Shloka 56
Lord Śiva Instructs the Pracetās (Śiva-stuti and the Path of Bhakti)
यत्र निर्विष्टमरणं कृतान्तो नाभिमन्यते । विश्वं विध्वंसयन् वीर्यशौर्यविस्फूर्जितभ्रुवा ॥ ५६ ॥
yatra nirviṣṭam araṇaṁ kṛtānto nābhimanyate viśvaṁ vidhvaṁsayan vīrya- śaurya-visphūrjita-bhruvā
For one who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet, even death loses its claim, and Kṛtānta—time personified—does not dare approach. Yet that very time, by a mere movement of Your eyebrows, can destroy the whole universe in an instant.
In Bhagavad-gītā (10.34) it is said that the Lord in the shape and form of death destroys all a person’s possessions. Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: “I am all-devouring death.” The Lord in the shape of death takes away everything that is created by the conditioned soul. Everything in this material world is subject to perish in due course of time. However, all the strength of time cannot hamper the activities of a devotee, for a devotee takes complete shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. For this reason only is a devotee free from formidable time. All the activities of the karmīs and jñānīs, which have no touch of devotional service, are spoiled in due course of time. The material success of the karmīs is destined to be destroyed; similarly, the impersonal realization attained by the jñānīs is also destroyed in the course of time:
FAQs
This verse teaches that in the presence of the Supreme Lord, even Death (Kṛtānta/Yama) does not dare to approach—devotional shelter in God removes existential fear.
Kṛtānta refers to Yama, the ‘finisher’ who presides over death. The Pracetās mention him to emphasize the Lord’s supremacy: even the cosmic authority of death is powerless before Him.
Cultivate remembrance and devotion to the Lord—through prayer, mantra, and dharmic living—so fear and anxiety lessen as one relies on divine protection and higher purpose.