Shloka 101

Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana

The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva

Devanagari script

मनोजवस्तीर्थकरो जटिलो नियमेश्वरः । जीवितांतकरो नित्यो वसुरेता वसुप्रदः

Transliteration

manojavastīrthakaro jaṭilo niyameśvaraḥ | jīvitāṃtakaro nityo vasuretā vasupradaḥ

Translation

അവൻ മനസ്സുപോലെ വേഗമുള്ളവൻ, തീർത്ഥങ്ങളുടെ സ്ഥാപകൻ, ജടാധാരിയായ തപസ്വി, നിയമാചാരങ്ങളുടെ ഈശ്വരൻ. അവൻ ജീവാന്തകനും നിത്യനും, ധനത്തിന്റെ ബീജസ്വരൂപനും സമൃദ്ധി നൽകുന്നവനും ആകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• मनोजवः: swift as the mind
• मनोजवः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + जव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (मनसः जवः: ‘speed of mind’)

• तीर्थकरः: maker of tīrthas
• तीर्थकरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तीर्थं करोति: ‘maker of holy places/pilgrimage’)

• जटिलः: matted-haired
• जटिलः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जटिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नियम-ईश्वरः: lord of observances
• नियम-ईश्वरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (नियमानाम् ईश्वरः: ‘lord of disciplines/restraints’)

• जीवित-अन्त-करः: ender of life
• जीवित-अन्त-करः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित (कृदन्त; √जीव्) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (जीवितस्य अन्तं करोति: ‘ender of life’)

• नित्यः: eternal
• नित्यः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वसु-रेताः: whose seed is wealth (epithet)
• वसु-रेताः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक) + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहि (‘whose seed is wealth’ / ‘having wealth as semen’; epithet)

• वसु-प्रदः: giver of wealth
• वसु-प्रदः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रद (कृदन्त; √दा धातु, प्र-उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (वसु प्रददाति: ‘giver of wealth’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The epithet tīrthakara aligns with Śiva as the sanctifier who establishes crossings (tīrthas) where pāśa is loosened; not tied here to a single Jyotirliṅga narrative.

Significance: General: tīrtha-darśana under Śiva’s lordship is framed as a means to purify pāśa and orient the paśu toward pati.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse praises Shiva as both the ascetic Lord of discipline (niyameśvara) and the compassionate guide who creates tīrthas—outer pilgrimage sites and inner crossings of consciousness—leading the soul beyond mortality toward liberation by His grace.

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

These epithets describe Saguna Shiva—the worshipful, name-and-form Lord—whose presence is celebrated in tīrthas and Jyotirliṅga traditions of the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā; devotion to the Liṅga is thus devotion to the Eternal (nityaḥ) who grants both worldly welfare and the final crossing beyond death.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice niyama (purity, restraint, regular worship) with steady japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and undertake tīrtha/temple darśana with a disciplined mind—seeking Shiva not only for prosperity (vasupradaḥ) but for freedom from mortality (jīvitāṃtakaraḥ).