Shloka 22
स्वप्नवर्णनपूर्वकं संक्षेपशिवचरितवर्णनम् / Dream-Portents and a Concise Account of Śiva’s Career
एकस्तपस्वी परमो नारदोक्तवरां गधृक् । पुरोपकंठं सुप्रीत्या तपः कर्तुं समागतः
ekastapasvī paramo nāradoktavarāṃ gadhṛk | puropakaṃṭhaṃ suprītyā tapaḥ kartuṃ samāgataḥ
A certain supreme ascetic—one who had obtained the boon spoken of by Nārada—arrived with great joy at the outskirts of the city, intending to undertake austerities (tapas).
Sūta Gosvāmin
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
It highlights that tapas (disciplined austerity) is undertaken with inner gladness and purpose, often after receiving guidance or a boon from a realized sage like Nārada—showing the Shaiva path where effort (tapas) is aligned with divine grace.
Though the Liṅga is not named here, the narrative pattern in the Pārvatīkhaṇḍa commonly frames tapas as preparation to receive Saguna Shiva’s compassionate response—devotion expressed through disciplined practice leading to Shiva’s manifest blessing.
The verse broadly points to undertaking tapas near a sacred place; in Shaiva practice this is typically supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), observance of purity, and steady meditation on Shiva’s form and presence.