Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 38
शुक्रोत्पत्तिः तथा महेश्वरदर्शनम् (Śukra’s Emergence and the Vision of Maheśvara)
ततो दृष्टस्तु रुद्रेण प्रसन्नेनैव चक्षुषा । स्मृतवान्पूर्ववृत्तांतमात्मनो जन्म चाद्भुतम्
tato dṛṣṭastu rudreṇa prasannenaiva cakṣuṣā | smṛtavānpūrvavṛttāṃtamātmano janma cādbhutam
แล้วเมื่อรุทระทอดพระเนตรด้วยดวงตาอันผ่องใสและสงบ เขาก็ระลึกได้ในบัดดลถึงเหตุการณ์ก่อนหน้า และถึงความอัศจรรย์แห่งการกำเนิดของตนเอง
Sūta Gosvāmī
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
Sthala Purana: No shrine etiology; the key motif is ‘prasanna-cakṣuḥ’—Śiva’s gracious gaze functioning as revelatory grace.
Significance: Teaches that darśana itself is salvific: Śiva’s serene glance awakens memory/knowledge, turning the bound being toward right understanding.
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse highlights Rudra’s anugraha (grace): Shiva’s serene glance removes inner obscuration, causing spiritual recollection—memory of one’s past course and the deeper meaning of one’s embodied birth—an important step toward liberation in Shaiva thought.
It reflects Saguna Shiva’s accessible compassion: as devotees worship the Linga and contemplate Rudra’s benevolent form, they seek the same prasanna-dṛṣṭi (gracious presence) that purifies the mind and restores right understanding of life’s purpose.
Meditate on Rudra’s prasanna (peaceful) form while repeating the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as a practice of invoking Shiva’s grace to awaken clarity and remembrance; apply bhasma (tripuṇḍra) as a daily reminder of purification and detachment.