Shloka 21
कैलासमार्गे शङ्करस्य परीक्षा — Śiva Tests the Approachers on the Kailāsa Path
कृतांजलिपुटो भूत्वा ततो गुरुरुदारधीः । नत्वा च दंडवद्भूमौ प्रभुं स्तोतुं प्रचक्रमे
kṛtāṃjalipuṭo bhūtvā tato gururudāradhīḥ | natvā ca daṃḍavadbhūmau prabhuṃ stotuṃ pracakrame
Then the noble-minded Guru, joining his hands in a reverent añjali, bowed to the Lord by prostrating upon the earth like a staff, and began to offer Him praise.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Models the Śaiva Siddhānta approach to grace: humility (añjali) and complete self-surrender (daṇḍavat) as the proximate cause for Śiva’s anugraha.
Type: stotra
FAQs
It teaches that approach to Pati (Lord Shiva) begins with vinaya (humility): joining the hands, full prostration, and then sincere praise—an outer sign of inner surrender that ripens bhakti and grace.
The verse models Saguna-upasana: the devotee physically bows and offers stuti to the ‘Prabhu’—a personal Lord worshipped through form, ritual gestures, and heartfelt devotion, which in Shaiva Siddhanta becomes a gateway to Shiva’s anugraha (saving grace).
Practice añjali and daṇḍavat praṇāma before Shiva worship, then recite a stotra or the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with a surrendered mind; the key takeaway is posture-backed devotion rather than mere recitation.