Shloka 51
अर्जुनस्तु विशेषेण सुखिना प्राह चेतसा । अहो दैत्यवरश्चायं रूपं तु परमाद्भुतम्
arjunastu viśeṣeṇa sukhinā prāha cetasā | aho daityavaraścāyaṃ rūpaṃ tu paramādbhutam
Then Arjuna, with a mind especially filled with joy, exclaimed: “Ah! This foremost of daityas—his form is truly supremely wondrous!”
Suta Goswami (narrating the episode; the quoted speaker is Arjuna)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
FAQs
It shows how an extraordinary vision can awaken awe (vismaya) and focused attention; in Shaiva thought, such wonder can mature into devotion and discernment—seeing all forms as within the Lord’s cosmic play rather than as objects for fear or attachment.
Arjuna’s praise of a “marvelous form” reflects saguna experience—encountering the Divine through perceivable form. Shaiva Siddhanta treats such form-based devotion as a valid doorway that can lead the devotee toward steadier contemplation of Shiva’s higher, transcendent reality.
The takeaway is cultivation of reverent attention (bhakti with ekāgratā). Practically, one may steady the mind with japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and meditate on Shiva’s presence behind all appearances, letting awe become devotion rather than agitation.