Gṛhapati’s Vow: Turning Grief into Mṛtyuñjaya–Mahākāla Sādhana (गृहपतेः प्रतिज्ञा—मृत्युंजय-महाकालजपः)
भाले लोचनमालोक्य कण्ठे कालं वृषध्वजम् । वामाङ्गसन्निविष्टाद्रितनयं चन्द्रशेखरम्
bhāle locanamālokya kaṇṭhe kālaṃ vṛṣadhvajam | vāmāṅgasanniviṣṭādritanayaṃ candraśekharam
Dengan memandang Mata pada dahi-Nya, tanda biru gelap pada tenggorokan-Nya, Tuhan yang berpanji Lembu, serta Dia yang sisi kiri-Nya diduduki Puteri Gunung—Śiva, Sang Bermahkota Bulan—mereka mengenali Tuhan Tertinggi dalam rupa-Nya yang nyata lagi berbelas (saguṇa).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Ardhanarishvara
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
The verse points to recognizing Pati (Śiva) through His compassionate, perceivable marks—third eye (jñāna and dissolution of ignorance), blue throat (saving the worlds), and the inseparable presence of Śakti (Pārvatī). In Shaiva Siddhanta, such saguṇa contemplation purifies the soul (paśu) and loosens bondage (pāśa), preparing it for Śiva’s grace.
It supports saguṇa upāsanā: meditating on Śiva’s defining attributes while worshipping the Liṅga, understanding the Liṅga as the sacred focus through which the formless Lord is approached via form. The iconographic signs named here become dhyāna-aṅgas (meditative limbs) during Liṅga pūjā.
Practice Śiva-dhyāna by visualizing the third eye, Nīlakaṇṭha (blue throat), the bull-emblem, and Śakti united with Śiva; then recite the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” during Liṅga worship, ideally with vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as aids to steady devotion.