Shloka 37
दुन्दुभिनिर्ह्रादनिर्णयः / Dundubhinirhrāda’s Stratagem: Targeting the Brāhmaṇas
अन्येभ्यो ह्युपसर्गेभ्यो रक्ष नस्तीर्थवासिनः । दुष्टानष्टास्य गौरीश भक्तेभ्यो देहि चाभयम्
anyebhyo hyupasargebhyo rakṣa nastīrthavāsinaḥ | duṣṭānaṣṭāsya gaurīśa bhaktebhyo dehi cābhayam
O Lord of Gaurī (Gaurīśa), protect us—the dwellers at this sacred tīrtha—from all other calamities and afflictions. O Eight-faced Lord, subdue the wicked and grant fearlessness (abhaya) to Your devotees.
Tīrtha-dwelling devotees (addressing Lord Shiva in prayer within the Yuddhakhaṇḍa narration, as recounted by Sūta to the sages)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Sthala Purana: The tīrtha-dwellers ask for ongoing protection from future afflictions, for subjugation of the wicked, and for fearlessness to devotees—typical of a kṣetra-māhātmya where Śiva becomes the abiding guardian of the pilgrimage site.
Significance: Assurance of abhaya and kṣema for pilgrims/residents; frames the tīrtha as a protected zone under Śiva’s lordship.
Mantra: rakṣa naḥ … upasargebhyaḥ … duṣṭān … dehi cābhayam
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse frames Shiva as the compassionate Pati (Lord) who removes upasargas (obstacles and afflictions), restrains adharmic forces, and grants abhaya—inner and outer fearlessness—to those who take refuge in Him with bhakti.
The prayer addresses Saguna Shiva—“Gaurīśa” and “Aṣṭāsya”—as a personal, responsive protector. In Linga worship, devotees similarly approach Shiva as the accessible form through which grace (anugraha) removes obstacles and establishes security for sadhana.
A practical takeaway is protective japa and surrender: recite the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with abhisheka to the Shiva-linga, wearing rudrākṣa and applying tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as reminders of refuge in Shiva and steadiness amid upasargas.