Shloka 19

महाबलमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Mahābala Māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Mahābala (and Western Sacred Liṅgas)”

Devanagari script

तथा वायुः कुबेरश्च देवेशी भद्रकालिका । मातृभिश्चण्डिकाद्याभिरुत्तरद्वारमाश्रिताः

Transliteration

tathā vāyuḥ kuberaśca deveśī bhadrakālikā | mātṛbhiścaṇḍikādyābhiruttaradvāramāśritāḥ

Translation

Likewise Vāyu and Kubera, and the Divine Lady—Bhadrakālī, Sovereign of the gods—together with the Mothers and with Caṇḍikā and the other goddesses, took their positions at the northern gate.

Word by Word

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• वायुः: Vāyu (wind-god)
• वायुः: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• कुबेरः: Kubera
• कुबेरः: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kubera (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• देवेशी: Devēśī (goddess, mistress of gods)
• देवेशी: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + īśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive tatpuruṣa): देवानाम् ईशी (mistress of the gods)

• भद्रकालिका: Bhadrakālikā
• भद्रकालिका: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadra + kālikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: भद्रा च सा कालिका (the auspicious Kālikā)

• मातृभिः: by/with the Mothers (Mātṛs)
• मातृभिः: Sahakari/Karana (सहकारी/करण/instrument or accompaniment)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (plural)

• चण्डिकाद्याभिः: by/with Caṇḍikā and the others
• चण्डिकाद्याभिः: Sahakari/Karana (सहकारी/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍikā + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: चण्डिका-आदि (Caṇḍikā and others)

• उत्तरद्वारम्: the northern gate
• उत्तरद्वारम्: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: उत्तरस्य द्वारम् (the northern gate)

• आश्रिताः: having taken refuge at / stationed at
• आश्रिताः: Karta (कर्ता/subject predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-śri (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; पुंलिङ्ग (contextual, agreeing with plural subjects); अर्थ: ‘having resorted to/being stationed at’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The northern gate is guarded by Kubera and powerful Śaktis (Bhadrakālī, Caṇḍikā, Mātr̥kās), reflecting kṣetra-protection (rakṣā) rather than a Jyotirliṅga-specific legend.

Significance: Invokes kṣetrapāla/śakti-rakṣā: devotees seek protection, removal of obstacles, and auspiciousness through the Goddess’s guardianship within Śiva’s domain.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Vayu
• Kubera
• Bhadrakali
• Deveshi
• Matrikas
• Chandika

FAQs

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

The verse portrays the sacred space as divinely ordered: multiple deities and Śakti-forms take assigned stations to protect the holy precinct, indicating that a Jyotirliṅga-kshetra is upheld by both Śiva’s grace (Pati) and the coordinated powers of the devatās and Mātr̥kās.

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

By showing guardians positioned at the gates, the text frames liṅga-worship as entering a consecrated realm of Saguna Śiva—where devotion is supported by divine protectors—encouraging the devotee to approach the Liṅga with purity, reverence, and disciplined conduct.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is to begin worship with protective invocations (dikpāla/śakti-smaraṇa), then perform liṅga-pūjā with Panchākṣarī japa ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") and a prayer for inner guarding of the ‘north gate’—the upward movement of awareness toward Śiva.