Shloka 44
नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions
वषट्कारं तथैवान्ये देवा भूतेश्वरास्तथा । हंतकारं मनुष्याश्च पिबंति सततं स्त नम्
vaṣaṭkāraṃ tathaivānye devā bhūteśvarāstathā | haṃtakāraṃ manuṣyāśca pibaṃti satataṃ sta nam
Some drink in the utterance “vaṣaṭ,” and so too the devas and the lords of beings; while human beings continually drink in the cry “haṃtā.”
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Bhikṣāṭana
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; the verse contrasts sacrificial/ritual speech (vaṣaṭ) with worldly/aggressive exclamation (haṃtā), implying differing ‘nourishments’ that beings imbibe.
Significance: General teaching: refine one’s inner ‘intake’ (vāk/saṃskāra) to become fit for Śaiva-Vedic discipline.
Mantra: vaṣaṭ / haṃtā (haṃt-kāra)
FAQs
It contrasts outward, tendency-based “drinking in” of sounds—ritual calls for devas and forceful cries for humans—implying that true uplift comes when consciousness turns from habitual impulses to Shiva-centered mantra and inner discipline.
Linga/Saguna worship in the Shiva Purana emphasizes steady remembrance and devotion; this verse highlights how beings naturally cling to certain utterances, encouraging the devotee to replace restless worldly cries with Shiva’s name and contemplative worship.
Prefer mantra-japa and inward steadiness—especially Shiva-nāma and the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—over reactive speech; support it with Shaiva disciplines like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as aids to focused devotion.