Shloka 18
मेना-शिवदर्शन-प्रस्थानम् | Menā’s Quest to Behold Śiva
Departure for Śiva’s Darśana
नेति त्वमब्रवीस्तां वै तावन्निरृतिरागतः । बिभ्राणो द्विगुणां शोभां शुभः पुण्यजनप्रभुः
neti tvamabravīstāṃ vai tāvannirṛtirāgataḥ | bibhrāṇo dviguṇāṃ śobhāṃ śubhaḥ puṇyajanaprabhuḥ
As you were saying to her, “No, no,” at that very moment Nirṛti arrived—auspicious, lord of the hosts of the blessed—bearing a beauty doubled in splendour.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Rudra
FAQs
The verse highlights how events unfold under divine order: even when a human decision is voiced (“no”), a higher movement immediately manifests. In Shaiva understanding, such arrivals indicate the working of Śiva’s governance (Pati) over circumstances, guiding beings toward the destined spiritual outcome.
By calling the arriving figure “puṇyajana-prabhu,” the text evokes Śiva’s attendant hosts and the Saguna (manifest) sphere of Śiva’s lordship. Linga-worship similarly approaches the transcendent Śiva through manifest signs, attendants, and auspicious markers within the Purāṇic narrative world.
The takeaway is attentiveness to auspiciousness (śubha) and divine timing: steady japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with a calm mind is appropriate when circumstances shift suddenly, grounding the devotee in Śiva’s protective order.