Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 51
अनिरुद्धापहरणानन्तरं कृष्णस्य शोणितपुरगमनम् तथा रुद्रकृष्णयुद्धारम्भः | After Aniruddha’s Abduction: Kṛṣṇa Marches to Śoṇitapura and the Rudra–Kṛṣṇa Battle Begins
यथैव सूर्योऽपिहितश्छायारूपाणि च प्रभो । स्वच्छायया संचकास्ति ह्ययं परमदृग्भवान्
yathaiva sūryo'pihitaśchāyārūpāṇi ca prabho | svacchāyayā saṃcakāsti hyayaṃ paramadṛgbhavān
यथैव सूर्योऽपिहितश्छायारूपाणि च प्रभो । स्वच्छायया चकास्ति ह्ययं परमदृग्भवान् ॥
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s supremacy and veiling power in the Yuddhakhaṇḍa discourse)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Sthala Purana: No direct Jyotirliṅga narrative; the verse uses a dṛṣṭānta (sun/shadow) to explain concealment (tirodhāna) as Śiva’s own operation, not an independent principle.
Significance: General: supports viveka—seeing worldly ‘shadow-forms’ as dependent appearances, turning the mind toward the ‘paramadṛk’ (Supreme Seer).
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that the Lord, the Supreme Seer, remains the true Light, while the changing world is an appearance that arises through His veiling—like shadows appearing when the sun is covered—urging the devotee to seek Shiva as the reality behind appearances.
The Linga points to Shiva as the transcendent Light (beyond shadow-forms) while also allowing Saguna worship; devotion to the Linga helps the mind move from the veiled, shadow-like perceptions to the direct recognition of Shiva as the underlying consciousness.
Meditate on Shiva as inner Light while japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) steadies attention beyond appearances; supporting practices like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa can be used as reminders to renounce ‘shadow-forms’ and abide in Shiva.