Shloka 74
Kālajñāna (Knowledge of Time) and Mṛtyu-cihna (Signs of Death): Śiva’s Instruction to Umā
धावमानप्रवाहेण दिनमेकं स जीवति । चक्रमे तत्परासोर्हि पुराविद्भिरुदाहृतम्
dhāvamānapravāheṇa dinamekaṃ sa jīvati | cakrame tatparāsorhi purāvidbhirudāhṛtam
Swept along by a rushing current, he survives for only a single day. Indeed, that state in which life is cut short was declared by the ancient sages to be an entering into the “cakra,” the cycle.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Cosmic Event: Approach of death described as being caught in a ‘cakra’ (whirlpool/cycle)
FAQs
It warns that embodied life can be carried away like a person in a violent current—short, uncertain, and bound to a repeating cycle—therefore one should seek Shiva (Pati) for release from the bonds (pāśa) of karma.
By emphasizing impermanence and the ‘cycle,’ it directs the devotee toward steady refuge in Saguna Shiva through Linga-worship—an accessible focus for devotion that purifies karma and turns the mind toward the transcendent Lord.
Regular japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with disciplined worship (puja/abhisheka) is implied as a practical means to stabilize the mind and move beyond the karmic cycle.