Shloka 37
स्वाहोवाच । स्थिरो भव महादेव स्त्रीणां वचसि साम्प्रतम् । विवाहे व्यवहारोऽस्ति पुरन्ध्रीणां प्रगल्भता
svāhovāca | sthiro bhava mahādeva strīṇāṃ vacasi sāmpratam | vivāhe vyavahāro'sti purandhrīṇāṃ pragalbhatā
Svāhā said: “Be steadfast, O Mahādeva, before women’s words at this time. In matters of marriage there is much worldly dealing, and women may be bold in speech and in conduct.”
Svāhā
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; it functions as social-theological counsel within the marriage narrative—worldly vyavahāra is acknowledged while Śiva’s steadiness (dhairya) is urged.
Significance: Ethical instruction for householders: steadiness and discernment amid speech and social negotiation; indirectly supports the dharma of vivāha as a stage for Śiva–Śakti līlā.
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva ideal of steadiness (dhairya) in Śiva: even while engaging with worldly situations like marriage, one should remain inwardly firm—symbolically, Pati (Śiva) is untouched by changing speech and social pressures (pāśa).
Saguna Śiva participates in worldly līlā and dharma, yet remains ‘sthira’—the same steadiness devotees contemplate in Liṅga worship: the unmoving center of consciousness amid shifting worldly transactions.
The practical takeaway is mental steadiness: while performing daily duties, hold to japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to remain composed and dharmic amid emotional or social turbulence.