Shloka 20
एकोनविंशतिशिवावतारवर्णनम्
Description of the Nineteen Manifestations/Avatāras of Śiva
परिवर्त्तेऽष्टादशे तु यदा व्यास ऋतंजयः । शिखाण्डीनामतोहं तद्धिमवच्छिखरे शुभे
parivartte'ṣṭādaśe tu yadā vyāsa ṛtaṃjayaḥ | śikhāṇḍīnāmatohaṃ taddhimavacchikhare śubhe
अठराव्या परिवर्तात, जेव्हा ऋतंजय नावाचे व्यास प्रकट झाले, तेव्हा शुभ हिमालय-शिखरावर शिखाण्डींच्या मध्ये माझा जन्म झाला.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Again marks cyclical sacred history: in the 18th parivarta, Vyāsa appears as Ṛtaṃjaya; the narrator is ‘born among the Śikhāṇḍīs’ on Himavat. The emphasis is on continuity of dharma/ṛta across cycles and the localization of that continuity in a Himalayan siddha milieu.
Significance: Reinforces the idea that sacred communities and kṣetras persist as vessels of Śaiva transmission across time-cycles; pilgrimage to such kṣetras is framed as contact with trans-temporal sanctity.
Cosmic Event: parivarta (18th cycle); emphasis on ṛta (cosmic order) via epithet Ṛtaṃjaya
FAQs
It situates the Shaiva narration within sacred time (a specific cycle) and a holy geography (the Himalaya), emphasizing that true knowledge of Shiva is transmitted through an authorized lineage of seers, culminating in Vyasa’s ordering of Dharma for the age.
By grounding the teaching in Vyasa’s era and a sanctified Himalayan setting, the verse supports the Purāṇic principle that Saguna Shiva worship (including Linga devotion) is preserved and renewed through scripture, teachers, and pilgrimage-linked sacred places.
The implied practice is śravaṇa (devotional listening) and smaraṇa (remembrance) of Shiva-kathā as taught in the Vyasa lineage—an inner discipline that complements external Shaiva observances such as japa of the Panchakshara and temple Linga worship.