Shloka 35
वीरभद्र-भैरव-आह्वानम् — Invocation of Vīrabhadra/Bhairava for Cosmic Reabsorption
कालोऽस्म्यहं लोकविनाशहेतुर्लोकान्समाहर्तुमहम्प्रवृत्तः । मृत्योर्मृत्युं विद्धि मां वीरभद्र जीवन्त्येते मत्प्रसादेन देवाः
kālo'smyahaṃ lokavināśaheturlokānsamāhartumahampravṛttaḥ | mṛtyormṛtyuṃ viddhi māṃ vīrabhadra jīvantyete matprasādena devāḥ
मीच काळ आहे, लोकविनाशाचा हेतु; लोकांना माझ्यात संहारण्यासाठी मी प्रवृत्त झालो आहे. हे वीरभद्र, मला मृत्यूचाही मृत्यू जाण; माझ्या प्रसादानेच हे देव जगतात.
Lord Shiva (as Kāla / Mahākāla, addressing Vīrabhadra)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
FAQs
This verse reveals Shiva as Mahākāla—Time itself—who alone governs creation’s dissolution and transcends mortality as “the Death of death.” In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, Pati (Shiva) is the supreme controller, and liberation arises through His anugraha (grace), not merely through the limited power of beings bound by kāla (time).
As Saguna Shiva, Mahākāla is worshipped as the Lord who protects devotees from fear and grants steadiness amid change. Linga-worship signifies the one Reality that withdraws the worlds and yet remains untouched; meditating on the Linga as Mahākāla aligns the mind with the timeless Pati who sustains even the devas by grace.
A practical takeaway is Mahākāla-dhyāna with japa of the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—contemplating Shiva as beyond time and death. On Mahāśivarātri, one may perform abhiṣeka to the Shiva Linga and mentally offer fear and ego into the Lord who is mṛtyor mṛtyuḥ.