Shloka 159
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
कभी भयंकर रूप धारण करके अपने नेत्रोंद्वारा लोगोंमें त्रास उत्पन्न करते हुए जोर- जोरसे अट्टहास करते, जागते, सोते और मौजसे अँगड़ाई लेते हैं ।।
japate japyate caiva tapate tapyate punaḥ | dadāti pratigṛhṇāti yujjate dhyāyate 'pi ca ||
Vāsudeva said: “He is the one who performs japa—and the one who is invoked by japa; he practices austerity—and is also the very aim for which austerity is undertaken. He gives gifts and also receives them; he engages in yoga and likewise meditates. The teaching underscores the all-pervading Lord as both the agent and the object of religious acts, so that devotion and discipline are ultimately directed to—and sustained by—the same supreme reality.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
All spiritual disciplines—japa, tapas, dāna, yoga, and dhyāna—ultimately converge in the Supreme: the Lord is presented as both the doer and the object/goal of these acts, emphasizing divine immanence and the unity of worshipper, worship, and worshipped at the highest level.
Vāsudeva is describing the Lord’s all-encompassing presence in religious life: the same divine reality is spoken of as performing sacred practices and also being the one to whom those practices are directed—receiving offerings, granting gifts, and abiding as the focus of yogic and meditative effort.