ऋषयश् चैव देवाश् च गन्धर्वाप्सरसस् तथा ॥
लिङ्गम् अस्यार्चयन्ति स्म तच् चाप्य् ऊर्ध्वं समास्थितम् ॥
पूज्यमाने ततस् तस्मिन् मोदते स महेश्वरः ॥
सुखी प्रीतश् च भवति प्रहृष्टश् चैव शंकरः ॥
यद् अस्य बहुधा रूपं भूतभव्यभवत्स्थितम् ॥
स्थावरं जङ्गमं चैव बहुरूपस् ततः स्मृतः ॥
ṛṣayaś caiva devāś ca gandharvāpsarasas tathā ||
liṅgam asyārcayanti sma tac cāpy ūrdhvaṃ samāsthitam ||
pūjyamāne tatas tasmin modate sa maheśvaraḥ ||
sukhī prītaś ca bhavati prahṛṣṭaś caiva śaṃkaraḥ ||
yad asya bahudhā rūpaṃ bhūtabhavyabhavatsthitam ||
sthāvaraṃ jaṅgamaṃ caiva bahurūpas tataḥ smṛtaḥ ||
"And rishis, and gods, gandharvas and apsaras likewise worshipped his linga, and it stands erect upward. When that linga is worshipped, that Maheshvara rejoices; he becomes happy and pleased, and Shankara is gladdened. Since his form is manifold -- abiding in past, future, and present, motionless and moving -- he is therefore called Bahurupa [the many-formed]."
8c0dd2bdd2ed · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:12:46 PM UTC
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The name 'Bahurupa' is explained: God's form is many-faced -- he is present in every time, in the motionless and the moving. It is significant that worship gladdens him: the Supreme responds to devotion not out of need, but out of love for those who honor him. The verse teaches that God reveals himself in countless forms of existence; and one who honors him in a chosen form gladdens the One who is both beyond all forms and within each of them -- for devotion reaches the One through any of his faces.