Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 31
घनागमवर्णनम् / Description of the Monsoon’s Onset
Satī’s Address to Śiva
रूपं तदेवमतुलं वदनं सुचारु दृष्ट्वांगना निजवपुर्निजकांतिसह्यम् । हेला निजे वपुषि रूपगणेषु नित्यं कर्तार इत्यनिमिषेक्षणचारुरूपाः
rūpaṃ tadevamatulaṃ vadanaṃ sucāru dṛṣṭvāṃganā nijavapurnijakāṃtisahyam | helā nije vapuṣi rūpagaṇeṣu nityaṃ kartāra ityanimiṣekṣaṇacārurūpāḥ
اس بے مثال صورت اور نہایت حسین چہرے کو دیکھ کر اس دوشیزہ نے اپنے بدن اور اپنی چمک کو اس کے مقابلے میں بے بس سمجھا۔ اپنے حسن اور دیگر تمام صورتوں سے بے نیازی برت کر، وہ پلک نہ جھپکنے والی نگاہ سے اسی نہایت دلکش صورت پر جم گئی اور اسی کو حقیقی خالق مان لیا۔
Suta Goswami (narrating the Sati-Khanda account to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It portrays bhakti as recognition: when the soul (the maiden) perceives Shiva’s unsurpassed beauty and reality, worldly comparisons fall away and the heart naturally affirms Him as the true Creator and supreme Lord (Pati).
The verse emphasizes saguna-darśana—direct contemplation of Shiva’s manifest form—leading to firm conviction in His supremacy. In Linga worship, the same one-pointed reverence is offered to Shiva’s sacred emblem as the visible focus for the invisible Absolute.
It suggests ekāgratā (single-pointed attention): steady, unblinking inner remembrance of Shiva—supported by japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” and, where appropriate, Shiva-upāsanā with bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrāksha to stabilize devotion.