Shloka 21
मयस्य शिवस्तुतिः — Maya’s Hymn to Śiva
and Śiva’s Gracious Response
एतस्मिन्नंतरे ते वै मुण्डिनश्च समागताः । प्रणम्योचुश्च तान्सर्वान्विष्णुब्रह्मादिकान् सुरान्
etasminnaṃtare te vai muṇḍinaśca samāgatāḥ | praṇamyocuśca tānsarvānviṣṇubrahmādikān surān
Meanwhile, those shaven-headed attendants arrived. Bowing down, they addressed all those devas present—Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and the others—standing there.
Sūta Gosvāmin
Tattva Level: pashu
Cosmic Event: Deva-assembly convenes; attendants (muṇḍinaḥ) appear as emissaries/servitors in Śiva’s cosmic administration
FAQs
It highlights humility and right conduct: even powerful beings and their attendants approach the devas with reverence, reflecting the Shaiva ethic that ego subsides before dharma and the higher divine order ultimately rooted in Shiva (Pati).
Though the verse names Vishnu and Brahma, the Yuddhakhaṇḍa setting frames all divine roles within Shiva’s overarching sovereignty; in Saguna Shiva worship, honoring devas is secondary and harmonized under devotion to Shiva as the supreme Lord.
The immediate takeaway is praṇāma (prostration) and respectful speech as devotional discipline; practitioners may pair this with mental japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to cultivate humility and steadiness.