Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 50
तुलसी-शङ्खचूडोपाख्यानम् — Viṣṇu’s Disguise and the Tulasī Episode
Prelude to Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Fall
तत्र कोट्यश्च कीटाश्च तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रा भयंकराः । तच्छित्त्वा कुहरे चक्रं करिष्यंति तदीयकम्
tatra koṭyaśca kīṭāśca tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrā bhayaṃkarāḥ | tacchittvā kuhare cakraṃ kariṣyaṃti tadīyakam
وہاں کروڑوں ہولناک کیڑے، تیز دھانسٹروں والے، اسے کاٹ ڈالیں گے؛ اور کاٹ کر اس کھوکھلے حصے میں چکر کی صورت بنا کر اسے اپنا بنا لیں گے۔
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: Explains the physical-theological mechanism for Śālagrāma: countless sharp-toothed kīṭas carve and hollow the stone, producing cakra-like formations—natural ‘signatures’ that authorize worship and naming.
Significance: Validates the sanctity of naturally marked stones (svataḥ-pramāṇa): devotees seek stones with cakra-marks as self-manifest indicators of divinity.
Cosmic Event: Mythic natural process: living agents (kīṭa) become instruments in forming divine marks (cakra)
FAQs
It presents a vivid image of fear and destruction to underscore how beings caught in pasha (bondage)—especially violence and terror—create cycles that turn back upon them; liberation in Shaiva thought comes by taking refuge in Pati (Shiva) rather than in fear-driven power.
In the Yuddha narrative, such frightening imagery contrasts the unstable, fear-based realm with the steady refuge of Saguna Shiva; devotion to Shiva (often centered on the Linga) is portrayed as the means to transcend terror and karmic entanglement.
A practical takeaway is japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) to stabilize the mind amid भय (fear), along with Tripuṇḍra-bhasma remembrance of impermanence and surrender to Shiva as Pati.