Shloka 35
राहुः शल्यो सुबलिनो बलश्चैव महाबलः । वातापिर्नमुचिश्चैवाथेल्वलः स्वसृपस्तथा
rāhuḥ śalyo subalino balaścaiva mahābalaḥ | vātāpirnamuciścaivāthelvalaḥ svasṛpastathā
Rāhu, Śalya, Subalī, Bala, and Mahābala; Vātāpi and Namuci; and then Elvala, as well as Svasṛpa—these form the host being enumerated.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Cosmic Event: eclipse (implied by Rāhu)
FAQs
The verse catalogs powerful beings (often read as asuric forces) to highlight the vast range of bound souls under pasha (bondage); in Shaiva Siddhanta, liberation comes not by fearing such forces but by taking refuge in Pati—Lord Shiva—who alone cuts bondage.
By naming formidable opponents, the text implicitly contrasts worldly power with the higher refuge of Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-bhakti—through which devotees seek Shiva’s grace that transcends fear and karmic constraint.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with Tripuṇḍra and Rudrāksha as aids, cultivating Shiva-centered remembrance that weakens pasha-driven agitation and fear.