Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 12

भद्रस्य देवसंघेषु विक्रमः

Bhadra’s Onslaught among the Deva Hosts

Devanagari script

कल्पे शेषानलज्वालादग्धाविश्वजगद्यथा । तदा सवाजिनं सूर्यं रुद्रान्रुद्रगणाग्रणीः

Transliteration

kalpe śeṣānalajvālādagdhāviśvajagadyathā | tadā savājinaṃ sūryaṃ rudrānrudragaṇāgraṇīḥ

Translation

เมื่อสิ้นกัลป์ ดุจสรรพจักรวาลถูกเผาผลาญด้วยเปลวไฟอันพวยพุ่งจากเศษะนาค ครานั้นผู้นำแห่งหมู่รุทระ (พระศิวะ) ยังทรงนำสุริยะ—พร้อมม้าเทียมรถ—เข้าสู่อำนาจแห่งเหล่ารุทระด้วย.

Word by Word

• कल्पे: at (the end of) a kalpa
• कल्पे: अधिकरण (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• शेष-अनल-ज्वाला-दग्ध: burnt by the flame of Śeṣa’s fire
• शेष-अनल-ज्वाला-दग्ध: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक) + अनल (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्वाला (प्रातिपदिक) + दग्ध (कृदन्त; √दह् (धातु), क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-विशेषणरूपेण; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (यथा-सम्बन्धेन); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शेषस्य अनलस्य ज्वाला) + क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (दग्ध)

• विश्व-जगत्: the entire world
• विश्व-जगत्: उपमान (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक) + जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (विश्वं जगत्)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: सम्बन्ध/अव्यय (comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as, just as)

• तदा: then
• तदा: अधिकरण (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• स-वाजिनम्: with horses (horse-drawn)
• स-वाजिनम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (प्रातिपदिक) + वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (वाजिभिः सह/युक्तः)

• सूर्यम्: the Sun
• सूर्यम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• रुद्रान्: the Rudras
• रुद्रान्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• रुद्र-गण-अग्रणीः: the leader of the Rudra-hosts
• रुद्र-गण-अग्रणीः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्रणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रुद्रगणस्य अग्रणीः)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: kalpa-end conflagration (pralaya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudras
• Surya
• Shesha

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It asserts Śiva as Pati—the supreme Lord—whose Rudra-power transcends even the cosmic regulators like the Sun; in pralaya, all limited powers dissolve, while refuge in Rudra leads the soul beyond fear and change.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The Linga signifies the unchanging ground of being; this verse highlights that when the manifest cosmos (including Sūrya) is withdrawn, the devotee’s support is Saguna Rudra as the Lord of dissolution, pointing ultimately to the Linga’s nirguṇa reality.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate pralaya to cultivate vairāgya, and take steady refuge in the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with vibhūti (Tripuṇḍra) and Rudrākṣa as reminders that Rudra alone remains when all else is consumed.