Shloka 37
Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
महातपा दीर्घतपाः स्थविष्ठ स्थविरो ध्रुवः । अहः संवत्सरो व्याप्तिः प्रमाणं परमं तपः
mahātapā dīrghatapāḥ sthaviṣṭha sthaviro dhruvaḥ | ahaḥ saṃvatsaro vyāptiḥ pramāṇaṃ paramaṃ tapaḥ
وہ مہاتپسی ہے، طویل ریاضت والا—نہایت وسیع، نہایت قدیم اور ثابت قدم۔ وہی دن ہے اور وہی سال؛ وہی ہمہ گیر حضور، سچا معیار، اور خود پرم تپسیا ہے۔
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga passage; it universalizes Śiva as tapas itself and as kāla (day/year), implying His governance over temporal cycles that bind and instruct the paśu.
Significance: Contemplation of Śiva as ‘pramāṇa’ and ‘paramaṃ tapaḥ’ supports inner discipline; pilgrimage is interiorized as tapas leading to clarity of knowledge.
Mantra: महातपा दीर्घतपाः स्थविष्ठ स्थविरो ध्रुवः । अहः संवत्सरो व्याप्तिः प्रमाणं परमं तपः
Type: stotra
Cosmic Event: Kāla-cakra (day/year) as cosmic ordering principle is foregrounded.
FAQs
The verse praises Shiva as both the supreme yogic discipline (tapas) and the all-pervading reality that measures and sustains the cosmos—time (day/year), stability (dhruva), and the ancient ground of being—guiding the seeker to see Shiva as Pati, the Lord beyond limitation.
In Linga worship, the devotee honors Shiva as the formless-pervading (vyāptiḥ) made approachable through a sacred form; the verse supports Saguna devotion by giving contemplative attributes—steadfast, ancient, all-pervading—through which the mind can rest on Shiva while recognizing His transcendent nature.
Practice steady japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with dhruva-bhāva (unwavering focus), contemplating Shiva as time (day/year) and as vyāpti (pervasion); this aligns outer worship with inner tapas.