ऋषयः स्तोतुकामास्ते महेश्वरमकल्मषम् । अस्तुवन्गीर्भिरग्र्याभिः श्रुतिगीताभिरादृताः
ṛṣayaḥ stotukāmāste maheśvaramakalmaṣam | astuvangīrbhiragryābhiḥ śrutigītābhirādṛtāḥ
Ces sages, désireux d’hymnes, louèrent Maheśvara sans souillure par des paroles d’élite—révérées comme si la Śruti, la Révélation védique, les chantait elle-même.
Narrative voice (following Lomaśa’s account in Adhyāya 7)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience; within scene, sages address Maheśvara
Scene: A semicircle of sages in meditation posture chant refined hymns; their words appear as subtle golden script-like waves merging into the aura around the liṅga; the atmosphere is pure and still.
Pure praise (stotra) offered with reverence aligns devotion with Vedic sanctity and purifies the devotee.
Kedāra is the narrative setting; the verse highlights the sanctity of praising Maheśvara central to the Kedāra Māhātmya.
Stotra—reverent hymn-recitation in a Veda-honoring spirit—is implied.