Shloka 126
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
नदीगदह्दरशैलेषु तीर्थेषु विविधेषु च । तपसा जप्यनित्यानां शिवो न: परमा गति:
nadī-guhā-dara-śaileṣu tīrtheṣu vividheṣu ca | tapasā japyānityānāṁ śivo naḥ paramā gatiḥ |
«Dans les rivières, les grottes, les gorges des montagnes et les hauteurs rocheuses, et dans maints gués sacrés de toute sorte, nous —ascètes sans cesse voués à l’austérité et à la récitation répétée des formules sacrées— tenons Śiva pour notre plus haut refuge et notre fin dernière.»
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast spiritual discipline—tapas (austerity) and japa (mantra-recitation)—finds its highest support in devotion to Śiva, who is presented as the ultimate refuge and final goal for ascetics living and practicing in sacred natural and pilgrimage settings.
Vāsudeva speaks in a devotional-ascetic register, describing sages who dwell and practice in rivers, caves, mountains, and tīrthas, and he states their shared conviction: Śiva is their supreme shelter and destination.