Shloka 11

Adhyaya 44: Nandikesvara’s Manifestation and Abhisheka; The Rule of Namaskara in Shiva-Nama

Devanagari script

किं सागराञ्शोषयामो यमं वा सह किङ्करैः हन्मो मृत्युसुतां मृत्युं पशुवद्धन्म पद्मजम्

Transliteration

kiṃ sāgarāñśoṣayāmo yamaṃ vā saha kiṅkaraiḥ hanmo mṛtyusutāṃ mṛtyuṃ paśuvaddhanma padmajam

Translation

「我らは何をなすべきか――大海を干上がらせるか。あるいは眷属とともにヤマを討つか。ムリティユを、さらにはムリティユの子らまでも滅するか。そうだ、蓮華生まれのパドマジャー（ブラフマー）さえ獣のごとく打ち倒そう。」

Word by Word

• किम् (kim): what?

• सागरान् (sāgarān): the oceans

• शोषयामः (śoṣayāmaḥ): shall we dry up/exhaust

• यमम् (yamam): Yama (lord of death/justice)

• वा (vā): or

• सह (saha): together with

• किङ्करैः (kiṅkaraiḥ): with servants/attendants

• हन्मः (hanmaḥ): we shall slay

• मृत्युसुताम् (mṛtyu-sutām): the offspring/daughter of Mṛtyu (Death)

• मृत्युम् (mṛtyum): Death (personified)

• पशुवत् (paśuvat): like an animal/beast

• हन्म (hanma): let us slay

• पद्मजम् (padmajam): the Lotus-born (Brahmā).

Speaker

Devas (speaking among themselves within Suta’s narration)

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Mṛtyu
• Brahmā (Padmaja)

FAQs

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

It dramatizes the limits of worldly power: even gods threaten Yama and Mṛtyu, yet true conquest of death is not by violence but by taking refuge in Pati—Śiva—whose Linga is the sign of the Deathless (amṛta-tattva).

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

By implication, it contrasts finite authorities (Yama, Mṛtyu, even Brahmā) with the need for a transcendent Lord. In Śaiva Siddhānta terms, Pati alone is independent; all others are bound within cosmic functions and cannot grant final mokṣa.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is Mṛtyu-bhaya-nivṛtti through Śiva-upāsanā: Linga-pūjā and Pāśupata-oriented discipline (detachment from fear, surrender to Pati) rather than reliance on coercive power over death.