Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 32
दक्षयज्ञ-प्रसङ्गे देवतानां आश्वासनं तथा दण्डविधानम् | Consolation of the Devas and the Ordinance of Consequences in the Dakṣa-Yajña Episode
दक्ष उवाच । नमामि देव वरदं वरेण्यं महेश्वरं ज्ञाननिधिं सनातनम् । नमामि देवाधिपतीश्वरं हरं सदासुखाढ्यं जगदेकबांधवम्
dakṣa uvāca | namāmi deva varadaṃ vareṇyaṃ maheśvaraṃ jñānanidhiṃ sanātanam | namāmi devādhipatīśvaraṃ haraṃ sadāsukhāḍhyaṃ jagadekabāṃdhavam
Dakṣa sprach: „Ich verneige mich vor Mahādeva, dem Spender der Gnaden, dem Würdigsten der Verehrung—vor Maheśvara, dem ewigen Schatz wahrer Erkenntnis. Ich verneige mich vor Hara, dem souveränen Herrn über die Herren der Götter, stets erfüllt von Seligkeit, dem einzigen Verwandten und Zufluchtsort des ganzen Universums.“
Daksha
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Significance: This stuti frames Śiva as jagad-eka-bāndhava (sole refuge), aligning with pilgrimage ethos: surrender at Śiva-kṣetra yields protection, inner peace, and removal of bonds.
Mantra: नमामि देव वरदं वरेण्यं महेश्वरं ज्ञाननिधिं सनातनम् । नमामि देवाधिपतीश्वरं हरं सदासुखाढ्यं जगदेकबांधवम्
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
Offering: dhupa
FAQs
The verse frames Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord and refuge—who grants grace (varada) and liberating knowledge (jñāna-nidhi), indicating that devotion and right understanding together lead toward release from bondage.
By praising Shiva with personal attributes—boon-giver, Lord of gods, remover (Hara), ocean of knowledge—this is Saguna-oriented bhakti, the same devotional mood used in Linga worship where the formless is approached through a sacred form.
A practical takeaway is nāma-japa and prostration: repeat Shiva’s names (Maheśvara, Hara) with reverence—commonly paired in Shaiva practice with Panchākṣarī japa (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) as an act of surrender to the jagad-eka-bāndhava.