Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 20
सत्याः पुनस्तपश्चर्या — Satī’s Return to Austerity (Tapas) and Fearless Liṅga-Worship
सो ऽपि श्रुत्वा विधिर्दुःखं सुराणां कृपयान्वितः । आसीद्दैत्यवधायैव स्मृत्वा हेत्वाश्रयां कथाम्
so 'pi śrutvā vidhirduḥkhaṃ surāṇāṃ kṛpayānvitaḥ | āsīddaityavadhāyaiva smṛtvā hetvāśrayāṃ kathām
देवांचे दुःख ऐकून विधाता ब्रह्मा करुणायुक्त झाले. हेतू-आश्रित उपाय व कारणमीमांसा स्मरून त्यांनी दैत्यवधाचा निश्चय केला.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Role: liberating
FAQs
It highlights how compassionate resolve must be joined with right means (hetu) and lawful order (vidhi). In Shaiva understanding, even cosmic administrators act within a higher intelligible order ultimately grounded in Pati (Śiva).
Though Śiva is not named in the verse, the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā frames cosmic events as unfolding under the supreme Lord’s governance. Linga/Saguna-Śiva worship trains the devotee to align intention (compassion) with dharmic means, mirroring this divine order.
The takeaway is to act after recollecting the proper cause and method—practically supported by japa of the Panchākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") before undertaking any dharmic resolve, to steady intention and purify means.