiva-bhakta—devotion to Saguna Shiva should manifest as protection of life and restraint from needless harm.
A practical takeaway is to pair japa of the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with a vow of ahiṃsā and self-restraint; applying bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) and wearing rudrākṣa are traditionally supported by such ethical disciplines.