Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 19
त्रिपुरदाहवर्णनम् | Tripura-dāha-varṇanam
Description of the Burning of Tripura
यावन्न यान्ति देवेश विप्रयोगं पुराणि वै । तावद्बाणं विमुंचश्च त्रिपुरं भस्मसात्कुरु
yāvanna yānti deveśa viprayogaṃ purāṇi vai | tāvadbāṇaṃ vimuṃcaśca tripuraṃ bhasmasātkuru
Wahai Penguasa para dewa, sebelum kota-kota purba itu (Tripura) sempat menjauh dan terlepas, lepaskanlah anak panah-Mu segera dan jadikan Tripura abu belaka.
The gods (Devas), urging Lord Shiva as Tripurāntaka
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; tactical urgency is stressed: Tripura’s mobility (viprayoga) must be pre-empted by Śiva’s single decisive act.
Significance: Teaches that when pāśa (bondage/adharmic power) seeks to evade correction, only the Lord’s timely intervention restores balance.
FAQs
Tripura symbolizes the fortified bondage of the soul—often read as the three impurities (āṇava, kārma, māyīya) or the triad of ego-desire-action. The verse urges immediate divine intervention: Shiva’s grace (śaktipāta) must strike before bondage “shifts” into new forms, reducing it to bhasma—powerless residue.
Here Shiva is worshipped as Saguna—Tripurāntaka, the Lord who acts in history to protect dharma. In Linga worship, the same Lord is approached as the inner Pati (Master) who burns the devotee’s impurities; the imagery of ‘bhasma’ resonates with the Shaiva practice of sacred ash as a reminder that all limitations are consumable by Shiva’s power.
The key takeaway is the bhasma principle: meditate on Shiva as the fire of awareness that turns attachments to ash. Practically, one may apply vibhūti (Tripuṇḍra) with the remembrance of Shiva’s purifying power and repeat the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offering inner obstacles into the ‘arrow’ of focused devotion.