Shloka 17

क्षुपस्य विष्णुदर्शनं, वैष्णवस्तोत्रं, दधीचविवादः, स्थानेश्वरतीर्थमाहात्म्यं

Devanagari script

नक्षत्रतारका द्यौश् च ग्रैवेयकविभूषणम् कथं स्तोष्यामि देवेशं पूज्यश् च पुरुषोत्तमः

Transliteration

nakṣatratārakā dyauś ca graiveyakavibhūṣaṇam kathaṃ stoṣyāmi deveśaṃ pūjyaś ca puruṣottamaḥ

Translation

星宿と星々を抱く天は、ただ御身の飾り、宝玉の首飾りのごとし。神々の主、至上の御方、常に礼拝に値するその御神を、いかにして十分に讃え得ようか。

Word by Word

• नक्षत्रतारकाः: constellations and stars

• द्यौः: the sky/heaven

• च: and

• ग्रैवेयक-विभूषणम्: an ornament like a neck-jewel/torc (as adornment)

• कथम्: how

• स्तोष्यामि: shall I praise

• देवेशम्: the Lord of the devas

• पूज्यः: worthy of worship

• च: and

• पुरुषोत्तमः: the Supreme Person (highest Puruṣa)

Speaker

Suta (narrating a devotional stuti within the Linga Purana’s Shaiva framework)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Shiva as the ever-worshipworthy Pati: even the cosmos is described as His ornament, so puja and stuti are approached with humility, recognizing the worshipper (pashu) as limited and the Lord as immeasurable.

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

Shiva is presented as Devesha and Purushottama—supreme and transcendent—whose greatness exceeds language; the imagery of stars and heaven as His adornment signals His all-pervasiveness and lordship over the manifest universe.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Devotional stuti (praise) as an essential limb of Shiva-puja and a bhakti-oriented discipline that softens ego—supporting the pashu’s movement toward liberation from pasha under the grace of Pati.