Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
श्रीवत्सलः शिवारंभः शांतभद्रः समो यशः । भूयशो भूषणो भूतिर्भूतिकृद्भूतभावनः
śrīvatsalaḥ śivāraṃbhaḥ śāṃtabhadraḥ samo yaśaḥ | bhūyaśo bhūṣaṇo bhūtirbhūtikṛdbhūtabhāvanaḥ
Ngài là Đấng được Śrī yêu mến; là nguồn khởi đầu của mọi điều cát tường; hiền hòa, tối thượng cát tường; tâm bình đẳng, và là hiện thân của thánh danh. Ngài càng thêm vinh hiển, là trang sức chân thật của muôn loài, chính là phú quý—ban an lành và nuôi dưỡng mọi hữu tình đến sự viên mãn đúng phận duyên.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya, within the Kotirudrasaṃhitā hymn-context)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; the emphasis is on Śiva as the fountainhead of auspiciousness (śivārambha) and bhūti (prosperity/sacred power), a universal māhātmya applicable to any Śiva-kṣetra.
Significance: Promises auspicious welfare (bhūti) and the nurturing of beings (bhūtabhāvana) through devotion—framing pilgrimage as entering Śiva’s field of auspicious beginnings and sustained flourishing.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Umā
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
This verse presents Shiva as the very fountainhead of auspiciousness, peace, and impartial grace—teaching that remembrance of His names aligns the devotee with śānti (inner stillness), bhadra (welfare), and bhūti (spiritual-ethical prosperity), leading toward liberation in a Shaiva Siddhanta sense under the Lord’s compassionate governance.
These epithets are Saguna contemplations—qualities by which the devotee approaches the Linga as the living presence of Shiva: the impartial Lord who blesses, sustains, and uplifts beings. In Linga worship, such names are recited as nāma-japa/archana, making devotion steady and focused.
Practice nāma-smaraṇa (recollection) or archana by chanting these names of Shiva alongside the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” ideally with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudraksha as aids to steadiness, cultivating sama-bhāva (equanimity) and śānti (peace).