Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 14
तृतीयनेत्राग्निनिवृत्तिः / Quelling the Fire of the Third Eye
Vāḍava Fire Placed in the Ocean
अयं क्रोधो महेशस्य वाडवात्मा महाप्रभुः । दग्ध्वा कामं द्रुतं सर्वं दग्धुकामोऽभवत्ततः
ayaṃ krodho maheśasya vāḍavātmā mahāprabhuḥ | dagdhvā kāmaṃ drutaṃ sarvaṃ dagdhukāmo'bhavattataḥ
महेशाचा हा क्रोध वाडवाग्नीस्वरूप महाप्रभु आहे। कामाला त्वरेने दग्ध करून तो नंतर सर्व काही दग्ध करण्यास उद्यत झाला।
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
Type: rudram
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: incipient pralaya-like threat: Rudra’s wrath, likened to vāḍava fire, tends toward total conflagration
FAQs
It portrays Shiva’s krodha as a purifying, cosmic force: when desire (Kāma) disturbs dharma and tapas, the Lord’s power burns that bondage so the soul may move toward vairāgya and liberation.
Kāma-dahana is a Saguna līlā showing Shiva as the regulator of the senses. Linga-worship centers the mind in the Lord, helping the devotee sublimate desire and steady awareness in Shiva, the inner Pati (Lord) beyond sense-compulsion.
Practice japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with sense-restraint, and meditate on Shiva as the inner fire that burns lust and agitation; on Mahāśivarātri, combine this with simple vrata (fasting/discipline) and focused dhyāna.