Shloka 34

Gajendra's Deliverance — Power of Remembrance

Devanagari script

नमः शिवाय शान्ताय निश्चिन्ताय यशस्विने सनातनाय पूर्वाय पुराणाय नमो नमः

Transliteration

namaḥ śivāya śāntāya niścintāya yaśasvine sanātanāya pūrvāya purāṇāya namo namaḥ

Translation

Salutation to Śiva, the Peaceful One; to the Carefree/Untroubled One; to the Glorious One; to the Eternal One; to the Primordial One; to the Ancient One—salutation, salutation.

Speakers

• A devotee/narratorial voice offering stuti (often embedded in Pulastya→Nārada discourse in Vāmana Purāṇa narrative architecture; immediate speaker may vary by recension)

Primary Deities

• Śiva

Key Themes

• Stuti
• Śiva as primordial and eternal
• Peace (śānti) as divine attribute
• Purāṇic antiquity and authority

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

How should ‘purāṇāya’ be understood here—‘ancient’ or ‘Purāṇa’ as a genre?

Primarily as ‘the Ancient/Primeval One’ (purāṇa = very old). Secondarily, it resonates with Purāṇic self-understanding: the deity is the source and subject of the ancient sacred tradition.

What theological point is made by calling Śiva ‘niścinta’ (free from concern)?

It signals divine sovereignty and completeness: the Lord lacks nothing, is untouched by anxiety, and remains unagitated even while sustaining cosmic processes. Devotionally, it invites the worshipper to seek refuge in that unshakable serenity.

Why are multiple near-synonyms (sanātana, pūrva, purāṇa) stacked together?

The piling of epithets is a standard stuti technique to intensify a single idea—here, Śiva’s beginningless primacy—while also covering different registers: metaphysical eternity (sanātana), temporal priority (pūrva), and traditional antiquity (purāṇa).