Shloka 189
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
यावच्छशाड्कधवलामलबद्धमौलि- न प्रीयते पशुपतिर्भगवान् ममेश: । तावज्जरामरणजन्मशताभिषघातै- दुःखानि देहविहितानि समुद्गह्यामि
yāvac chaśāṅkadhavalāmalabaddhamauli na prīyate paśupatir bhagavān mameśaḥ | tāvaj jarāmaraṇajanmaśatābhighātaiḥ duḥkhāni dehavihitāni samudgṛhyāmi ||
Vāsudeva said: “Until the Blessed Lord Paśupati—my own supreme Master, crowned with the spotless, moon-bright crescent—becomes pleased, I will continue to bear the bodily sufferings that arise from hundreds of blows dealt by repeated birth, aging, and death.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches steadfast devotion and spiritual priority: one should be willing to endure the inevitable pains of embodied existence—birth, aging, and death—until the supreme Lord’s grace is attained. Divine pleasure (prasāda) is presented as the higher goal over comfort.
Vāsudeva speaks in praise of Paśupati (Śiva), describing his crescent-moon adornment and declaring his own vow-like resolve: until Śiva is pleased, he will continue to bear the bodily sufferings produced by repeated cycles of birth, aging, and death.