Shloka 158

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

नमोनमः सर्वविदे शिवाय रुद्राय शर्वाय भवाय तुभ्यम् स्थूलाय सूक्ष्माय सुसूक्ष्मसूक्ष्मसूक्ष्माय सूक्ष्मार्थविदे विधात्रे

Transliteration

namonamaḥ sarvavide śivāya rudrāya śarvāya bhavāya tubhyam sthūlāya sūkṣmāya susūkṣmasūkṣmasūkṣmāya sūkṣmārthavide vidhātre

Translation

稽首再稽首于汝——遍知之湿婆；鲁陀罗、舍婆（Śarva）、婆婆（Bhava）。稽首于汝，既为粗显亦为微细，又为超越微细之至微；稽首于洞知诸理（tattva）幽微义趣者，稽首于制定者（Vidhātṛ）、主宰（Pati），统摄一切生成者。

Word by Word

• नमोनमः: repeated salutations

• सर्वविदे: to the all-knowing

• शिवाय: to Śiva (the auspicious, Pati)

• रुद्राय: to Rudra (the remover of sorrow, fierce grace)

• शर्वाय: to Śarva (the destroyer/archer, dissolver of bonds)

• भवाय: to Bhava (Lord of becoming/existence)

• तुभ्यम्: to You

• स्थूलाय: to the gross/manifest form

• सूक्ष्माय: to the subtle/unmanifest

• सुसूक्ष्मसूक्ष्मसूक्ष्माय: to the exceedingly subtle—beyond even the subtle

• सूक्ष्मार्थविदे: to the knower of subtle meanings/inner purport of tattvas

• विधात्रे: to the ordainer/creator-regulator (dispenser of destinies)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a stuti within the Purva-Bhaga discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra
• Sharva
• Bhava

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-worship as adoration of Shiva across all levels of reality—manifest (sthūla), subtle (sūkṣma), and transcendent (susūkṣma)—so the Linga is approached not merely as an icon but as Pati, the all-governing consciousness.

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

Shiva is praised as Sarvavit (all-knowing) and as the ground of both gross and subtle existence, yet also as ‘more subtle than the subtle,’ indicating a transcendent Shiva-tattva that surpasses all tattvas while still ordaining them as Vidhātr̥.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Mantra-stuti and contemplative upāsanā: the devotee should meditate on Shiva as the inner meaning of all subtle principles (sūkṣmārtha-vid), a Pāśupata-oriented insight that loosens pāśa (bondage) for the paśu (soul) by turning awareness to Pati.