Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 32
अन्धकादिदैत्ययुद्धे वीरकविजयः — Vīraka’s Victory over Andhaka’s Forces
सहस्रनेत्रा युधि सुस्थिरा च सदुर्जया दैत्यशतैरधृष्या । वैश्वानरी शक्तिरसौम्यवक्त्रा याम्या च दंडोद्यतपाणिरुग्रा
sahasranetrā yudhi susthirā ca sadurjayā daityaśatairadhṛṣyā | vaiśvānarī śaktirasaumyavaktrā yāmyā ca daṃḍodyatapāṇirugrā
Sa labang iyon, naroon ang Śakti na tinatawag na Sahasranetrā—matatag at di matinag sa digmaan—mahirap daigin at di magagapi kahit ng daan-daang Dānava. Naroon din ang Śakti na si Vaiśvānarī, may mukhang mabangis at di ngumingiti; at ang Śakti ng dako ni Yama (Yāmyā), kakila-kilabot, tangan ang itinaas na pamalong parusa—bawat isa’y nagpapamalas ng di-matitinag na kapangyarihan ng Panginoong Śiva sa digmaan.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
FAQs
The verse highlights that victory in dharmic struggle is ultimately the movement of Śiva’s Śakti—invincible, many‑seeing, and unassailable. In Śaiva Siddhānta terms, the Lord (Pati) acts through His power (Śakti) to subdue adharma, protecting souls and restoring order.
These fierce Śaktis are Saguna manifestations—nameable, describable forms of the Lord’s power. Linga worship centers the devotee in Śiva as the supreme Pati, while remembering that His protective and transformative energies (Śakti) operate in the world to remove obstacles and defeat inner ‘demonic’ tendencies.
A practical takeaway is protective japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with a Rudrākṣa mālā, and applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) while contemplating Śiva-Śakti as the fearless inner power that steadies the mind (‘susṭhirā’) against turmoil.