Shloka 36
नन्दिकेशावतारवर्णनम् (Nandikeśa Avatāra Varṇanam) — “Account of the Descent/Origin of Nandikeśvara”
गते तस्मिन्महादेवे स शिलादो महामुनिः । स्वमाश्रयमुपागम्य ऋषिभ्योऽकथयत्ततः
gate tasminmahādeve sa śilādo mahāmuniḥ | svamāśrayamupāgamya ṛṣibhyo'kathayattataḥ
When that Mahādeva had departed, the great sage Śilāda returned to his own hermitage and then recounted the matter to the assembled ṛṣis.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva principle that Śiva’s grace and divine encounters are preserved and shared through satsanga—holy narration among ṛṣis—so devotion (bhakti) and right understanding mature through listening (śravaṇa).
Though the verse is narrative, it frames Saguna Śiva (Mahādeva who ‘comes and departs’) as approachable; the sages’ hearing of the account supports established forms of worship like Liṅga-upāsanā, where devotion is strengthened by remembering and recounting Śiva’s acts.
The implied takeaway is śravaṇa and kīrtana—listening to and recounting Śiva-kathā—ideally alongside daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to internalize the teaching carried by the sages’ narration.