Shloka 126
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
नदीगदह्दरशैलेषु तीर्थेषु विविधेषु च । तपसा जप्यनित्यानां शिवो न: परमा गति:
nadī-guhā-dara-śaileṣu tīrtheṣu vividheṣu ca | tapasā japyānityānāṁ śivo naḥ paramā gatiḥ |
നദികളിലും ഗുഹകളിലും പർവതഗഹ്വരങ്ങളിലും നാനാവിധ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിലും തപസ്സിലും ജപത്തിലും നിത്യനിരതരായ ഞങ്ങൾ തപസ്വികൾക്കു ശിവൻ തന്നെയാണ് പരമഗതിയും പരമാശ്രയവും.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast spiritual discipline—tapas (austerity) and japa (mantra-recitation)—finds its highest support in devotion to Śiva, who is presented as the ultimate refuge and final goal for ascetics living and practicing in sacred natural and pilgrimage settings.
Vāsudeva speaks in a devotional-ascetic register, describing sages who dwell and practice in rivers, caves, mountains, and tīrthas, and he states their shared conviction: Śiva is their supreme shelter and destination.