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श्लोक - नाम क्रमांक: 303
मराठी अर्थ
शब्द:
ॐ महाशनाय नमः।
विवेचन:
जो प्रलयकाळी सर्व सृष्टीला आपल्या मध्ये सामावून घेतो, तो महाशनः. तोच संहाराचा अंतिम स्वीकारकर्ता आणि विश्वलयाचा आधार आहे. त्याच्या या रूपात संहारसुद्धा विश्वनियमानुसार पवित्र ठरतो.
अर्थ:
प्रलय काळी सर्व काही गिळंकृत करणारा.
English Meaning
Meaning:
Om Mahashanaya Namah।
Simple Meaning:
From *maha* (great) + *ashana* (eating/devouring); "The Great Devourer" - He Who consumes all of creation at the end of each cosmic cycle (also interpreted as the fire of digestion sustaining all life).
Mythology / Philosophy / Spiritual:
**Reference<br> At universal dissolution, Viṣṇu as Mahāśana consumes all existence. **Interpretation<br> Mahā means great; aśana means eating, consuming. Mahāśana is the cosmic eater. **Mythological Story<br> When Arjuna saw the Viśvarūpa, he witnessed the Mahāśana literally - all warriors entering Kṛṣṇa's mouth, being consumed! He described: "vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni" (They rush into Your fearful mouths with terrible teeth). This wasn't metaphor but vision of the Mahāśana consuming all beings at time's end. But "eating" has layers: Physical: At pralaya, the Mahāśana dissolves all matter into unmanifest. Temporal: Kāla (Time) "eats" all beings eventually - that Time is the Mahāśana. Karmic: All karmas are eventually "consumed" (exhausted) by the Mahāśana. When babies nurse at mother's breast, it's the Mahāśana consuming milk (as digestive fire). When fire consumes wood, it's the Mahāśana. When death consumes life, it's the Mahāśana. But here's the comfort: what's consumed isn't destroyed but transformed - like food consumed becomes body's energy. For devotees, the Mahāśana teaches: death isn't annihilation but transformation. The cosmic eater consumes your current form but your essence (ātman) remains indigestible! The practice: when facing loss/death, remember - the Mahāśana consumes forms but not essence. What's truly real (consciousness) cannot be eaten even by the great eater.