Shloka 8
Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
कालकालः कृत्तिवासाः सुभगः प्रणवात्मकः । उन्नध्रः पुरुषो जुष्यो दुर्वासाः पुरशासनः
kālakālaḥ kṛttivāsāḥ subhagaḥ praṇavātmakaḥ | unnadhraḥ puruṣo juṣyo durvāsāḥ puraśāsanaḥ
He is Kālākāla, the Death of death, the Lord who conquers Time; the One clad in hide; the auspicious and gracious Lord, whose very essence is the sacred syllable Oṁ. He is the exalted, unwavering Support; the supreme Puruṣa worthy of refuge; the ever-pleasing and adorable One; the austere Durvāsā; and the chastiser of Tripura—Śiva, sovereign ruler of all.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka
Mantra: प्रणवात्मकः
Type: stotra
Offering: dhupa
Cosmic Event: Tripura-dahana (mythic cosmic battle; destruction of the triple cities)
FAQs
The verse strings together names that reveal Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord beyond Time and death—who is simultaneously the ascetic (kṛttivāsā) and the auspicious refuge (subhaga). Seeing him as kālakālaḥ shifts devotion from fear of death to trust in the Deathless Lord who grants liberation.
These epithets are meditative handles for Saguna worship: the devotee contemplates Shiva’s recognizable qualities—ascetic form, cosmic sovereignty, and Tripura-destruction—while understanding that his inner reality is praṇava (Oṁ), pointing from form (Liṅga worship) to the formless source.
Japa and dhyāna are primary: meditate on Shiva as praṇavātmakaḥ while repeating Oṁ and/or the Pañcākṣarī “Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya,” and recite these names as a nāma-stotra for steadiness of mind and fearlessness before time and death.