Shloka 3
Kālayavana’s Rise, Dvārakā’s Founding, and Muchukunda’s Awakening (Śaraṇāgati & Brahman-Stuti)
आराधयन् महादेवं सो ऽयश्चूर्णम् अभक्षयत् ददौ वरं च तुष्टो ऽस्मै वर्षे द्वादशमे हरः
ārādhayan mahādevaṃ so 'yaścūrṇam abhakṣayat dadau varaṃ ca tuṣṭo 'smai varṣe dvādaśame haraḥ
他以坚定苦行礼敬大天（摩诃提婆），以吞食铁屑为生；至第十二年，哈罗（湿婆）欢喜，赐予他一项恩赐。
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse uses the twelve-year period to signal completion of a severe, sustained tapas, after which the deity becomes ‘tuṣṭa’ (fully pleased) and bestows a boon—marking the narrative turning point.
Parāśara presents devotion as disciplined endurance: the devotee’s extreme vrata (living on iron filings) culminates in divine response, showing that steadfast practice yields transformative results within dharmic order.
Even when Śiva is the direct giver of the boon, the Vishnu Purana frames such events within cosmic sovereignty and moral causality ultimately governed by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—supporting a Vaishnava vision that accommodates reverence for other deities.