अवोचं पुनरेवेशं महारुद्रं महेश्वरम् । जन्ममृत्युभयाविष्टास्सृज देव प्रजा इति
avocaṃ punareveśaṃ mahārudraṃ maheśvaram | janmamṛtyubhayāviṣṭāssṛja deva prajā iti
Then I spoke again to that Lord—Mahārudra, Maheśvara: “O Deva, create living beings, for they are overwhelmed by the fear of birth and death.”
Brahmā
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Cosmic Event: pre-creation deliberation: request for prajā-sarga under the shadow of saṃsāra (birth-death fear)
It frames saṃsāra as a condition dominated by the fear of birth and death, and presents Mahārudra (Pati, the Supreme Lord) as the conscious source who initiates creation while also being the ultimate refuge for liberation from that fear.
By addressing Mahārudra as the personal Lord who actively creates and governs, the verse supports Saguna Shiva devotion; in Linga-worship, the devotee approaches the same Maheśvara as the manifest focus of grace who transcends birth-death even while presiding over creation.
A practical takeaway is to meditate on Shiva as Mahāmṛtyuñjaya—the remover of fear of death—through japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and remembrance of Shiva’s lordship over janma-mṛtyu.