Shloka 19
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
नाम्नां सहस्र॑ं देवस्य तण्डिना ब्रह्मयोनिना । निवेदितं ब्रह्मलोके ब्रह्मणो यत् पुराभवत्
nāmnāṁ sahasraṁ devasya taṇḍinā brahmayoninā | niveditaṁ brahmaloke brahmaṇo yat purābhavat |
Bhīṣma said: “The thousand names of the Lord were once presented by Taṇḍi—born of Brahmā’s lineage—in Brahmaloka, as they had formerly arisen from Brahmā.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse grounds the recitation of the Lord’s thousand names in an ancient, authoritative lineage: it is not a new invention but a sacred tradition traced to Brahmā and transmitted in Brahmaloka through Taṇḍi. Ethically, it emphasizes reverence for received wisdom (śruti/smṛti-paramparā) and the purifying power of remembering and praising the divine.
Bhīṣma introduces the provenance of a sahasranāma: he states that Taṇḍi, described as Brahmā-born (or of Brahmā’s line), presented these thousand divine names in Brahmaloka, and that they were originally connected with Brahmā in ancient times—thereby legitimizing the hymn that follows or is being discussed.