Shloka 19

उमास्वयंवरः / भवोद्वाहः, गणसमागमः, अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्यम्, तथा विनायक-उत्पत्तिसूचना

Devanagari script

कुण्डी द्वादशभिर् वीरस् तथा पर्वतकः शुभः कालश् च कालकश्चैव महाकालः शतेन वै

Transliteration

kuṇḍī dvādaśabhir vīras tathā parvatakaḥ śubhaḥ kālaś ca kālakaścaiva mahākālaḥ śatena vai

Translation

അദ്ദേഹം ‘കുണ്ഡീ’; അദ്ദേഹം ദ്വാദശരൂപൻ; അദ്ദേഹം ‘വീരൻ’; ശുഭമായ ‘പർവതക’—പർവതാധിപതി—കൂടിയാണ്. അദ്ദേഹം ‘കാല’യും ‘കാലക’യും; ‘മഹാകാല’ രൂപത്തിൽ ശതധാ സ്തുത്യൻ.

Word by Word

• कुण्डी (kuṇḍī): Kuṇḍī (a sacred epithet/name of Shiva)

• द्वादशभिः (dvādaśabhiḥ): by/with twelve (twelvefold

• वीरः (vīraḥ): the Hero, the Valiant Lord

• तथा (tathā): and also

• पर्वतकः (parvatakaḥ): Mountain-like, Mountain-Lord

• शुभः (śubhaḥ): auspicious, beneficent

• कालः (kālaḥ): Time, the cosmic principle of dissolution

• च (ca): and

• कालकः (kālakaḥ): the Maker/Agent of time (time-causing), the dark/terminating aspect

• एव (eva): indeed

• महाकालः (mahākālaḥ): Mahākāla, the Supreme Time beyond time

• शतेन (śatena): a hundred times/with a hundred (fold praise)

• वै (vai): verily, indeed.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a Shiva Sahasranama portion to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Mahakala

FAQs

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

By naming Shiva as Kāla and Mahākāla, the verse frames Linga-worship as devotion to the Pati who transcends time and dissolves time-bound bondage (pāśa), making the Linga a support for contemplating the Timeless Absolute.

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

It presents Shiva as both immanent Time (Kāla) that governs change and dissolution, and transcendent Mahākāla who stands beyond temporal limitation—Pati who rules over all measures of becoming while remaining untouched.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The practical takeaway is nāma-japa and dhyāna on Mahākāla—repeating these names while visualizing Shiva as the inner Lord of time—used in Shaiva/Pāśupata-oriented practice to loosen identification with mortality and cultivate liberation.