Shloka 28
भैरवावतारवर्णनम् (Bhairavāvatāra-varṇanam) — “Description of the Descent/Manifestation of Bhairava”
अथर्ववेद उवाच । यं प्रपश्यन्ति देवेशम्भक्त्यनुग्रहिणो जनाः । तमाहुरेकं कैवल्यं शंकरं दुःखतः परम्
atharvaveda uvāca | yaṃ prapaśyanti deveśambhaktyanugrahiṇo janāḥ | tamāhurekaṃ kaivalyaṃ śaṃkaraṃ duḥkhataḥ param
Atharvaveda said: “Those people who, through devotion, receive the grace to behold the Lord of the gods—Him they declare to be the one and only Kaivalya (absolute liberation): Śaṅkara, who is beyond sorrow and the entire realm of suffering.”
Atharvaveda (personified Veda) as narrator within the Śatarudrasaṃhitā discourse
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Significance: General Jyotirliṅga principle: darśana obtained through bhakti and anugraha is itself a doorway to kaivalya/mokṣa.
Mantra: यं प्रपश्यन्ति देवेशम्भक्त्यनुग्रहिणो जनाः । तमाहुरेकं कैवल्यं शंकरं दुःखतः परम्
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches that the direct “seeing” of Shiva arises through bhakti matured into grace, and that Shiva Himself is Kaivalya—liberation beyond the entire field of duḥkha (suffering).
The verse emphasizes devotion that leads to an actual apprehension of the Lord; in Shiva Purana practice, Linga-worship is a primary saguna support through which bhakti ripens and Shiva’s anugraha (grace) manifests as inner vision and freedom from sorrow.
A practical takeaway is steady bhakti-sādhana—Pañcākṣarī japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with Linga-dhyāna—performed with humility, seeking anugraha rather than mere ritual merit.