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

ついで彼は、暗色（アシタ）のアタルヴァ系マントラを説く。八つのカラー（kalā）を具え、アビチャーラ（制伏・防護の儀礼）において甚だ強力で、三十三の吉祥なる音節より成る。

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.