Shloka 77
चतुर्मुखो महालिड्ल्शश्चवारुलिड्रस्तथैव च | लिड्डाध्यक्ष: सुराध्यक्षो योगाध्यक्षो युगावह:,३८७ चतुर्मुख:--चार मुखवाले, ३८८ महालिज्ग:--महालिंगस्वरूप, ३८९ चारुलिड्र:--रमणीय वेषधारी, ३९० लिड्राध्यक्ष:--प्रत्यक्ष आदि प्रमाणोंके अध्यक्ष, ३९१ सुराध्यक्ष:--देवताओंके अधिपति, ३९२ योगाध्यक्ष:--योगके अध्यक्ष, ३९३ युगावह:-- चारों युगोंके निर्वाहक
caturmukho mahāliṅgaś cāru-liṅgas tathaiva ca | liṅgādhyakṣaḥ surādhyakṣo yogādhyakṣo yugāvahaḥ ||
Vāyu said: “He is four-faced; he is the Great Liṅga itself; and he is also the Beautiful Liṅga. He presides over the Liṅga (and over the means of valid knowledge by which it is apprehended); he is the lord of the gods; he presides over yoga; and he bears and sustains the succession of the four yugas.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a devotional-theological portrait of Śiva as the supreme regulator: he is not only worshipped in the form of the Liṅga but is also the presiding power over divine governance (devas), inner discipline (yoga), and cosmic time (the yugas). Ethically, it implies that dharma is upheld through alignment with this higher order—ritual devotion, self-control, and respect for cosmic law.
Vāyu is speaking in praise, listing honorific epithets that describe Śiva’s forms and functions. The speech functions as a stotra-like enumeration, situating Śiva as the authoritative principle behind worship (liṅga), divine hierarchy (suras), spiritual practice (yoga), and the unfolding of ages (yugas).