Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 24
त्रिपुरदाहवर्णनम् | Tripura-dāha-varṇanam
Description of the Burning of Tripura
इति स्तुतोऽमरैस्सर्वैविष्ण्वादिविधिभिस्तदा । दग्धुं पुरत्रयं तद्वै बाणेनैच्छन्महेश्वरः
iti stuto'maraissarvaiviṣṇvādividhibhistadā | dagdhuṃ puratrayaṃ tadvai bāṇenaicchanmaheśvaraḥ
अशा प्रकारे त्या वेळी विष्णू आदी विधाता-स्वरूप देवांसह सर्व अमरांनी स्तुती केल्यावर, महेश्वराने तेव्हा एका बाणाने त्रिपुर दग्ध करण्याची इच्छा केली.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka
Sthala Purana: Tripuradāha: praised by all devas including Viṣṇu and the cosmic regulators, Śiva ‘wills’ (icchan) to burn Tripura with a single arrow—highlighting that the decisive cause is Śiva’s saṅkalpa, while the weapon-act is the manifest instrument.
Significance: Meditation on Śiva’s icchā-śakti (sovereign will) is taken as a remedy for helplessness: the bound soul (paśu) turns to Pati whose will alone can sever pāśa.
Type: stotra
FAQs
The verse highlights Śiva as Pati (the Supreme Lord) whose will, supported by the devas’ praise, destroys Tripura—symbolically the threefold impurity/bondage that obstructs liberation. In Shaiva Siddhānta terms, His grace alone can burn the accumulated pasha (bondage) and restore the soul toward moksha.
Maheśvara’s decisive act ‘with one arrow’ points to Saguna Śiva’s accessible, compassionate lordship—He responds to devotion and cosmic need. Linga-worship trains the devotee to recognize that same supreme agency: the formless Lord made worshipful through a sacred form, who removes bondage through grace.
A practical takeaway is focused japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with bhakti and single-pointedness—mirroring the ‘single arrow’ intent—along with simple Śiva-pūjā (abhisheka) as a prayer for the burning of inner impurities (anger, pride, delusion).