Shloka 32
Muñjavān on Himavat: Maheśvara’s abode, Śiva-stuti, and sacrificial gold
Chapter 8
प्रणम्य शिरसा देवमनड्राड्रहरं हरम् । शरण्यं शरणं याहि महादेवं चतुर्मुखम्,इस प्रकार उन पिनाकधारी, महादेव, महायोगी, अविनाशी, हाथमें त्रिशूल धारण करनेवाले, वरदायक, त्र्यम्बक, भुवनेश्वर, त्रिपुरासुरको मारनेवाले, त्रिनेत्रधारी, त्रिभुवनके स्वामी, महान् बलवान, सब जीवोंकी उत्पत्तिक कारण, सबको धारण करनेवाले, पृथ्वीका भार सँभालनेवाले, जगत्के शासक, कल्याणकारी, सर्वरूप, शिव, विश्वेश्वर, जगत्को उत्पन्न करनेवाले, पार्वतीके पति, पशुओंके पालक, विश्वरूप, महेश्वर, विरूपाक्ष, दस भुजाधारी, अपनी ध्वजामें दिव्य वृषभका चिह्न धारण करनेवाले, उग्र, स्थाणु, शिव, रुद्र, शर्व, गौरीश, ईश्वर, शितिकण्ठ, अजन्मा, शुक्र, पृथु, पृथुहर, वर, विश्वरूप, विरूपाक्ष, बहुरूप, उमापति, कामदेवको भस्म करनेवाले, हर, चतुर्मुख एवं शरणागतवत्सल महादेवजीको सिरसे प्रणाम करके उनके शरणापन्न हो जाना
praṇamya śirasā devam aṇḍa-dhāra-haraṃ haram | śaraṇyaṃ śaraṇaṃ yāhi mahādevaṃ caturmukham ||
Saṃvarta said: “Bowing with your head to that divine Lord Hara—who bears and removes the burden of the cosmic egg—go for refuge to the Refuge of all, to Mahādeva, the four-faced (manifest) Lord.” In ethical and narrative terms, the counsel is to abandon self-reliance in a crisis and take shelter in Śiva, the protector of those who seek refuge, through humility and surrender.
संवर्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches śaraṇāgati—seeking refuge in the divine through humility. By bowing (praṇāma) and turning to Śiva as śaraṇya (the refuge-worthy protector), one aligns with dharma in moments of danger, confusion, or moral strain.
Saṃvarta instructs the listener to bow to Hara (Śiva) and to approach Mahādeva as the ultimate shelter. The surrounding prose in the Gītā Press passage expands this into a litany of Śiva’s epithets, emphasizing his cosmic sovereignty and his readiness to protect those who surrender.