Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 43
कैलासमार्गे शङ्करस्य परीक्षा — Śiva Tests the Approachers on the Kailāsa Path
महेश्वर उवाच । क्रोधं च निस्सृते नेत्राद्धारयामि बृहस्पतेः । कथं हि कञ्चुकीं सर्पस्संधत्ते नोज्झितां पुनः
maheśvara uvāca | krodhaṃ ca nissṛte netrāddhārayāmi bṛhaspateḥ | kathaṃ hi kañcukīṃ sarpassaṃdhatte nojjhitāṃ punaḥ
Mahādeva phán: “Hỡi Bṛhaspati, dẫu cơn phẫn nộ đã phát ra từ mắt Ta, Ta vẫn kìm giữ và gánh chịu nó. Thật vậy, làm sao con rắn có thể khoác lại lớp da đã lột bỏ—một khi đã vứt đi?”
Lord Shiva (Maheshvara)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Rudra
FAQs
Śiva teaches that true mastery is restraint: even if anger arises, the Lord upholds order by not yielding to it. The serpent-skin image points to Shaiva Siddhānta’s ideal of casting off pasha (bondage) and not returning to what has been renounced through right knowledge and discipline.
In Saguna worship, devotees contemplate Śiva as the perfect ruler of inner forces—krodha, ahaṅkāra, and desire. Linga-upāsanā trains steadiness and purity so that, like Śiva, one restrains impulsive reactions and abides in dharma and auspiciousness (śivattva).
A practical takeaway is japa of the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") with breath-awareness to cool and restrain krodha, combined with sāttvika observances (fasting/self-restraint) on Mahāśivarātri. The core practice implied is inner tapas: pausing, witnessing anger arise, and not “putting it on again.”