Shloka 10
शिवस्तुतिवर्णनम् (Śiva-stuti-varṇanam) — “Description of Hymns in Praise of Śiva”
देवा ऊचुः । नमस्सर्वात्मने तुभ्यं शंकरायार्तिहारिणे । रुद्राय नीलकंठाय चिद्रूपाय प्रचेतसे
devā ūcuḥ | namassarvātmane tubhyaṃ śaṃkarāyārtihāriṇe | rudrāya nīlakaṃṭhāya cidrūpāya pracetase
The Devas said: Salutations to You, the Self of all, to Śaṅkara who removes affliction. Salutations to Rudra, the Blue-throated Lord, to You whose very nature is Consciousness, the all-knowing One.
The Devas (gods)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Nīlakaṇṭha
Sthala Purana: The epithet Nīlakaṇṭha recalls the samudra-manthana episode where Śiva contains hālāhala poison for the welfare of beings—an archetype of His compassionate protection.
Significance: Reciting these names functions as nāma-stuti: invoking Śiva as sarvātmā and ārti-hārin aligns the devotee with the Lord’s protective grace and inner purification.
Mantra: नमस्सर्वात्मने तुभ्यं शंकरायार्तिहारिणे । रुद्राय नीलकंठाय चिद्रूपाय प्रचेतसे
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: Implicit recollection of hālāhala-poison containment (samudra-manthana).
FAQs
It identifies Shiva as Sarvātman (the indwelling Self of all) and Cidrūpa (pure Consciousness), while also praising His grace as the remover of ārtī (distress). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, this points to Pati—Shiva—who liberates bound souls by His compassion and knowledge.
The verse unites Saguna and Nirguna worship: names like Śaṅkara, Rudra, and Nīlakaṇṭha support personal devotion (Saguna), while ‘Sarvātman’ and ‘Cidrūpa’ affirm Shiva’s all-pervading, transcendent reality (often contemplated in Linga worship as the formless-in-form).
A simple practice is japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with this bhāva: bowing to Shiva as the inner Self (sarvātman) and as pure awareness (cidrūpa). In pūjā, one may offer water and bilva leaves to the Śiva-liṅga while remembering Nīlakaṇṭha as the compassionate protector who removes suffering.