Shloka 123

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

पञ्चास्यरुद्ररुद्राय पञ्चाशत्कोटिमूर्तये आत्मत्रयोपविष्टाय विद्यातत्त्वाय ते नमः

Transliteration

pañcāsyarudrarudrāya pañcāśatkoṭimūrtaye ātmatrayopaviṣṭāya vidyātattvāya te namaḥ

Translation

உமக்கு நமஸ்காரம்—பஞ்சாஸ்ய ருத்ரர்களுக்கும் ருத்ரனே; ஐம்பது கோடி வடிவங்களையுடையவனே; ஆத்மத் திரயத்தில் நிலைபெற்றவனே; வித்யா-தத்துவமே ஆனவனே.

Word by Word

• पञ्चास्य-रुद्र-रुद्राय: to the Rudra who is the supreme Rudra among the five-faced Rudras

• पञ्चाशत्-कोटि-मूर्तये: to the one whose forms are fifty crores

• आत्म-त्रय-उपविष्टाय: to the one abiding in the threefold Self (triadic reality)

• विद्या-तत्त्वाय: to the principle/essence of liberating knowledge

• ते: to You

• नमः: salutations

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a traditional Rudra-stuti within the Linga Purana discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames Linga-pūjā as worship of the one Pati (Shiva) who manifests in innumerable forms yet remains the single reality; the Linga is approached as the embodied sign of that all-pervading Rudra.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Shiva is praised as the supreme Rudra beyond subordinate Rudras, simultaneously many-formed (koṭi-mūrti) and established in a triadic spiritual principle, and as vidyā-tattva—the liberating knowledge that reveals Pati and frees the paśu from pāśa.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse highlights japa-centered stuti as a Pāśupata-oriented discipline: contemplation of Shiva as vidyā-tattva supports inner purification, loosening pāśa (bondage) and stabilizing the paśu in devotion to Pati.