Shloka 55

देवैर्विष्णोः शरणागमनम्—शिवलिङ्गस्थापनं, शिवसहस्रनामस्तवः, सुदर्शनचक्रप्रदानं च

Devanagari script

वर्णाश्रमगुरुर्वर्णी शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः आश्रमः क्षपणः क्षामो ज्ञानवानचलाचलः

Transliteration

varṇāśramagururvarṇī śatrujicchatrutāpanaḥ āśramaḥ kṣapaṇaḥ kṣāmo jñānavānacalācalaḥ

Translation

He is the Guru who upholds and guides the disciplines of varṇa and āśrama, radiant in sacred observance. He conquers enemies and scorches hostility itself. He is the refuge of spiritual striving; He exhausts impurities, austere and lean through tapas, and is possessed of true knowledge—immovable, and yet the mover of the immovable.

Word by Word

• वर्णाश्रमगुरुः: guru and regulator of varṇa-and-āśrama dharma

• वर्णी: one endowed with sacred lustre/one observing brahmacarya (vow-holder)

• शत्रुजित्: conqueror of enemies

• शत्रुतापनः: burner/tormentor of enmity and hostile forces

• आश्रमः: refuge/abode and also the principle of spiritual discipline

• क्षपणः: destroyer, one who causes the wasting away (of sins/bonds)

• क्षामः: emaciated/lean, austere through tapas

• ज्ञानवान्: possessor of liberating knowledge (jñāna)

• अचलाचलः: immovable yet causing movement in the immovable (unshaken Lord who sets all in motion)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Sahasranama to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the Linga-Pati (Shiva) as the supreme Guru and purifier: worship is not only ritual but a discipline that destroys pāśa (bondage) and establishes the pashu (soul) in jñāna under the Lord’s guidance.

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

Shiva is portrayed as Pati—unshaken and self-established (acala), yet the ultimate cause that moves all that seems fixed (acala). He burns hostility and dissolves impurity, indicating His transcendence and immanent governance.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Tapas and inner purification are emphasized: ‘kṣapaṇa’ and ‘kṣāma’ point to austerity that exhausts karmic residues and egoic enmity—key aims aligned with Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā alongside Linga-pūjā.