Shloka 77
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
चतुर्मुखो महालिड्ल्शश्चवारुलिड्रस्तथैव च | लिड्डाध्यक्ष: सुराध्यक्षो योगाध्यक्षो युगावह:
caturmukho mahāliṅgaś cāru-liṅgas tathaiva ca | liṅgādhyakṣaḥ surādhyakṣo yogādhyakṣo yugāvahaḥ ||
Vāyu sprach: „Er ist viergesichtig; er ist der Große Liṅga selbst und ebenso der Schöne Liṅga. Er waltet über den Liṅga (und über die gültigen Erkenntnismittel, durch die er erfasst wird); er ist der Herr der Götter; er steht dem Yoga vor; und er trägt und erhält die Folge der vier Yugas.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a devotional-theological portrait of Śiva as the supreme regulator: he is not only worshipped in the form of the Liṅga but is also the presiding power over divine governance (devas), inner discipline (yoga), and cosmic time (the yugas). Ethically, it implies that dharma is upheld through alignment with this higher order—ritual devotion, self-control, and respect for cosmic law.
Vāyu is speaking in praise, listing honorific epithets that describe Śiva’s forms and functions. The speech functions as a stotra-like enumeration, situating Śiva as the authoritative principle behind worship (liṅga), divine hierarchy (suras), spiritual practice (yoga), and the unfolding of ages (yugas).