Shloka 11
Sunartaka-Naṭa Avatāra and Pārvatī’s Boon-Request (Śiva as the Testing Benefactor)
नन्दीश्वर उवाच । इत्युक्तस्स तया शंभुर्महेशो भक्तवत्सलः । तथास्त्विति वचः प्रोच्यान्तर्हितस्स्वगिरिं ययौ
nandīśvara uvāca | ityuktassa tayā śaṃbhurmaheśo bhaktavatsalaḥ | tathāstviti vacaḥ procyāntarhitassvagiriṃ yayau
Nandīśvara said: Thus addressed by her, Śambhu—Maheśa, ever tender toward His devotees—replied, “So be it.” Having spoken these words, He vanished from sight and went to His own mountain abode.
Nandishvara (Nandi)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; Śiva’s ‘antardhāna’ (vanishing) is a līlā illustrating concealment and sovereign mobility to Kailāsa.
Significance: Highlights two Siddhāntic truths: (1) Śiva’s immediate assent ‘tathāstu’ as anugraha, and (2) His power of tirodhāna (concealment) as part of pañcakṛtya.
Mantra: तथास्तु (tathāstu)
FAQs
It highlights Shiva’s bhaktavātsalya—His swift, compassionate responsiveness to sincere devotion—showing that divine grace (anugraha) fulfills the devotee’s prayer and then withdraws, leaving the seeker to mature in faith and remembrance.
Shiva appears and speaks as Saguna (personal Lord who grants assurance), yet His ‘vanishing’ points to His transcendence beyond form; Linga-worship bridges this—devotees relate to Shiva personally while contemplating His formless, all-pervading reality.
Take Shiva’s “tathāstu” as a cue for steady bhakti: repeat the Panchākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with focused remembrance, and support it with simple Shaiva observances like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as aids to continuity of devotion.