Shloka 13
Śivāṣṭamūrti-varṇanam
Description of Shiva’s Eight Forms
शाखाः पुष्यन्ति वृक्षस्य वृक्षमूलस्य सेचनात् । तद्वदस्य वपुर्विश्वं पुष्यते च शिवार्चनात
śākhāḥ puṣyanti vṛkṣasya vṛkṣamūlasya secanāt | tadvadasya vapurviśvaṃ puṣyate ca śivārcanāta
ดุจรดน้ำที่รากไม้แล้วกิ่งก้านย่อมเจริญงอกงาม ฉันใด จักรวาลทั้งปวงซึ่งเป็นกายของพระองค์ก็รุ่งเรืองด้วยการบูชาพระศิวะ ฉันนั้น
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Significance: Frames pūjā as universally beneficial: worship of Śiva (root) nourishes the whole (branches). This supports temple-centric Siddhānta practice where communal arcana is held to sustain loka-kṣema.
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva is the fundamental support (the “root”) of all existence; when one worships Śiva with devotion, the fruits extend beyond the individual to the harmony and flourishing of the whole cosmos, aligning with Shaiva Siddhanta’s vision of Pati as the supreme sustainer.
Śiva-arcana commonly takes the form of Linga worship (Saguna upāsanā). By honoring the Linga as the accessible emblem of the Supreme, one reveres the source of all forms—thus, like watering the root, the worship reaches every manifestation of Śiva in the universe.
Perform Śiva-archana—especially abhiṣeka and offering bilva leaves—while mentally rooting the practice in the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” contemplating that service to Śiva is service to the very ground of all beings.