Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 21
युद्धप्रारम्भवर्णनम् — Description of the Commencement of Battle
उभे सेनं तदा तेषामगर्जेतां वनोपमे । भयंकरेऽत्यवीराणामितरेषां सुखावहे
ubhe senaṃ tadā teṣāmagarjetāṃ vanopame | bhayaṃkare'tyavīrāṇāmitareṣāṃ sukhāvahe
तेव्हा त्या दोन्ही सेनांनी वनासारखी गर्जना केली। ती गर्जना अत्यंत अवीरांस भयावह, पण वीरांस आनंद व धैर्य देणारी होती।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time: the battlefield-roar evokes kāla’s drumbeat that terrifies the timid and steels the brave; Mahākāleśvara’s sthala tradition centers on Śiva’s supremacy over Time and death, granting fearlessness to devotees.
Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for fearlessness (abhaya), victory over death-anxiety, and steadiness in crisis—mirrored by the verse’s contrast between cowards and the valiant.
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: Kāla-pratīti (the felt presence of Time) symbolized by the armies’ thunderous roar.
FAQs
The same external event (the thunderous roar of battle) produces fear in the unsteady mind and strength in the courageous—showing that inner guna-disposition and dharmic resolve shape one’s experience.
In the Kumāra-khaṇḍa setting, courage and protection are seen as expressions of Saguna Shiva’s grace working through his divine power (especially via Skanda/Kartikeya); devotion steadies the heart so turmoil no longer terrifies.
Cultivate steadiness through japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and Shaiva discipline (bhasma/tripuṇḍra with remembrance of Shiva), so the mind becomes ‘valiant’ and not shaken by fear.