Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 16
शिवस्य सैन्यप्रयाणम् तथा गणपतिनामावलिः (Śiva’s Mobilization for War and the Catalogue of Gaṇa Commanders)
कुंडी द्वादशभिर्वीरस्तथा पर्वतकश्शुभः । कालश्च कालकश्चैव महाकालश्शतेन वै
kuṃḍī dvādaśabhirvīrastathā parvatakaśśubhaḥ | kālaśca kālakaścaiva mahākālaśśatena vai
Dumating si Kuṇḍī na kasama ang labindalawang bayani; gayundin ang mapalad na Parvataka. Dumating din sina Kāla at Kālaka; at si Mahākāla ay tunay na may kasamang isang daang mandirigma.
Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating the battle roster to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the timeless Lord who subdues death; the Purāṇic complex around Ujjayinī frames Śiva as the protector of the city and the one whose presence grants mokṣa and fearlessness from kāla (time/death).
Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for liberation from fear of death, removal of obstacles, and steadiness in dharma; especially potent in pradoṣa and Śivarātri observances.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: Kāla-tattva evoked (Time/Death) through the names Kāla, Kālaka, Mahākāla, suggesting the cosmic pressure of dissolution.
FAQs
The verse catalogs forces entering the battle, but it also subtly invokes the Shaiva insight that even Kāla (Time/Death) and Mahākāla are ultimately under the sovereignty of Śiva, the supreme Pati who transcends time.
Names like Mahākāla recall Śiva’s saguna, fierce protective aspect honored in temples and Liṅga worship—where devotees approach the Time-transcending Lord through a concrete form that grants fearlessness and steadiness amid change.
Meditate on Śiva as Mahākāla while repeating the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), offering vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) and cultivating detachment from the fear of time and death.