Shloka 15
Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
सोमपोऽमृतपः सौम्यो महातेजा महाद्युतिः । तेजोमयोऽमृतमयोऽन्नमयश्च सुधापतिः
somapo'mṛtapaḥ saumyo mahātejā mahādyutiḥ | tejomayo'mṛtamayo'nnamayaśca sudhāpatiḥ
Er ist der Trinker des Soma und der Trinker des amṛta; sanft, von mondhafter Anmut, weit an Glanz und groß an Strahlkraft. Er ist aus reiner Leuchtkraft gebildet, aus Nektar der Unsterblichkeit gebildet und auch die Substanz der Nahrung selbst; er ist der Herr der Ambrosia (Sudhā).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Jyotirlinga: Somanātha
Sthala Purana: Soma (the Moon) is restored and blessed by Śiva; Śiva as ‘Soma’ and ‘Sudhāpati’ resonates with the Somnātha tradition of lunar restoration and nectarous grace.
Significance: Associated with healing, renewal, and restoration of vitality; devotion here is sought for inner ‘amṛta’—steadfastness beyond decay.
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
The verse praises Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who is simultaneously the source of luminosity (tejas), immortality (amṛta), and sustenance (anna). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, it points to Shiva as the transcendent Lord who also graciously becomes the immanent support of embodied life, granting both worldly nourishment and liberation.
These epithets function as a dhyāna for Saguna Shiva: the devotee contemplates the Linga as the concentrated presence of Shiva’s tejas (radiant consciousness) and amṛta (saving grace). Worship thus becomes a movement from visible symbol (Linga) to the realization of Shiva as the inner life-giver and liberator.
Use the verse as a stotra during Linga abhiṣeka, offering water/milk as symbols of amṛta while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya). Meditatively, contemplate Shiva as “tejo-maya” in the heart and as “anna-maya” in daily food, sanctifying nourishment as His grace.