Shloka 59

वीरभद्र-भैरव-आह्वानम् — Invocation of Vīrabhadra/Bhairava for Cosmic Reabsorption

Devanagari script

कालोसि त्वं महाकालः कालकालो महेश्वर । अतस्त्वमुग्रकलया मृत्योर्मृत्युर्भविष्यसि

Transliteration

kālosi tvaṃ mahākālaḥ kālakālo maheśvara | atastvamugrakalayā mṛtyormṛtyurbhaviṣyasi

Translation

You are Time itself—Mahākāla, the Lord over Time, O Maheśvara. Therefore, by Your fierce divine power, You shall become the Death of death itself, transcending and conquering mortality.

Word by Word

• kālaḥ: Time; Death
• kālaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• asi: (you) are
• asi: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Ekavacana (Singular)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• mahākālaḥ: Mahākāla (the Great Time/Great Death)
• mahākālaḥ: Pradhāna-nāma (प्रधान-नाम/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; samāsa: mahān kālaḥ iti (descriptive)

• kālakālaḥ: the death of Death; the ender of Time
• kālakālaḥ: Pradhāna-nāma (प्रधान-नाम/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa sense: kālasya kālaḥ (the death/terminator of Time/Death)

• maheśvara: O Maheśvara (Great Lord)
• maheśvara: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative/8th), Ekavacana

• atas: therefore
• atas: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Logical connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; hetu/phalārtha adverb (therefore/for that reason)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• ugra-kalayā: by (your) fierce power/energy
• ugra-kalayā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ugra + kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana; samāsa: ugrā kalā (fierce power/portion)

• mṛtyoḥ: of death
• mṛtyoḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/Possessive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Ekavacana

• mṛtyuḥ: death
• mṛtyuḥ: Pradhāna-nāma (प्रधान-नाम/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• bhaviṣyasi: you will become
• bhaviṣyasi: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ lakāra (Simple Future), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Ekavacana

Speaker

A devotee or divine narrator addressing Lord Shiva as Mahākāla (inferred within Śatarudrasaṃhitā praise-context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who grants liberation from fear of death; Ujjayinī tradition venerates Śiva as Mahākāla whose presence subdues mṛtyu and governs kāla.

Significance: Darśana/abhisheka of Mahākāla is sought for conquering fear, protection, and mokṣa-oriented detachment from mortality (mṛtyu-bhaya-nivṛtti).

Mantra Metadata

Type: mahamrityunjaya

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Ritual Elements

Offering: dipa

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Kāla-tattva supremacy: Śiva as kāla and kāla-kāla (overruler of time), ‘death of death’ motif.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse proclaims Shiva as Mahākāla—Time itself and the Lord beyond Time—teaching that union with Pati (Shiva) grants freedom from the bondage of mortality (mṛtyu) and fear, culminating in moksha.

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

In Śaiva Siddhānta, the Liṅga is the accessible Saguna symbol through which devotees approach the transcendent Nirguna reality; calling Shiva 'Death of death' affirms that Liṅga-worship is not merely worldly merit but a direct means to grace that overcomes saṃsāra.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as Mahākāla/Mṛtyuñjaya while repeating the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) or the Mṛtyuñjaya-bhāva in japa; worship with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of detachment from time-bound identity.