Shloka 79

वासिष्ठकथनम् (आदित्य–सोमवंशवर्णनम् तथा रुद्रसहस्रनाम-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

तीक्ष्णोपायश् च हर्यश्वः सहायः कर्मकालवित् विष्णुः प्रसादितो यज्ञः समुद्रो वडवामुखः

Transliteration

tīkṣṇopāyaś ca haryaśvaḥ sahāyaḥ karmakālavit viṣṇuḥ prasādito yajñaḥ samudro vaḍavāmukhaḥ

Translation

He is the One of keen and unfailing means; the Lord of swift steeds; the ever-present Helper; the Knower of the proper time for every rite and action. He is Viṣṇu, the All-pervading; the Graciously Propitiated One; the very yajña; the Ocean; and the Mare-faced Fire (Vaḍavāmukha) that consumes the depths.

Word by Word

• तीक्ष्णोपायः: one whose means (upāya) are sharp/decisive and effective

• च: and

• हर्यश्वः: he of tawny/swift horses (swift-moving power)

• सहायः: helper, supporter

• कर्मकालवित्: knower of the right time (kāla) for actions/rituals

• विष्णुः: all-pervading one (also indicating Hari as Shiva’s pervasion)

• प्रसादितः: the one who is pleased/propitiated, bestower of grace

• यज्ञः: sacrifice, the embodied yajña

• समुद्रः: ocean, cosmic depth

• वडवामुखः: the mare-faced submarine fire (vaḍavānala), devouring power within the waters

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It frames the Linga-Pati as the very power behind worship and ritual—He is both the one propitiated (prasāditaḥ) and the sacrifice itself (yajñaḥ), teaching that Linga-puja succeeds through right means (upāya) and right timing (kāla).

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

Shiva-tattva is presented as all-pervading (viṣṇuḥ), supportive (sahāyaḥ), and cosmic in scale (samudraḥ), yet also as the consuming inner fire (vaḍavāmukhaḥ) that burns impurities—freeing the paśu (bound soul) from pāśa (bondage) by grace (prasāda).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes karmakāla—performing japa, homa, and Linga-arcana at the proper time and with decisive upāya; inwardly, it points to Pāśupata discipline where the ‘yajña’ becomes an internal offering of ego and bondage into Shiva’s purifying fire.