Shloka 150
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
ऋषिगन्धर्वरूपश्व सिद्धचारणरूपधृक् । भस्मपाण्ड्रगात्रश्न चन्द्रार्थकृतभूषण:,वे ऋषि और गन्धर्वरूप हैं। सिद्ध और चारणोंके भी रूप धारण करते हैं। उनका सारा शरीर भस्म रमाये रहनेसे सफेद जान पड़ता है। वे ललाटमें अर्द्धचन्द्रका आभूषण धारण करते हैं
ṛṣigandharvarūpaś ca siddhacāraṇarūpadhṛk | bhasmapāṇḍragātraś ca candrārdhakṛtabhūṣaṇaḥ ||
Vāsudeva sprach: „Er nimmt die Gestalten der Rishis und Gandharvas an und nimmt auch die Formen der Siddhas und Cāraṇas auf sich. Sein ganzer Leib erscheint blassweiß, weil er mit heiliger Asche bestrichen ist, und auf der Stirn trägt er den Schmuck des Halbmondes.“
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the divine’s many manifestations and recognizable ascetic marks: the ability to assume varied exalted forms (ṛṣi, gandharva, siddha, cāraṇa) and the emblematic signs of renunciation and sovereignty (sacred ash and the half-moon). Ethically, it points to reverence for spiritual attainment and the ideal of inner purity expressed through ascetic symbolism.
Vāsudeva is describing a revered deity’s appearance and attributes, emphasizing his shape-shifting into celestial and sage-like forms and his distinctive adornments—body whitened by ash and the half-moon on the forehead—features traditionally associated with Śiva.