Shloka 60
नन्दिकेशावतारवर्णनम् (Nandikeśa Avatāra Varṇanam) — “Account of the Descent/Origin of Nandikeśvara”
पितोवाच । किं तपः किं परिज्ञानं को योगश्च प्रभुश्च ते । येन त्वं दारुणं दुःखं वञ्चयिष्यसि पुत्र मे
pitovāca | kiṃ tapaḥ kiṃ parijñānaṃ ko yogaśca prabhuśca te | yena tvaṃ dāruṇaṃ duḥkhaṃ vañcayiṣyasi putra me
父亲说道：“你的苦行（tapas）是什么？你具有什么真正的了知与证悟（parijñāna）？你的瑜伽为何，谁是你的主宰与护佑者？凭借何种方法，我的儿啊，你将战胜并躲过这可怖的忧苦？”
Father (Pitā)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Role: teaching
FAQs
It frames a core Shaiva inquiry: which disciplines (tapas, yoga) and which realized understanding (parijñāna) truly remove duḥkha. In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, sorrow is overcome when the soul (paśu) turns to the true Lord (Pati) and matures through right practice and insight.
By asking “who is your Prabhu?”, the verse points toward taking Shiva as the concrete refuge. In Purāṇic practice, that refuge is often expressed through Saguna worship—especially Linga-upāsanā—where devotion and discipline are anchored in a visible, worshipable form of the Lord.
The verse emphasizes tapas, yoga, and realized discernment; a Shaiva takeaway is steady japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with simple austerity and focused meditation on Shiva as Prabhu, supported by traditional aids like bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa where appropriate.