Shloka 4
Gṛhapati’s Vow: Turning Grief into Mṛtyuñjaya–Mahākāla Sādhana (गृहपतेः प्रतिज्ञा—मृत्युंजय-महाकालजपः)
श्रुत्वार्त्तनादमिति विश्वनरोपि मोहं हित्वोत्थितः किमिति किंत्विति किं किमेतत् । उच्चैर्वदन् गृहपतिः क्व स मे बहिस्थः प्राणोन्तरात्मनिलयस्सकलेंद्रियेशः
śrutvārttanādamiti viśvanaropi mohaṃ hitvotthitaḥ kimiti kiṃtviti kiṃ kimetat | uccairvadan gṛhapatiḥ kva sa me bahisthaḥ prāṇontarātmanilayassakaleṃdriyeśaḥ
Hearing that cry of distress, even Viśvanara cast off his delusion and rose up, exclaiming again and again, “What is this? What has happened?” Then he cried aloud, “Where is the Lord of my house—where is He who was outside? He is Prāṇa itself, dwelling as the Inner Self, the Lord of all the senses.”
Suta Goswami (narrating the Śiva Purāṇa account to the sages, quoting the reaction within the story)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: As ‘Viśvanātha’—Lord of the universe—Śiva is praised as the indwelling Prāṇa and Antaryāmin; the verse’s ‘prāṇontarātmanilayaḥ’ aligns with Kāśī’s theology of Śiva as the inner ruler granting liberation.
Significance: Darśana of Viśvanātha is held to bestow jñāna and mokṣa; remembrance of Śiva as Antaryāmin transforms grief into recognition and surrender.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse highlights Shiva as the Antaryāmin—present as Prāṇa and the Inner Self—showing that awakening begins when delusion (moha) falls away and one recognizes Pati (Shiva) as the true controller of the senses.
Though Shiva may be sought “outside” in form (Saguna worship such as the Liṅga), the verse points to His simultaneous presence within as life-breath and inner ruler; outer worship matures into inner recognition and surrender.
Practice inward recollection of Shiva as Prāṇa during japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), coupled with sense-restraint; this aligns outer devotion with inner meditation on Shiva as the lord of the senses.