Shloka 96

Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana

The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva

Devanagari script

लिंगाध्यक्षः सुराध्यक्षो युगाध्यक्षो युगापहः । स्वधामा स्वगतः स्वर्गी स्वरः स्वरमयः स्वनः

Transliteration

liṃgādhyakṣaḥ surādhyakṣo yugādhyakṣo yugāpahaḥ | svadhāmā svagataḥ svargī svaraḥ svaramayaḥ svanaḥ

Translation

He is the Lord who presides over the Liṅga, the Lord of the gods; the Ruler of the yugas and the One who brings the yugas to their close. He is His own abode, self-contained and self-abiding, the Bestower of heaven. He is the primal tone (svara), the very essence of sound, and the reverberation itself.

Word by Word

• लिङ्ग-अध्यक्षः: overseer of the Liṅga
• लिङ्ग-अध्यक्षः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + अध्यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (लिङ्गस्य अध्यक्षः)

• सुर-अध्यक्षः: overseer of the gods
• सुर-अध्यक्षः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अध्यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सुराणाम् अध्यक्षः)

• युग-अध्यक्षः: overseer of the ages
• युग-अध्यक्षः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक) + अध्यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (युगस्य अध्यक्षः)

• युग-अपहः: remover of the ages
• युग-अपहः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक) + अपह (प्रातिपदिक; from अप-हृ ‘to take away’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (युगं अपहरति इति)

• स्व-धामā: one whose abode is his own (self-luminous)
• स्व-धामā: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + धामन्/धाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (स्वं धाम यस्य)

• स्व-गतः: self-abiding / gone into himself
• स्व-गतः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त; गम् + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; समासः—कर्मधारयः (स्वं गतः/स्वे गतः)

• स्वर्गी: heavenly / possessing heaven
• स्वर्गी: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्वर्गवान्/स्वर्गसम्बन्धी’

• स्वरः: sound, tone
• स्वरः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्वर-मयः: made of sound
• स्वर-मयः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (स्वरैः मयः = ‘consisting of sound’)

• स्वनः: resonance, sound
• स्वनः: Karta (कर्ता; predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The verse praises Shiva as Pati—the supreme governor of time and dissolution—while also affirming His immanence as the very ground of existence and consciousness, expressed as sacred sound (svara/nāda). It points to liberation by recognizing Shiva as both transcendent Lord and the inner reality in which all arises and subsides.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Calling Him “Liṅgādhyakṣa” frames the Liṅga as the sanctified focus where Saguna devotion meets the formless truth: the Liṅga is not merely a symbol but a consecrated presence of Shiva who presides over all gods and all cycles of time.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Linga-archana with mantra-japa—especially the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—paired with inward meditation on nāda (the subtle sound-current) aligns with the verse’s teaching that Shiva is “svaramaya,” the essence of sacred vibration.