Shloka 24
Diti’s Untimely Desire and the Birth-Cause of the Asura Line
Prelude to Hiranyākṣa–Varāha
एतस्यां साध्वि सन्ध्यायां भगवान् भूतभावन: । परीतो भूतपर्षद्भिर्वृषेणाटति भूतराट् ॥ २४ ॥
etasyāṁ sādhvi sandhyāyāṁ bhagavān bhūta-bhāvanaḥ parīto bhūta-parṣadbhir vṛṣeṇāṭati bhūtarāṭ
ឱ ស្ត្រីសុចរិត នៅវេលាសន្ធ្យានេះ ព្រះសិវៈ—អ្នកអនុគ្រោះដល់ភូត—ត្រូវបានហ៊ុំព័ទ្ធដោយក្រុមភូត ហើយធ្វើដំណើរលើគោវృషភវាហនៈ។
Lord Śiva, or Rudra, is the king of the ghosts. Ghostly characters worship Lord Śiva to be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization. Māyāvādī philosophers are mostly worshipers of Lord Śiva, and Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Śiva for preaching godlessness to the Māyāvādī philosophers. Ghosts are bereft of a physical body because of their grievously sinful acts, such as suicide. The last resort of the ghostly characters in human society is to take shelter of suicide, either material or spiritual. Material suicide causes loss of the physical body, and spiritual suicide causes loss of the individual identity. Māyāvādī philosophers desire to lose their individuality and merge into the impersonal spiritual brahmajyoti existence. Lord Śiva, being very kind to the ghosts, sees that although they are condemned, they get physical bodies. He places them into the wombs of women who indulge in sexual intercourse regardless of the restrictions on time and circumstance. Kaśyapa wanted to impress this fact upon Diti so that she might wait for a while.
FAQs
This verse describes Shiva roaming at the sacred twilight hour, accompanied by his bhūta attendants and riding his bull, highlighting his unique role in the cosmos.
He is bhūta-bhāvana because he fosters and empowers beings, and bhūta-rāṭ because he leads the bhūtas—his distinctive attendants—reflecting his position as a powerful divine guardian.
It encourages honoring sandhyā as a spiritually potent time for prayer and self-discipline, and remembering Shiva as a great devotee and cosmic protector within Bhagavatam’s devotional worldview.