Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 19
शिवपुत्रजननवर्णनम् — Description of the Birth/Manifestation of Śiva’s Son
ब्रह्मोवाच । इति शप्त्वाखिलान्देवान् विष्ण्वाद्यान्सकलेश्वरी । उवाच पावकं क्रुद्धा भक्षकं शिवरेतसः
brahmovāca | iti śaptvākhilāndevān viṣṇvādyānsakaleśvarī | uvāca pāvakaṃ kruddhā bhakṣakaṃ śivaretasaḥ
ब्रह्मा म्हणाले—अशा रीतीने विष्णू आदी सर्व देवांना शाप देऊन, सर्वेश्वरी देवी क्रोधाने पावक अग्नीला म्हणाली—“तू शिव-रेताचा भक्षक म्हणून नियुक्त आहेस।”
Brahma
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: Narrative transition: Brahmā reports that the Goddess, after cursing the devas, turns to Agni who had been tasked with consuming Śiva’s retas.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse highlights that even gods are bound by dharma and divine ordinance; the Goddess, as the regulating sovereignty of śakti, redirects cosmic events so Śiva’s divine energy is handled according to a higher order rather than personal will.
Śiva’s retas here symbolizes Śiva’s tangible, saguna working power in the cosmos—revered in Purāṇic devotion as sacred energy. Linga-worship honors Śiva as Pati whose śakti manifests creation and protection through ordered agencies like Agni.
A practical takeaway is disciplined reverence for Śiva-śakti through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and purity rites (bhasma/Tripuṇḍra where appropriate), cultivating restraint and surrender to divine law rather than anger or impulsive action.