Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
पंचयज्ञसमुत्पत्तिर्विश्वेशो विमलोदयः । आत्मयोनिरनाद्यंतो वत्सलो भक्तलोकधृक्
paṃcayajñasamutpattirviśveśo vimalodayaḥ | ātmayoniranādyaṃto vatsalo bhaktalokadhṛk
അവൻ തന്നെയാണ് പഞ്ചയജ്ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഉദ്ഭവമൂലം; അവൻ വിശ്വേശൻ, നിർമലമായ ഉദയസ്വരൂപൻ. സ്വയംഭൂ, അനാദി-അനന്തൻ, വാത്സല്യമൂർത്തി; ഭക്തലോകത്തെ ധരിക്കുകയും പോഷിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Śiva as Viśveśa/Viśvanātha is praised as the lord who sustains devotees and grants liberation; the Kāśī tradition holds that mere remembrance/darśana of Viśvanātha and the ‘tāraka’ grace at death ferry the paśu beyond pāśa.
Significance: Mokṣa-kṣetra: worship is believed to confer liberation, especially through Śiva’s anugraha to devotees.
Mantra: पंचयज्ञसमुत्पत्तिर्विश्वेशो विमलोदयः । आत्मयोनिरनाद्यंतो वत्सलो भक्तलोकधृक्
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
The verse presents Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who is beginningless and endless—yet intimately compassionate toward devotees. It unites transcendence (anādi-ananta, ātmayoni) with grace (vatsala), indicating that liberation is attained not merely by ritual, but by the Lord’s purifying presence and support of bhakti.
Calling Him Viśveśa and vimalodayaḥ supports Saguna worship through the Linga: the formless, beginningless reality becomes approachable through a pure manifestation that devotees can honor. Linga worship thus becomes a doorway where the transcendent Lord is encountered in a sanctified, worship-worthy form.
A practical takeaway is to perform Shiva-centered worship with purity and devotion—daily Linga abhiṣeka, japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and offering one’s duties as yajña to Viśveśa—trusting Him as the sustainer of the devotee’s path.