Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 17

स्कन्दसरः (Skandasara) — तीर्थवर्णनम् / Description of the Skandasara Sacred Lake

Devanagari script

कूलशाखिशिखालीनकोकिलाकुलकूजितैः । आतपोपहतान्सर्वान्नामंत्रयदिवानिशम्

Transliteration

kūlaśākhiśikhālīnakokilākulakūjitaiḥ | ātapopahatānsarvānnāmaṃtrayadivāniśam

Translation

川辺の枝や梢に群れ集うコーキラの合唱によって、その林は歌声に満ち、まるで日夜たゆまず、炎天に打たれて疲れたあらゆる生きものを名指しで呼びかけているかのようであった。

Word by Word

• kūla-śākhi-śikhā-ālīna-kokila-ākula-kūjitaḥ: by the chirpings (made) by agitated cuckoos settled on the tips of the riverbank-branches
• kūla-śākhi-śikhā-ālīna-kokila-ākula-kūjitaḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kūla (प्रातिपदिक) + śākhin (प्रातिपदिक) + śikhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ālīna (कृदन्त, √lī लीयते) + kokila (प्रातिपदिक) + ākula (प्रातिपदिक) + kūjita (कृदन्त, √kūj कूज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्—‘कूजितैः’ इति, समासः बहुपदः (विशेषणसमास)

• ātapa-upahatān: those struck/afflicted by heat
• ātapa-upahatān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātapa (प्रातिपदिक) + upahata (कृदन्त, √han हन्, उपहत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्—‘सर्वान्’ इत्यस्य

• sarvān: all (of them)
• sarvān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषणम्

• nāmaṃtrayat: he called/invited
• nāmaṃtrayat: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mantr (धातु) with prefix ā-; āmantraya (प्रयोजक/णिजन्त-धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/लङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘आमन्त्रयत्’ = he invited/called

• iva: as if
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Comparative particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• ā: throughout, up to
• ā: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Temporal limit)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—अवधि/पर्यन्तार्थक (up to, throughout)

• niśam: the night
• niśam: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (accusative of time)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; the verse personifies the grove’s cuckoo-chorus as a compassionate summons to heat-struck beings—an image of grace calling the weary toward refuge.

Significance: Suggests the kṣetra as a ‘cooling’ refuge (śītala-prasāda) where beings are called by name—echoing the personal, saving dimension of Śiva’s anugraha.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Gaurī

Role: nurturing

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It depicts nature as a constant summons to remembrance—like a living mantra—suggesting that the world itself can awaken the heat-wearied soul toward Shiva, the cooling refuge (śānti) beyond suffering.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The ceaseless “calling by name” mirrors nāma-smaraṇa (repetition of Shiva’s names) directed to Saguna Shiva, commonly centered on the Linga as the accessible form through which devotion becomes steady and continuous.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice continuous japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—especially during heat, distress, or restlessness, using rudrākṣa for steadiness and cultivating an unbroken flow of remembrance (aniśam).