Shloka 26

कैलासमार्गे शङ्करस्य परीक्षा — Śiva Tests the Approachers on the Kailāsa Path

Devanagari script

कालांतकाय कालाय कालभोगिधराय च । नमस्ते परमेशाय सर्वत्र व्यापिने नमः

Transliteration

kālāṃtakāya kālāya kālabhogidharāya ca | namaste parameśāya sarvatra vyāpine namaḥ

Translation

Salutations to You—the Slayer of Death, Time itself, and the Bearer of the serpent of Time. Salutations to You, O Parameśvara, the all-pervading Lord, present everywhere.

Word by Word

• kāla-āṃtakāya: to the ender of Time
• kāla-āṃtakāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/dative of salutation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla + aṃtaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; compound: kālāṃtaka = “ender of Time/Death” (तत्पुरुष)

• kālāya: to Time
• kālāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular

• kāla-bhogi-dharāya: to the bearer of the time-serpent
• kāla-bhogi-dharāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla + bhogin + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; compound: kālabhogidhara = “bearer of the time-serpent” / “who bears the serpent (as ornament) connected with time” (तत्पुरुष chain)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction (समुच्चय)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/salutatory)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (indeclinable form of namas), used in salutation (नमः-प्रयोगः)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; enclitic

• parameśāya: to the Supreme Lord
• parameśāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parameśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular

• sarvatra: everywhere
• sarvatra: Deśa (देश/locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, adverb (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

• vyāpine: all-pervading
• vyāpine: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; adjective qualifying parameśāya

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/salutatory)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya, salutation particle (नमः-प्रयोगः)

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the hymn of praise within the Yuddhakhaṇḍa context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Kālāntaka

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Śiva is praised as Mahākāla, the Lord who transcends and subdues Time (kāla) and Death (mṛtyu); the epithet aligns with Ujjayinī’s Mahākāla-kṣetra where Time is ritually and theologically subordinated to Śiva.

Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for fearlessness before death, relief from time-bound suffering, and the dawning of Śiva’s anugraha that loosens pāśa (bondage).

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: कालांतकाय कालाय कालभोगिधराय च । नमस्ते परमेशाय सर्वत्र व्यापिने नमः

Type: stotra

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The verse identifies Shiva as both Time (kāla) and the One who ends death/time (kālāntaka), affirming him as Parameśvara who pervades all. In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, it points to Pati—Shiva—who governs bondage and liberation and is not limited by mortality.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Calling Shiva “sarvatra vyāpin” supports Linga worship as a concrete focus for the all-pervading Lord: the Linga symbolizes the omnipresent Parameśvara who can be approached in Saguna devotion while indicating the transcendent reality beyond form.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is stotra-japa: recite this salutation with pañcākṣarī japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), mentally contemplating Shiva as the indwelling Time-transcendent Lord; it pairs well with traditional Shaiva observances like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as aids to steady remembrance.