Shloka 22
मेनायाः क्रोध-विलापः — Menā’s Lament and Reproach
to the Sage
छेदयामि शिरस्तेऽद्य किं करोमि कलेवरैः । त्यक्त्वा त्वां च कुतो यायां हाहा मे जीवितं हतम्
chedayāmi śiraste'dya kiṃ karomi kalevaraiḥ | tyaktvā tvāṃ ca kuto yāyāṃ hāhā me jīvitaṃ hatam
“I shall cut off your head today. What use have I for this body? And after abandoning you, where could I even go? Alas—my very life is destroyed!”
Parvati
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
This verse portrays viraha (pain of separation) at its extreme, where the ego finds no refuge in the body or the world. In Shaiva thought, such intensity—when purified—becomes one-pointed bhakti that drives the soul (paśu) toward Pati (Shiva) and His grace.
The outcry reflects dependence on Saguna Shiva—Shiva as the personal Lord who can be loved, sought, and surrendered to. In practice, this emotional single-mindedness is stabilized through Linga worship, where the devotee channels longing into steady pūjā, japa, and remembrance.
A practical takeaway is to convert agitation into japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) before the Shiva Linga, with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and, if one follows the vrata, Rudrāksha—so the mind moves from despair to surrender.