Shloka 4
उपमन्युकुमारस्य क्षीरार्थ-प्रार्थना तथा शिवप्रसाद-निबन्धनम् | Upamanyu’s Longing for Milk and the Doctrine of Shiva’s Grace
कदाचित्क्षीरमत्यल्पम्पीतवान्मातुलाश्रमे । ययाचे मातरम्प्रीत्या बहुशो दुग्ध लालसः
kadācitkṣīramatyalpampītavānmātulāśrame | yayāce mātaramprītyā bahuśo dugdha lālasaḥ
ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಮಾವನ ಆಶ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನು ಅತೀ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹಾಲು ಕುಡಿದನು. ಹಾಲಿನ ಆಸೆಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ತಾಯಿಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಹಾಲಿಗಾಗಿ ಬೇಡಿಕೊಂಡನು।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; the milk-scarcity motif becomes the immediate cause for seeking a higher refuge beyond worldly means.
Significance: Highlights the insufficiency of worldly nourishment, preparing the devotee’s turn toward Śiva as the true sustainer.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse highlights human longing expressed innocently; in a Shaiva Siddhanta reading, such desire is refined into devotion—turning attachment (pāśa) into a directed yearning for the Lord (Pati) through love and repeated remembrance.
Milk is a classic upacāra offered to the Śiva-liṅga; the repeated asking reflects persistence in approaching Saguna Shiva with simple, heartfelt devotion, which gradually matures toward inner purity and steadiness.
Offer milk (or a simple substitute with sincerity) to Shiva with japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and cultivate repeated, affectionate remembrance rather than scattered desire.