Shloka 20

Adhyaya 63: Daksha’s Progeny, Kashyapa’s Offspring, and the Rishi-Vamshas that Sustain the Worlds

Devanagari script

प्रत्यूषश् च प्रभासश् च वसवो ऽष्टौ प्रकीर्तिताः अजैकपाद् अहिर्बुध्न्यो विरूपाक्षः सभैरवः

Transliteration

pratyūṣaś ca prabhāsaś ca vasavo 'ṣṭau prakīrtitāḥ ajaikapād ahirbudhnyo virūpākṣaḥ sabhairavaḥ

Translation

ประยูษะและประภาสะได้รับประกาศว่าอยู่ในหมู่วสุทั้งแปด อีกทั้งอชัยกปาท อหิรพุธนยะ วิรูปากษะ และไภรวะผู้เกรียงไกร—นับอยู่ในหมู่รุทระ เป็นพลังทิพย์ที่ปฏิบัติการภายใต้ปติ คือพระศิวะ ในระเบียบจักรวาล

Word by Word

• प्रत्यूषः: Pratyūṣa (a Vasu, deity of dawn)

• च: and

• प्रभासः: Prabhāsa (a Vasu, deity of radiance)

• च: and

• वसवः: the Vasus (a class of eight deities)

• अष्टौ: eight

• प्रकीर्तिताः: are proclaimed/celebrated

• अजैकपाद्: Ajaikapād (a Rudra-name, 'the one-footed unborn')

• अहिर्बुध्न्यः: Ahirbudhnya (a Rudra-name, 'serpent of the deep/foundation')

• विरूपाक्षः: Virūpākṣa (a Rudra-name, 'the many/strange-eyed')

• स-भैरवः: together with Bhairava / the formidable Bhairava

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Vasus
• Rudras
• Pratyusha
• Prabhasa
• Ajaikapad
• Ahirbudhnya
• Virupaksha
• Bhairava

FAQs

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

It situates Linga-worship within the wider Shaiva cosmos: the Vasus and Rudra-forms are administrative divine powers whose source and lordship culminate in Pati (Śiva), worshipped as the Linga.

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

By listing Rudra-names culminating in Bhairava, it hints at Śiva-tattva as both sustaining order and embodying awe-inspiring transformative power—governing the divine hosts while remaining their inner ruler (Pati).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi is stated; the takeaway is mantra-oriented remembrance (japa) of Rudra-names—supportive to Pāśupata-oriented devotion where the Paśu (soul) turns from pāśa (bondage) toward Pati (Śiva).