Shloka 53

वंशानुवर्णनम् — सात्वतवंशः, स्यमन्तक-प्रसङ्गः, कृष्णावतारः, शिवप्रसादः (पाशुपतयोगः)

Devanagari script

दत्त्वैनं नन्दगोपस्य रक्षतामिति चाब्रवीत् रक्षकं जगतां विष्णुं स्वेच्छया धृतविग्रहम्

Transliteration

dattvainaṃ nandagopasya rakṣatāmiti cābravīt rakṣakaṃ jagatāṃ viṣṇuṃ svecchayā dhṛtavigraham

Translation

Handing him over to Nanda the cowherd, he said, “Protect him.” Thus (the child was entrusted to) Viṣṇu—the Protector of the worlds—who, by his own free will, had assumed a bodily form. In the Śaiva vision, such protective descents operate under the supreme ordinance of Pati (Śiva); by his śakti the cosmos is upheld, and the bound souls (paśu) are safeguarded from the snares (pāśa) of fear and harm.

Word by Word

• दत्त्वा (dattvā): having given/handed over

• एनम् (enam): this one/him

• नन्दगोपस्य (nandagopasya): to Nanda Gopa (the cowherd Nanda)

• रक्षताम् (rakṣatām): (you) protect (imperative)

• इति (iti): thus

• च (ca): and

• अब्रवीत् (abravīt): he said

• रक्षकम् (rakṣakam): protector/guardian

• जगताम् (jagatām): of the worlds

• विष्णुम् (viṣṇum): Vishnu

• स्वेच्छया (svecchayā): by his own will

• धृत-विग्रहम् (dhṛta-vigraham): having assumed/borne a form (incarnation).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Nanda (Nandagopa)

FAQs

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

The verse highlights divine protection (rakṣa) as a function of cosmic order; in Linga worship, the devotee seeks Pati’s (Śiva’s) anugraha so that the paśu is guarded from pāśa—mirrored here by entrusting the child to protection under a divinely assumed form.

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

Though Vishnu is named as the world-protector, a Shaiva reading places such protection within Shiva-tattva: Pati is the supreme governor whose śakti enables preservation and safe passage for embodied beings toward release (mokṣa).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific rite is stated, but the takeaway aligns with Pāśupata discipline: cultivate śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge) and protective remembrance (rakṣā-bhāva) of the Lord, a foundation for steadiness in japa, vrata, and Linga-pūjā.