Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 5
देव्याः क्रोधः शक्तिनिर्माणं च
Devī’s Wrath and the Manifestation of the Śaktis
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि हाहादुःखमुपागतम् । कथं दुःखं विनश्येतास्याऽतिदुखं ममाधुना
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi hāhāduḥkhamupāgatam | kathaṃ duḥkhaṃ vinaśyetāsyā'tidukhaṃ mamādhunā
“Apa harus aku lakukan, dan ke mana harus aku pergi? Aduhai—dukacita telah menimpaku. Bagaimanakah kesedihan ini akan lenyap? Saat ini, penderitaan yang tak tertanggung telah menguasai diriku.”
A distressed devotee/character within the Kumārakhaṇḍa narrative (as narrated by Sūta Gosvāmin)
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Frames the existential helplessness (ākiñcanya) that turns the bound soul toward Śiva’s anugraha; such lament is ritually transmuted in pilgrimage into surrender and prayer.
FAQs
The verse captures the soul’s helplessness under duḥkha (bondage-born suffering). In a Shaiva Siddhanta reading, such anguish becomes the turning point that drives the paśu (individual) to seek Pati (Lord Shiva) and His anugraha (grace), by which sorrow is truly uprooted.
The cry “where shall I go?” implies that worldly supports fail; the stable refuge is Saguna Shiva approached through the Śiva-liṅga—symbol of the ever-present Pati. Liṅga-worship channels grief into surrender (śaraṇāgati) and remembrance, preparing the mind for Shiva’s protecting presence.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with simple liṅga-abhisheka (water) and wearing Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence; these calm the mind and orient suffering toward devotion and grace.