Shloka 80
Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
पृषदश्वो नभोयोनिः सुप्रतीकस्तमिस्रहा । निदाघस्तपनो मेघभक्षः परपुरंजयः
pṛṣadaśvo nabhoyoniḥ supratīkastamisrahā | nidāghastapano meghabhakṣaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ
He is Pṛṣadaśva; the Womb of the sky; the One of auspicious and splendid form; the Destroyer of darkness. He is the scorching heat of summer, the Sun that ripens all things; the Devourer of clouds; and the Conqueror of hostile cities—Śiva, the supreme Lord, who governs the elements and dispels ignorance.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya in the Kotirudra Samhita context)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka
FAQs
The verse praises Śiva as the regulator of the cosmos (sky, heat, sun, clouds) and as the remover of inner darkness—symbolizing his grace that destroys avidyā (ignorance) and leads the soul toward liberation.
These epithets support Saguna-upāsanā: devotees worship the Liṅga while contemplating Śiva’s manifest powers as light, heat, and sovereign victory, which purify the mind and reveal the Lord who is beyond form.
Chant these names as nāma-japa along with the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), meditating on Śiva as the inner light (tamisrahā) that dispels mental darkness; this is especially fitting for Mahāśivarātri worship.