Shloka 98

Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana

The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva

Devanagari script

श्मशाननिलयस्त्र्यक्षस्स तुरप्रतिमाकृतिः । लोकोत्तरस्फुटोलोकः त्र्यंबको नागभूषणः

Transliteration

śmaśānanilayastryakṣassa turapratimākṛtiḥ | lokottarasphuṭolokaḥ tryaṃbako nāgabhūṣaṇaḥ

Translation

He who abides in the cremation-ground is the Three-eyed Lord, whose form is incomparable. He shines as a manifest Presence that transcends the worlds. That Tryambaka, adorned with serpents, is the supreme object of contemplation and worship.

Word by Word

• श्मशान-निलयः: dweller in the cremation-ground
• श्मशान-निलयः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक) + निलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (श्मशानस्य निलयः)

• त्रि-अक्षः: three-eyed one
• त्रि-अक्षः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि अक्षीणि यस्य)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तुर-प्रतिमा-आकृतिः: having a form like a horse’s image
• तुर-प्रतिमा-आकृतिः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुर (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रतिमा (प्रातिपदिक) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तुरस्य प्रतिमा इव आकृतिः)

• लोक-उत्तरस्फुट-लोकः: whose realm is transcendent and manifest
• लोक-उत्तरस्फुट-लोकः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + स्फुट (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (लोकात् उत्तरः/उत्तमः स्फुटः लोकः)

• त्र्यंबकः: Tryambaka
• त्र्यंबकः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्र्यंबक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नाग-भूषणः: adorned with serpents
• नाग-भूषणः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नागः भूषणं यस्य)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s epithets to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara

Sthala Purana: Tryambaka as the three-eyed Lord associated with the Gautamī Gaṅgā origin: the descent/manifestation of Gaṅgā in the Godāvarī region and Śiva’s grace to sages; the epithet Tryambaka directly evokes this Jyotirliṅga’s identity.

Significance: Worship of Tryambakeśvara is sought for purification, ancestral rites (pitṛ-kārya), and release from heavy karmic bonds; contemplation of the three-eyed cremation-ground Lord cultivates vairāgya and fearlessness.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt ||

Type: mahamrityunjaya

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Ritual Elements

Offering: dhupa

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Cremation-ground symbolism points to pralaya-consciousness (saṃhāra-bhāva) and the transcendence of loka-limits.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents Shiva as both immanent and transcendent: dwelling in the cremation-ground to dissolve fear and attachment, yet surpassing all worlds as the luminous, supreme Pati who grants liberation.

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

These epithets guide saguna-upāsanā: devotees meditate on Shiva’s recognizable marks (three eyes, serpent ornaments, śmaśāna-abode) which culminate in linga-worship as the steady symbol of the transcendent Lord.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Tryambaka while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) or the Tryambaka invocation, cultivating dispassion (vairāgya) by remembering the śmaśāna and Shiva’s world-transcending radiance.