Shloka 72
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
शुभाशुभान्वितान् भावान् विसृजन् संक्षिपन्नपि । आस्ते देव्या सदाचिन्त्यो य॑ प्रार्थयसि शत्रुहन्
śubhāśubhānvitān bhāvān visṛjan saṅkṣipann api | āste devyā sadācintyo yaṃ prārthayasi śatruhan ||
Vāsudeva said: “He whom you pray to, O slayer of foes, the ever-inconceivable Lord—abiding with the Goddess—remains here, continually bringing forth auspicious dispositions and restraining or dissolving the inauspicious ones. Thus Śaṅkara, a treasury of radiance and austerity, stands as the source of inner calm and the destroyer of passions.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Śiva (Śaṅkara) as the regulator of inner life: he generates and supports auspicious qualities (like calm and restraint) while withdrawing or destroying inauspicious impulses (like desire and agitation). Ethically, it emphasizes cultivating wholesome dispositions and restraining harmful ones through devotion and inner discipline.
Vāsudeva addresses a warrior (“slayer of foes”) and identifies the deity being prayed to: the ever-inconceivable Lord Śaṅkara, who abides with the Goddess. He is described as actively shaping the moral-psychological landscape—creating auspicious states and dissolving inauspicious ones—highlighting Śiva’s presence and power.