aśanaṃ garalaṃ phaṇī kalāpovasanaṃ carma ca vāhanaṃ mahokṣaḥ ;mama dāsyasi kiṃ kimasti śambhotava pādāmbujabhaktimeva dehi . 87 .
ŚLOKA 87 / 100
Give only devotion
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.
02 / PHRASE STUDY · PADĀRTHA
A phrase at a time.
Follow the words into meaning. Select a phrase to locate it in the verse above. Read the quarters together for the full sentence.
Sringeri IAST text · source wording and line-break hyphens retained. English glosses follow the connected Sanskrit sense.
Vignanam text · spellings and hyphens retained. English glosses follow the base Sanskrit; variant readings are not separately translated.
| Selected phrase | Meaning in context |
|---|---|
Your food is poison and your ornaments are serpents. | |
Your clothing is skin and your vehicle a great bull. | |
What possessions could you give me, Shambhu? | |
Give me only devotion to your lotus feet. |
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.
| Selected phrase | Meaning in context |
|---|---|
Your food is poison and your ornaments are serpents. Key expressions in this quarter: garala — poison; phaṇin — serpent. | |
Your clothing is skin and your vehicle a great bull. Key expressions in this quarter: vasana — clothing; carma — skin; mahokṣa — great bull. | |
What possessions could you give me, Shambhu? Key expressions in this quarter: dāsyasi — you will give. | |
Give me only devotion to your lotus feet. Key expressions in this quarter: pādāmbuja — lotus feet; bhakti — devotion. |
Selected words and compound parts are shown in IAST. This is a contextual vocabulary study, not an exhaustive grammatical analysis. The source phrase follows your selected script. Locate highlights that unchanged phrase; learning forms are not substituted into the verse.
| Word / source phrase | Meaning in context |
|---|---|
poison | |
serpent | |
clothing | |
skin | |
great bull | |
you will give | |
lotus feet | |
devotion |
03 / SIMPLE MEANING
Give only devotion
Your food is poison and your ornaments are serpents. Your clothing is skin and your vehicle a great bull. What possessions could you give me, Shambhu? Give me only devotion to your lotus feet.
04 / DETAILED MEANING
How the verse unfolds.
The poet surveys Shiva’s unconventional possessions with affectionate humour. Ordinary requests for wealth lose their relevance before such a deity. The final request identifies devotion itself as the gift worth receiving, turning desire toward relationship rather than acquisition.
EDITORIAL EXPLANATION · NOT A TRADITIONAL COMMENTARY
05 / DEEPER CONTEMPLATION
If I could ask for only one inward gift, what would it be?
Read this verse once more, then sit with the question. Notice the particular image or expression that holds your attention. You do not need to force an answer.
Keep a reflection or question ↓06 / THEMES & TATTVA
Connected themes
Editorial lenses; a verse may invite other readings.
Associated Tattva
Devotion as the desired fruit
After surveying Shiva’s unconventional possessions, the speaker asks only for devotion. Bhakti becomes the gift that makes other requests unnecessary.
Explore this Tattva →07 / PERSONAL REFLECTION
A phrase, a question, a moment of understanding
If I could ask for only one inward gift, what would it be?
Browser notes stay on this device. Account reflections remain separate unless you explicitly import them.