Shloka 6
शारभावतारवर्णनम्
Account of Śiva’s Śārabha Manifestation and the Measureless Avatāras
आकाशस्य च ताराणां रेणुकानां क्षितेस्तथा । आसाराणां च वृद्धेन बहुकल्पैः कदापि हि
ākāśasya ca tārāṇāṃ reṇukānāṃ kṣitestathā | āsārāṇāṃ ca vṛddhena bahukalpaiḥ kadāpi hi
«Selbst wenn einer beim Zählen—durch viele Kalpas hindurch—der Sterne am Himmel, der Staubteilchen der Erde und der unzähligen Regenströme alt würde, erreichte er doch niemals ihr Ende.»
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Sthala Purana: Not shrine-specific; uses cosmic-scale imagery (stars, dust, rain) to indicate the impossibility of enumerating Śiva’s manifestations—an epistemic ‘concealment’ theme: the finite intellect cannot grasp the infinite.
Cosmic Event: bahu-kalpa scale explicitly invoked
FAQs
It teaches the mind to abandon pride in measurement and intellect: even vast cosmic quantities are effectively uncountable, pointing to the still greater truth that Shiva (Pati) is beyond all limits and enumeration.
The Linga signifies the limitless—Shiva who transcends form and number. By showing the uncountable scale of creation, the verse prepares the devotee to approach Saguna worship (Linga, mantra, puja) as a doorway to the Nirguna, immeasurable reality.
Practice japa of the Panchakshara mantra ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") with contemplation on infinity—letting each repetition dissolve the urge to control or quantify—and offer Tripuṇḍra/bhasma as a reminder of the finitude of all countable things.