Shloka 85

Adhyaya 17: लिङ्गोद्भव—ब्रह्मविष्ण्वहङ्कार-शमनं, ओंकार-प्रादुर्भावः, मन्त्र-तत्त्वं च

Devanagari script

अथर्वमसितं मन्त्रं कलाष्टकसमायुतम् अभिचारिकमत्यर्थं त्रयस्त्रिंशच्छुभाक्षरम्

Transliteration

atharvamasitaṃ mantraṃ kalāṣṭakasamāyutam abhicārikamatyarthaṃ trayastriṃśacchubhākṣaram

Translation

Entonces expone un mantra atharvánico oscuro (asita), provisto de las ocho kalā, de potencia extrema para el abhicāra (ritos de coerción o resguardo), y compuesto de treinta y tres sílabas auspiciosas.

Word by Word

• atharvam: Atharvanic/Veda of Atharva

• asitam: dark, fierce, formidable

• mantram: mantra, sacred formula

• kalā-aṣṭaka-samāyutam: endowed with an eightfold set of kalās (potencies/parts)

• abhicārikam: pertaining to abhicāra rites (coercive/warding ritual applications)

• atyartham: exceedingly, intensely

• trayastriṃśat: thirty-three

• śubha: auspicious

• akṣaram: syllable/imperishable letter

• trayastriṃśacchubhākṣaram: consisting of thirty-three auspicious syllables

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a received teaching within the Purva-Bhaga mantra context)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames Shiva-mantra practice as Atharvanic (ritual-technical) and syllable-precise, indicating that Linga-upāsanā includes specific mantra-structures (here, 33 syllables) and defined śakti-components (the eight kalās) for effective worship and protection.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By linking the mantra to “kalās” (potencies), it implies Shiva as Pati whose śakti is articulated in ordered powers; even fierce applications (asita/abhicāra) are expressions of his governed energy, not random violence—used to restrain adharma and protect the pashu from pasha.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A mantra-vidhi with Atharvanic orientation—often associated with protective/controlling rites—showing the disciplined use of sound (akṣara) and śakti-units (kalā) within Shaiva ritual technology allied to Pāśupata-style spiritual restraint and safeguarding.