Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 50
सृष्टिक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of the Sequence of Creation
तस्य पूर्णवतारो हिं रुद्रस्साक्षाच्छिवः स्मृतः । कैलासे भवनं रम्यं पंचवक्त्रश्चकार ह । ब्रह्मांडस्य तथा नाशे तस्य नाशोस्ति वै न हि
tasya pūrṇavatāro hiṃ rudrassākṣācchivaḥ smṛtaḥ | kailāse bhavanaṃ ramyaṃ paṃcavaktraścakāra ha | brahmāṃḍasya tathā nāśe tasya nāśosti vai na hi
พระองค์นั้นคืออวตารอันสมบูรณ์; พระรุทระถูกระลึกว่าเป็นพระศิวะโดยตรง ณ ไกรลาสพระองค์ทรงสร้างที่ประทับอันงดงามและทรงปรากฏเป็นปัญจวักตระ และแม้เมื่อจักรวาลดับสูญ พระองค์ก็หาได้พินาศไม่
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Jyotirlinga: Kedāranātha
Sthala Purana: Kailāsa is invoked as Śiva’s own abode; in later tīrtha-traditions, Kedāra is linked to Śiva’s Himalayan presence and the accessibility of His grace in the mountains.
Significance: Darśana of Śiva in the Himalayan seat is held to burn karmic bonds and steady the mind toward liberation (anugraha through tapas and tīrtha).
Cosmic Event: mahapralaya
FAQs
It establishes Rudra as not a mere created deity but Shiva Himself—Pati, the eternal Lord—whose being is untouched by pralaya (cosmic dissolution). For the seeker, this points to Shiva as the unchanging refuge beyond birth and death.
By affirming Shiva’s direct manifestation as Rudra and His five-faced form, the verse supports Saguna upāsanā—worship of Shiva with attributes—while simultaneously teaching that the worshipped Lord is ultimately indestructible and transcendent, the reality signified by the Linga.
Meditate on Shiva as Pañcavaktra (five-faced) and as the deathless Lord beyond pralaya; in practice, this pairs naturally with japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and steady contemplation of Shiva as the eternal Pati.