Shloka 150

देवैर्विष्णोः शरणागमनम्—शिवलिङ्गस्थापनं, शिवसहस्रनामस्तवः, सुदर्शनचक्रप्रदानं च

Devanagari script

शिखण्डी कवची शूली चण्डी मुण्डी च कुण्डली मेखली कवची खड्गी मायी संसारसारथिः

Transliteration

śikhaṇḍī kavacī śūlī caṇḍī muṇḍī ca kuṇḍalī mekhalī kavacī khaḍgī māyī saṃsārasārathiḥ

Translation

She is crested, armored, and trident-bearing; fierce as Caṇḍī, garlanded with skulls as Muṇḍī, and adorned with earrings as Kuṇḍalī. Girdled as Mekhalī, protected by mail, sword-bearing, and the very power of Māyā, she is the charioteer who drives the course of worldly saṃsāra.

Word by Word

• शिखण्डी (śikhaṇḍī): crested/adorned with a plume

• कवची (kavacī): armored, wearing a cuirass

• शूली (śūlī): bearer of the trident

• चण्डी (caṇḍī): fierce, terrible (Shakti as the fierce power)

• मुण्डी (muṇḍī): skull-garlanded/skull-bearing

• कुण्डली (kuṇḍalī): wearing earrings/with coils (ornamented)

• मेखली (mekhalī): girdled, wearing a belt

• खड्गी (khaḍgī): sword-bearing

• मायी (māyī): possessor of Māyā, wielder of cosmic illusion/power

• संसारसारथिः (saṃsāra-sārathiḥ): charioteer/driver of saṃsāra (the worldly cycle)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya; embedded litany of divine names)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Shakti
• Chandi

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-upasana as worship of Pati (Shiva) together with His inseparable Shakti, whose protective weapons and ornaments signify the safeguarding and ordering of the devotee’s life within saṃsāra.

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

By praising Shakti as “māyī” and “saṃsāra-sārathi,” the verse implies Shiva-tattva as Pati: the transcendent Lord whose immanent power (Shakti) regulates māyā and guides embodied pashus through the world-process.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Nama-japa (recitation of divine epithets) as a limb of devotion: repeating these names in Linga-puja aligns the pashu with Shakti’s protective force and supports Pashupata-oriented inner discipline (restraint, purity, and recollection of Pati).