Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 16
शिवविहारवर्णनम् (Śivavihāra-varṇana) — “Description of Śiva’s Divine Pastimes/Sojourn”
दुर्गांगस्पर्शमात्रेण लीलया मूर्च्छितः शिवः । मूर्च्छिता सा शिवस्पर्शाद्बुबुधे न दिवानिशम्
durgāṃgasparśamātreṇa līlayā mūrcchitaḥ śivaḥ | mūrcchitā sā śivasparśādbubudhe na divāniśam
Dengan sentuhan tubuh Durgā semata-mata, Śiva dalam permainan lila seakan-akan pengsan. Dan sang Dewi—ditundukkan oleh sentuhan Śiva—tidak sedar kembali, baik siang mahupun malam.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga legend; the verse dramatizes the overwhelming potency (śakti) that can ‘eclipse’ ordinary awareness—mythic language for concealment and absorption.
Significance: Interpretable as a teaching that divine contact suspends mundane consciousness; devotion aims at absorption (samāveśa) culminating in grace.
Shakti Form: Durgā
Role: liberating
Cosmic Event: Concealment/absorption motif: ‘mūrcchā’ as mythic sign of consciousness overwhelmed by divine potency.
FAQs
The verse highlights the inseparable unity of Pati (Śiva) and Śakti (Durgā): their divine “fainting” is a poetic expression of overwhelming spiritual potency and mutual sovereignty, reminding devotees that the Supreme manifests as both Consciousness and Power in saguna līlā.
Linga worship centers on Śiva as the accessible saguna focus through which the nirguna Reality is approached; this verse reinforces that Śiva’s manifest play is never separate from Śakti—so devotion to the Linga naturally includes reverence for Śiva’s dynamic power that makes grace and experience possible.
Contemplate Śiva-Śakti aikya (non-separation) while chanting the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” and offer bilva leaves with the inner attitude that Śiva (consciousness) and Śakti (power) together awaken the devotee from spiritual “unconsciousness” into grace.