Shloka 10
संन्यासमण्डलविधिवर्णनम्
Sannyāsa Maṇḍala Vidhi—Procedure for the Renunciate Mandala
तदुपर्य्यमरेशं च महाकालं च मध्यतः । तन्मस्तकस्थं दण्डं च तत ईश्वरमालिखेत्
taduparyyamareśaṃ ca mahākālaṃ ca madhyataḥ | tanmastakasthaṃ daṇḍaṃ ca tata īśvaramālikhet
Above that, one should depict Amareśa, the Lord of the immortals, and in the middle place Mahākāla. Upon His head one should draw the staff (daṇḍa); and then portray Īśvara (Śiva) accordingly.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla is invoked as the Time-transcending Lord who subdues death and governs dissolution; the iconographic placement ‘in the middle’ resonates with Mahākāla as the central regulator of kāla within the maṇḍala/yantra.
Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is held to grant protection from untimely death, fear of time, and to bestow steadiness in sādhana; especially sought for pradoṣa/śivarātri observances.
FAQs
It presents a disciplined sacred visualization: arranging divine forms in a prescribed hierarchy, culminating in Īśvara. In Shaiva Siddhanta, such ordered contemplation steadies the mind and orients devotion toward Pati (Śiva) as the supreme Lord who transcends and yet guides all cosmic functions.
The instruction to “depict” (ālikhet) indicates saguna-upāsanā—approaching Śiva through form, placement, and symbols. This supports Linga and icon worship by giving the devotee a concrete meditative structure that leads from symbolic representation to inner absorption in Śiva.
A dhyāna/nyāsa-style practice of sacred diagram or icon arrangement—mentally or physically placing Mahākāla at the center and Īśvara as the culminating focus—used to concentrate awareness before japa (e.g., the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) or pūjā.