Shloka 25
Diti’s Untimely Desire and the Birth-Cause of the Asura Line
Prelude to Hiranyākṣa–Varāha
श्मशानचक्रानिलधूलिधूम्र- विकीर्णविद्योतजटाकलाप: । भस्मावगुण्ठामलरुक्मदेहो देवस्त्रिभि: पश्यति देवरस्ते ॥ २५ ॥
śmaśāna-cakrānila-dhūli-dhūmra- vikīrṇa-vidyota-jaṭā-kalāpaḥ bhasmāvaguṇṭhāmala-rukma-deho devas tribhiḥ paśyati devaras te
Ang kanyang buhok na jata ay nagkakandahapay, namumuti sa alikabok at usok ng ipu-ipo sa crematorium; ang kanyang katawan ay mapula na tila ginto at walang dungis, bagaman nababalutan ng abo—siya ang diyos na may tatlong mata, nakababatang kapatid ng iyong asawa, si Śiva.
Lord Śiva is not an ordinary living entity, nor is he in the category of Viṣṇu, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is far more powerful than any living entity up to the standard of Brahmā, yet he is not on an equal level with Viṣṇu. Since he is almost like Lord Viṣṇu, Śiva can see past, present and future. One of his eyes is like the sun, another is like the moon, and his third eye, which is between his eyebrows, is like fire. He can generate fire from his middle eye, and he is able to vanquish any powerful living entity, including Brahmā, yet he does not live pompously in a nice house, etc., nor does he possess any material properties, although he is master of the material world. He lives mostly in the crematorium, where dead bodies are burnt, and the whirlwind dust of the crematorium is his bodily dress. He is unstained by material contamination. Kaśyapa took him as his younger brother because the youngest sister of Diti (Kaśyapa’s wife) was married to Lord Śiva. The husband of one’s sister is considered one’s brother. By that social relationship, Lord Śiva happened to be the younger brother of Kaśyapa. Kaśyapa warned his wife that because Lord Śiva would see their sex indulgence, the time was not appropriate. Diti might argue that they would enjoy sex life in a private place, but Kaśyapa reminded her that Lord Śiva has three eyes, called the sun, moon and fire, and one cannot escape his vigilance any more than one can escape Viṣṇu. Although seen by the police, a criminal is sometimes not immediately punished; the police wait for the proper time to apprehend him. The forbidden time for sexual intercourse would be noted by Lord Śiva, and Diti would meet with proper punishment by giving birth to a child of ghostly character or a godless impersonalist. Kaśyapa foresaw this, and thus he warned his wife Diti.
FAQs
This verse portrays Shiva as outwardly covered with cremation-ground ashes yet inwardly and essentially pure and radiant—his spotless, golden splendor shining through the ash.
The imagery highlights Shiva’s renunciation and transcendence of worldly purity/impurity—he remains spiritually effulgent even amid symbols of death and dissolution.
True purity is internal: one can remain steady, devoted, and luminous in consciousness even when external circumstances seem dark, chaotic, or “impure.”