Shloka 17

अग्नित्रय-पितृवंश-रुद्रसृष्टि-वैराग्योपदेशः

Devanagari script

नमो ऽस्तु ते महादेव प्रजा नार्हसि शंकर मृत्युहीना विभो स्रष्टुं मृत्युयुक्ताः सृज प्रभो

Transliteration

namo 'stu te mahādeva prajā nārhasi śaṃkara mṛtyuhīnā vibho sraṣṭuṃ mṛtyuyuktāḥ sṛja prabho

Translation

హే మహాదేవా, నీకు నమస్కారం. హే శంకరా, మరణరహిత ప్రజలను సృష్టించడం నీకు తగదు. హే సర్వవ్యాపి ప్రభూ, హే స్వామీ—మరణయుక్త ప్రజలను సృష్టించు.

Word by Word

• namo 'stu te: salutations be to You

• mahādeva: O Great God (Śiva)

• prajāḥ: creatures, progeny

• na arhasi: it is not fitting (for You)

• śaṅkara: O Beneficent One

• mṛtyu-hīnāḥ: without death, deathless

• vibho: O omnipresent/almighty One

• sraṣṭum: to create

• mṛtyu-yuktāḥ: endowed with death, subject to death

• sṛja: create, emit

• prabho: O Lord

Speaker

Brahma (addressing Shiva during the ordering of creation)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahma

FAQs

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

It frames Śiva as Pati—the Lord who regulates creation through kāla (time) and mṛtyu (death). Linga worship, therefore, is not merely for worldly boons but for transcending the cycle that mortality signifies, moving the pashu (soul) toward liberation.

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

Śiva is invoked as Mahādeva, Vibhu, and Prabhu—supreme, all-pervading, and sovereign—whose will establishes cosmic order. By instituting mortality, He governs limitation (pāśa) so embodied souls can undergo karmic maturation and eventually seek grace (anugraha).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse implies the Pāśupata perspective: recognizing mortality as a spur to vairāgya (dispassion) and sādhana. In practice, it supports disciplined Shiva-pūjā and Pāśupata-yoga aimed at cutting pāśa (bondage) rather than clinging to endless embodied existence.