Vamana Purana — Daksha's Sacrifice & Kapalin Rudra, Shloka 37
Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Origin of Kapalin Rudra (Pulastya–Narada Dialogue)
तच्छिन्नं शङ्करस्यैव सव्ये करतले ऽपतत् पतते न कदाचिच्च तच्छङ्करकराच्छिरः
tacchinnaṃ śaṅkarasyaiva savye karatale 'patat patate na kadācicca tacchaṅkarakarācchiraḥ
அந்த வெட்டப்பட்ட தலை சங்கரனின் இடது உள்ளங்கையில் விழுந்தது; அந்தத் தலை சங்கரனின் கையிலிருந்து ஒருபோதும் கீழே விழவில்லை।
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FAQs
The verse underscores the superhuman (atīndriya) nature of the deity: even in the imagery of injury or dismemberment, Śiva’s sovereignty and self-possession are not compromised. Ethically, it conveys steadiness (dhairya) and the transcendence of bodily limitation in the divine archetype.
This functions within Vamśānucarita / narrative-episode material (itihāsa-like divine exploit) rather than cosmological sarga-pratisarga. It is mythic narration describing divine action and its portent.
The ‘head that does not fall’ symbolizes unbroken divine agency: the deity contains and controls even the seeming rupture. In a syncretic Purāṇic register, such invulnerability motifs prepare the ground for later assertions that the supreme principle is not diminished by apparent conflict among deities.