Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 52
घनागमवर्णनम् / Description of the Monsoon’s Onset
Satī’s Address to Śiva
ब्रह्मोवाच । इतीरिते शंकरेण तदा दाक्षायणी शनैः । इदमाह महादेवं लक्षणं स्वप्रकाशनम्
brahmovāca | itīrite śaṃkareṇa tadā dākṣāyaṇī śanaiḥ | idamāha mahādevaṃ lakṣaṇaṃ svaprakāśanam
Wika ni Brahmā: Nang masabi ni Śaṅkara ang gayon, si Dākṣāyaṇī (Satī) ay marahan at banayad na nagsalita kay Mahādeva ng mga salitang ito—inihayag ang tanda (lakṣaṇa) na nagniningning sa sariling liwanag.
Brahma
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadashiva
Sthala Purana: This is a narrative hinge: Brahmā reports Satī’s forthcoming ‘self-luminous sign’ (svaprakāśa-lakṣaṇa), a motif resonant with svayaṃprakāśatva (self-revealing consciousness) rather than a specific jyotirliṅga episode.
Significance: Frames sacred geography as emerging from revelation (svaprakāśa) and recognition; encourages pilgrims to seek the ‘sign’ of Śiva not only externally but as self-evident presence.
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse highlights svaprakāśa—truth that reveals itself by its own light—suggesting that Śiva’s reality and the marks of authentic devotion are ultimately self-evident to a purified heart, not merely dependent on external proof.
By calling the forthcoming teaching a “self-luminous sign,” the text frames Saguna worship (approaching Mahādeva through form, name, and narrative) as a doorway to recognizing the self-revealing presence of Śiva that the Liṅga symbolically embodies.
The immediate takeaway is contemplative listening (śravaṇa) with reverence: receive Śiva-centered instruction calmly and inwardly; in practice, combine steady japa of Śiva’s mantra and focused meditation so that insight arises as svaprakāśa (self-revealing clarity).