Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 16
तुलसी-शङ्खचूडोपाख्यानम् — Viṣṇu’s Disguise and the Tulasī Episode
Prelude to Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Fall
कुबेरस्य प्रार्थनया गुणरूपधरो हरः । कैलासवासी गणपः परब्रह्म सतां गतिः
kuberasya prārthanayā guṇarūpadharo haraḥ | kailāsavāsī gaṇapaḥ parabrahma satāṃ gatiḥ
Atas permohonan Kubera, Hara (Śiva) mengambil rupa saguṇa yang berhiaskan sifat-sifat ilahi. Bersemayam di Kailāsa, Tuhan—pemimpin para gaṇa—itulah Parabrahman dan tempat kembali terakhir bagi orang-orang saleh.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: The verse evokes Kailāsa as Śiva’s abode and His readiness to assume saguṇa form upon a devotee’s prayer (here Kubera), a common Purāṇic motif of darśana granted through bhakti.
Significance: Meditation on Kailāsa and Gaṇeśa/gaṇa-lordship supports bhakti and surrender (śaraṇāgati) to Śiva as satāṃ gatiḥ.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It affirms Śiva as both saguṇa (approachable through form and qualities in response to devotion) and as Parabrahman (the ultimate reality), teaching that sincere prayer draws divine grace and that the highest gati (final end) of the virtuous is Śiva.
By stating that Hara ‘assumes a form with qualities’ in response to Kubera, the verse supports saguna-upāsanā—worship through a manifest form such as the Śiva-liṅga—while simultaneously declaring that the same Lord is Parabrahman beyond form.
A practical takeaway is bhakti-based japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with liṅga-pūjā (water/abhisheka), holding the attitude that the compassionate Lord of Kailāsa responds to sincere prayer and leads the devotee toward mokṣa.