Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana
The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva
ज्योतिर्मयो जगन्नाथो निराकारो जलेश्वरः । तुम्बवीणो महाकायो विशोकश्शोकनाशनः
jyotirmayo jagannātho nirākāro jaleśvaraḥ | tumbavīṇo mahākāyo viśokaśśokanāśanaḥ
祂由纯净光明所成,为宇宙之主;本性无相,亦为住于水中的自在主。手持葫芦维那(tumbā-vīṇā),身相广大如法界;祂自无忧,且能灭除众生之忧苦。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
It presents Shiva as the supreme Jyoti (conscious Light) who is intrinsically beyond limitation (nirākāra) yet compassionately acts as the remover of existential sorrow, indicating liberation through turning the mind toward His luminous, sorrow-destroying reality.
Jyotirmaya and nirākāra point to Shiva’s transcendent nature, while titles like Jagannātha and imagery such as bearing the vīṇā express His immanent, worshipable presence—harmonizing Nirguna Shiva with Saguna worship as embodied in the Jyotirlinga and Linga devotion.
Meditate on Shiva as inner light (jyoti) while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), praying specifically as “śokanāśanaḥ” (destroyer of sorrow); this is especially aligned with Jyotirlinga darśana and Mahāśivarātri worship.