Shloka 20
पार्वतीप्रार्थना—हिमवत्पार्श्वे भिक्षुरूपेण याचनम् | Pārvatī’s Request: Śiva to Seek Her in Beggar-Form at Himālaya’s Court
स्वतन्त्रः परतन्त्रश्च त्वया देवि कृतो ह्यहम् । सर्वकर्त्री च प्रकृतिर्महामाया त्वमेव हि
svatantraḥ paratantraśca tvayā devi kṛto hyaham | sarvakartrī ca prakṛtirmahāmāyā tvameva hi
O Goddess, by you I have been made both independent and dependent. You alone indeed are Prakṛti, the all-doing power, the great Māyā.
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: creative
FAQs
The verse affirms that the Lord’s manifest play depends upon Śakti: Parvatī as Mahāmāyā and Prakṛti is the power through which agency, limitation, and cosmic functioning appear—guiding the soul from bondage toward grace and liberation in a Shaiva Siddhanta frame (Pati empowered by Śakti, with Pāśa as Māyā).
In Saguna worship, the Liṅga is revered as Shiva with Śakti inseparably present; this verse supports that devotion by showing that all manifestation and all ‘doing’ in the world operates through the Goddess as Prakṛti/Māyā, while Shiva remains the supreme Lord addressed in the narrative.
A practical takeaway is Shiva–Shakti contemplation during japa: repeat the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) while meditating that all agency and outcomes arise through Mahāmāyā/Prakṛti, cultivating humility and surrender (śaraṇāgati) alongside devotion.