Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 36
शङ्खचूडकृततपः—ब्रह्मवरकवचप्राप्तिः / Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Austerity—Brahmā’s Boon and the Bestowal of the Kavaca
निर्विरोधं सुखं राजन् को वा त्यजति दुर्लभम् । योऽविरोधसुखत्यागी स पशुर्नात्र संशयः
nirvirodhaṃ sukhaṃ rājan ko vā tyajati durlabham | yo'virodhasukhatyāgī sa paśurnātra saṃśayaḥ
हे राजन्, निर्विरोध असे दुर्लभ सुख कोण त्यागील? जो असे निर्विरोध सुख सोडतो तोच पशु आहे—यात संशय नाही.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā account to the sages, with the verse framed as counsel addressed to a king)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
FAQs
It contrasts the peace of harmony (nirvirodha-sukha) with the restlessness of bondage; in Shaiva Siddhanta, rejecting calm, dharmic well-being signals the paśu-state—life driven by impulse rather than clarity oriented to Shiva (Pati).
Linga worship and devotion to Saguna Shiva cultivate inner steadiness, purity, and non-conflict; the verse implies that turning away from such stabilizing, sattvic happiness is a mark of continued bondage (paśutva).
Choose practices that increase inner harmony—daily japa of the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and calm, disciplined worship—so the mind abides in non-conflict rather than abandoning peace for agitation.