Shloka 91

वासिष्ठकथनम् (आदित्य–सोमवंशवर्णनम् तथा रुद्रसहस्रनाम-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

मुनिरात्मा मुनिर् लोकः सभाग्यश् च सहस्रभुक् पक्षी च पक्षरूपश् च अतिदीप्तो निशाकरः

Transliteration

munirātmā munir lokaḥ sabhāgyaś ca sahasrabhuk pakṣī ca pakṣarūpaś ca atidīpto niśākaraḥ

Translation

هو المُنِيّ بوصفه الذات عينها؛ وهو المُنِيّ الذي يَسري في العوالم. هو مبارك ويهب الحظ السعيد؛ وهو مُتذوّق ألف قربان. هو الطائر، وهو أيضًا ذو الهيئة المجنّحة؛ متلألئٌ غاية التلألؤ، صانعُ الليل: القمر (نيشاكارا).

Word by Word

• muniḥ: sage/seer

• ātmā: Self/inner reality

• muniḥ (again): the seer (as the indwelling knower)

• lokaḥ: world(s)/cosmos

• sa-bhāgyaḥ: endowed with good fortune/auspiciousness, giver of bhāgya

• ca: and

• sahasra-bhuk: eater/enjoyer of a thousand (offerings), one who receives innumerable oblations

• pakṣī: bird (symbol of free movement and transcendence)

• ca: and

• pakṣa-rūpaḥ: having the form of wings/wing-formed, winged form

• ca: and

• ati-dīptaḥ: exceedingly luminous, intensely radiant

• niśā-karaḥ: maker of night, the Moon (chandra), night-illuminer

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s names to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames the Linga-Lord as the indwelling Muni (inner witness) who accepts innumerable offerings, so Linga-puja is not merely external ritual but an offering into the all-pervading Pati who lives as the Self.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Shiva is presented as Pati—immanent as the Ātman and transcendent as the cosmic pervader—radiant consciousness that illumines even the night as Niśākara, guiding bound souls (paśu) beyond pāśa.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It supports Pashupata-style inner worship: meditate on Shiva as the muni-ātmā (seer within) while offering mantra and oblations—symbolically ‘a thousand offerings’—with awareness that all acts are received by the one luminous Lord.