Shloka 3

ऋषिकृत-रुद्रस्तुतिः तथा संहाराग्नि-प्रश्नः

Kāma–Krodha–Lobha and the Fire of Dissolution

Devanagari script

सर्वप्रणतदेहाय स्वयं च प्रणतात्मने नित्यं नीलशिखण्डाय श्रीकण्ठाय नमोनमः

Transliteration

sarvapraṇatadehāya svayaṃ ca praṇatātmane nityaṃ nīlaśikhaṇḍāya śrīkaṇṭhāya namonamaḥ

Translation

Repeated salutations to Śrīkaṇṭha—whose very form is bowed to by all, who is Himself the essence of humility; ever adorned with the dark-blue peacock-plume and bearing the auspicious blue throat—Pati, the Lord who frees the bound paśu from pāśa.

Word by Word

• sarva: all

• praṇata: bowed, reverent

• dehāya: to (Him whose) body/form

• svayam: Himself

• ca: and

• praṇata-ātmane: to (Him whose) very self is bowed/humble (or who is the inner Self of the bowed)

• nityam: ever

• nīla: dark-blue

• śikhaṇḍāya: to the peacock-plumed/crested One

• śrī-kaṇṭhāya: to the Auspicious-throated One (blue-throated Śiva)

• namaḥ namaḥ: salutations again and again.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a Shiva-stuti within the Linga Purana discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva (Śrīkaṇṭha)

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It functions as a foundational namaskāra (salutatory mantra) to Śiva as Śrīkaṇṭha—centering the worshipper in reverence and surrender, which is the inner prerequisite for Linga-pūjā to become a means of pāśa-kṣaya (loosening bondage).

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Śiva is praised as universally revered and simultaneously the inner principle of humility; as Pati, He is the auspicious Lord whose blue throat signifies transcendent mastery over poison—i.e., the capacity to absorb and neutralize the impurities that bind the pashu.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The practice implied is bhakti-yukta praṇāma—repeated salutations with ego-surrender—an essential limb supporting Pāśupata-oriented discipline, where humility and devotion prepare the aspirant for Shiva-upāsanā and inner purification.