Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 40
तारकवधोत्तरं देवस्तुतिः पर्वतवरप्रदानं च / Devas’ Hymn after Tāraka’s Slaying and the Bestowal of Boons upon the Mountains
शिवाय नीलकंठाय चिताभस्मांगधारिणे । नित्यं नीलशिखंडाय श्रीकण्ठाय नमोनमः
śivāya nīlakaṃṭhāya citābhasmāṃgadhāriṇe | nityaṃ nīlaśikhaṃḍāya śrīkaṇṭhāya namonamaḥ
Sembah sujud berulang-ulang kepada Śiva, Tuhan Berleher Biru (Nīlakaṇṭha), yang menyapukan abu suci (vibhūti) pada tubuh-Nya, yang sentiasa berhias dengan tanda puncak berwarna biru, Śrīkaṇṭha—yang berleher mulia; namo namah.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya, within the Kumārakhaṇḍa context)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Nīlakaṇṭha
Sthala Purana: The epithets Nīlakaṇṭha/Śrīkaṇṭha recall the samudra-manthana episode where Śiva contains the hālāhala poison for the welfare of beings; this verse functions as a doctrinal remembrance rather than a specific jyotirliṅga-māhātmya.
Significance: Meditation on Nīlakaṇṭha is traditionally held to remove viṣa-like afflictions (inner toxins: anger, delusion) and to purify through bhasma-dhāraṇa.
Mantra: शिवाय नीलकंठाय चिताभस्मांगधारिणे । नित्यं नीलशिखंडाय श्रीकण्ठाय नमोनमः
Type: stotra
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: Implicit allusion to samudra-manthana (cosmic churning) and the hālāhala crisis.
FAQs
The verse is a bhakti-salutation to Saguna Śiva, praising His compassion and sovereignty: the “blue throat” recalls His acceptance of the world’s poison, while bhasma symbolizes impermanence and the soul’s turning from bondage (pāśa) toward the Lord (Pati).
Though phrased as praise of Śiva’s forms and epithets (Nīlakaṇṭha, Śrīkaṇṭha), such stotras are traditionally offered before or during Liṅga-pūjā, affirming that the formless Supreme is approached through gracious, worshipful attributes (saguṇa upāsanā).
It points to reverent remembrance of Śiva with bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) and mantra-japa—especially “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—while meditating on Nīlakaṇṭha, the Lord who transforms poison into grace.