Shloka 9
Kāla-vañcana (Overcoming/Outwitting Time) and the Pañcabhūta Basis of the Body
देव्युवाच । खं तेन यन्नश्यति घोररूपः कालः करालस्त्रिदिवैकनाथः । दग्धस्त्वया त्वं पुनरेव तुष्टः स्तोत्रै स्तुतः स्वां प्रकृतिं स लेभे
devyuvāca | khaṃ tena yannaśyati ghorarūpaḥ kālaḥ karālastridivaikanāthaḥ | dagdhastvayā tvaṃ punareva tuṣṭaḥ stotrai stutaḥ svāṃ prakṛtiṃ sa lebhe
The Goddess said: “What is there that is not destroyed by dreadful, fearsome Time—sole Lord of the three worlds? Yet when he was burned by You, You became gracious again; praised with sacred hymns, he regained his own natural state.”
Parvati (Devi)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Kālāntaka
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: The verse’s theme—Śiva overpowering Kāla (Time) and restoring order through grace—strongly resonates with Mahākāla theology: Śiva as the Lord of Time who subdues death/time and grants restoration when praised.
Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for protection from untimely death, fear of time, and for inner steadiness; stotra and surrender are portrayed as conduits of Śiva’s anugraha even after destructive forces are checked.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
Offering: dhupa
Cosmic Event: Kāla (Time) personified as cosmic destroyer; Śiva’s burning/subduing of Kāla evokes pralaya-power under Śiva’s sovereignty.
FAQs
The verse asserts Shiva’s transcendence over Kala (Time), the universal destroyer, and highlights grace: even the force that dissolves worlds is restored when it turns to praise, showing Pati (Shiva) as the supreme regulator of bondage and release.
It supports Saguna worship through stotra and devotion: approaching Shiva as the compassionate Lord who can both restrain destructive forces and re-establish cosmic order—an essential Linga-centered understanding of Shiva as both dissolver and benefactor.
Stotra-japa and bhakti are implied: reciting Shiva hymns and the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with humility, seeking Shiva’s anugraha (grace) to overcome fear of time, decay, and death.