Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
दूरश्रवो विश्वसहो ध्येयो दुःस्वप्ननाशनः । उत्तारणो दुष्कृतिहा विज्ञेयो दुःसहोऽभवः
dūraśravo viśvasaho dhyeyo duḥsvapnanāśanaḥ | uttāraṇo duṣkṛtihā vijñeyo duḥsaho'bhavaḥ
彼は遠くをも聞き、万有を耐え忍ぶ。観想すべき御方、悪しき夢を滅する者。衆生を彼岸へ渡らせる救済者、罪業を断つ者—彼を、悪が耐え得ぬ不生の主として知れ。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
The verse presents Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who both purifies (destroyer of misdeeds) and liberates (the one who ferries beings across saṁsāra). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, remembrance and meditation on Shiva loosen pāśa (bondage) and steady the devotee’s consciousness against fear and inauspiciousness.
These are epithets of Saguna Shiva approachable through Linga-worship and dhyāna: the devotee contemplates the compassionate, protective Lord who hears prayers from afar and removes inner disturbances. Through the Linga, the mind is gathered to know the unborn (abhava) reality that the form signifies.
It directly recommends dhyāna—steady meditation on Shiva’s names and qualities. As a practical takeaway, recite the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with focused remembrance before sleep or during fear, praying to Shiva as duḥsvapna-nāśana and uttāraṇa.