ŚLOKA 80 / 100

Practising on the mountain

eṣyatyeṣa janiṃ mano’sya kaṭhinaṃ tasminnaṭānīti ma-drakṣāyai girisīmni komalapadanyāsaḥ purābhyāsitaḥ ;no ceddivyagṛhāntareṣu sumanastalpeṣu vedyādiṣuprāyaḥ satsu śilātaleṣu naṭanaṃ śambho kimarthaṃ tava . 80

About these study notes: English meanings and explanations were generated with AI assistance and have not been independently reviewed by a Sanskrit scholar. Sanskrit text follows the cited source editions.

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Sringeri IAST text · source wording and line-break hyphens retained. English glosses follow the connected Sanskrit sense.

These four study units follow the printed quarters. Sentences and compounds can continue across a line break; read the whole verse for connected meaning. The source wording stays unchanged.

Source-linked study entries
Selected phraseMeaning in context

Perhaps you foresaw my birth and the hardness of my mind.

Key expressions in this quarter: manas — mind; kaṭhina — hard.

To protect me, you practised placing your tender feet on mountain ground.

Key expressions in this quarter: rakṣā — protection; komala — tender.

Otherwise, with heavenly homes and beds of flowers available,

Key expressions in this quarter: divyagṛha — heavenly home; sumanas — flowers.

Why would you dance upon stone, Shambhu?

Key expressions in this quarter: śilātala — stone surface; naṭana — dancing.

Practising on the mountain

Perhaps you foresaw my birth and the hardness of my mind. To protect me, you practised placing your tender feet on mountain ground. Otherwise, with heavenly homes and beds of flowers available, Why would you dance upon stone, Shambhu?

How the verse unfolds.

The poet playfully explains Shiva’s mountain dance as preparation for entering a hard heart. What might seem an obstacle to grace becomes the very reason for divine preparation. The argument is affectionate and imaginative, inviting hope without denying the work of softening the mind.

EDITORIAL EXPLANATION · NOT A TRADITIONAL COMMENTARY

What hardness in me could become a place of welcome?

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Connected themes

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Associated Tattva

Grace and approach

Dancing on mountain stone is imagined as preparation for entering the poet’s hard heart. The obstacle becomes a reason to trust Shiva’s readiness to receive the devotee.

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A phrase, a question, a moment of understanding

What hardness in me could become a place of welcome?

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