Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 19
युद्धप्रारम्भवर्णनम् — Description of the Commencement of Battle
एवं देवाश्च दैत्याश्च योद्धुकामाः स्थिता भुवि । सैन्येन महता तेन व्यूहं कृत्वा पृथक् पृथक्
evaṃ devāśca daityāśca yoddhukāmāḥ sthitā bhuvi | sainyena mahatā tena vyūhaṃ kṛtvā pṛthak pṛthak
Demikianlah para Deva dan Daitya, sama-sama ingin bertempur, berdiri di atas bumi; dan dengan bala tentera yang besar itu, setiap pihak membentuk susunan perang (vyūha) masing-masing secara berasingan.
Sūta Gosvāmin
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Rudra
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; the verse depicts vyūha (strategic formations) as a symbol of māyā’s ordering power—intelligence and strategy still operate within bondage.
Significance: Instructional: even dharma-aligned devas and adharma-aligned daityas are equally enmeshed in conflict; liberation requires turning from vyūha (worldly strategy) to Śiva’s grace.
FAQs
The verse frames the outer battle as a dharmic turning point: opposing forces deliberately arrange themselves, symbolizing how embodied beings (paśu) become bound (pāśa) through desire and opposition, and how order must be restored under the higher sovereignty of Pati (Śiva).
Though the verse is narrative, it implicitly points to Saguna Śiva as the regulator of cosmic order: as armies form arrays, devotees are reminded that stability and victory over adharma arise by taking refuge in Śiva’s manifest grace (often approached through Liṅga-worship in the Purāṇa’s devotional framework).
A practical takeaway is to cultivate inner “formation” (vyūha) through disciplined japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and steadying the mind before conflict; no specific bhasma or rudrākṣa rite is directly prescribed in this verse.