Shloka 123

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

पञ्चास्यरुद्ररुद्राय पञ्चाशत्कोटिमूर्तये आत्मत्रयोपविष्टाय विद्यातत्त्वाय ते नमः

Transliteration

pañcāsyarudrarudrāya pañcāśatkoṭimūrtaye ātmatrayopaviṣṭāya vidyātattvāya te namaḥ

Translation

سلامٌ لك—يا رُدرا الرُّدرات ذوي الوجوه الخمسة؛ سلامٌ لك يا من لك خمسون كروْرًا من الصور؛ سلامٌ لك يا من استقررتَ في ثلاثية الذات (آتمن)؛ سلامٌ لك يا من أنتَ عينُ مبدأ المعرفة المقدّسة، ڤيديا-تتڤا (vidyā-tattva).

Word by Word

• पञ्चास्य-रुद्र-रुद्राय: to the Rudra who is the supreme Rudra among the five-faced Rudras

• पञ्चाशत्-कोटि-मूर्तये: to the one whose forms are fifty crores

• आत्म-त्रय-उपविष्टाय: to the one abiding in the threefold Self (triadic reality)

• विद्या-तत्त्वाय: to the principle/essence of liberating knowledge

• ते: to You

• नमः: salutations

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a traditional Rudra-stuti within the Linga Purana discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-pūjā as worship of the one Pati (Shiva) who manifests in innumerable forms yet remains the single reality; the Linga is approached as the embodied sign of that all-pervading Rudra.

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

Shiva is praised as the supreme Rudra beyond subordinate Rudras, simultaneously many-formed (koṭi-mūrti) and established in a triadic spiritual principle, and as vidyā-tattva—the liberating knowledge that reveals Pati and frees the paśu from pāśa.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse highlights japa-centered stuti as a Pāśupata-oriented discipline: contemplation of Shiva as vidyā-tattva supports inner purification, loosening pāśa (bondage) and stabilizing the paśu in devotion to Pati.