NAMA 63, 64 & 65 of BHAIRAVA ASHTOTTARNAMA (108 Names of Bhairava)
NAMA 63
ॐ शूराय नमः oṃ śūrāya namaḥ
Meaning: Salutations to the One who is heroic/valiant.
Remarks: The word Śūra (शूर) means “the valiant one , being excellent in the battlefield".
In the Śatarudrīya of the Yajurveda, Śiva is invoked as Śūra :the Brave One .” In the same hymm, He is called Dhṛṣṇu (धृष्णु) – “steadfast in battle, one who does not run away.”
Together, Śūra and Dhṛṣṇu express the ideal of unwavering courage — and having no fear.
Purāṇic tradition carries this forward through His victories over forces of darkness such as Andhaka and Tripura. The former, subdued and purified, was made one of Śiva’s own gaṇas; the latter’s triple cities were incinerated by a single divine arrow.
To call Bhairava Śūra is to remember Him as the archetype of steady courage — the one who neither flees from poison nor hesitates before darkness.
NAMA 64
ॐ हरिणाय नमः oṃ hariṇāya namaḥ
Meaning: Salutations to the One who takes away the mind (of an Upasaka)
Remarks: Hariṇa is derived from the root word √hṛ (“to take, to draw, to captivate”). It also can be considered as harati manaḥ, that which takes away the mind.
This word is etymologically similar to the Hara , which is associated with Shiva ( He who removes sins)
The skull (kapāla) he carries is indeed the mind emptied of ego — the vessel of pure awareness after ahaṅkāra has been offered as oblation.
He “steals” that mind, taking away the limited, rational, restless aspect so it may merge into his own stillness.
He takes away the ignorance of the upasaka, and draws him to higher spiritual planes.
NAMA 65
ॐ पाण्डुलोचनाय नमः oṃ pāṇḍulocanāya namaḥ
Meaning: Salutations to the One who has white-yellow, luminous eyes
Remarks:
The word Pāṇḍu denotes a pale whiteness—soft gold, faint yellow, or moonlike silver—suggesting a luminosity without heat, a radiance without restlessness.
The pale eyes thus symbolize pure consciousness (cit): clear, uncolored by desire, yet subtly luminous from within.
Pāṇḍu can be also compared to the moon’s gentle glow—cool, soothing, and reflective. Śiva, who bears the crescent moon upon his head, embodies this very principle: the mastery of the mind, its pacification, its containment within still awareness.
His white, tranquil eyes mirror this inner calm—the stillness of one who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless worlds yet remains untouched.
Rajarshi Nandy
NAMA 63, 64 & 65 of BHAIRAVA ASHTOTTARNAMA (108 Names of Bhairava)
NAMA 63
ॐ शूराय नमः
oṃ śūrāya namaḥ
Meaning:
Salutations to the One who is heroic/valiant.
Remarks:
The word Śūra (शूर) means “the valiant one , being excellent in the battlefield".
In the Śatarudrīya of the Yajurveda, Śiva is invoked as Śūra :the Brave One .”
In the same hymm, He is called Dhṛṣṇu (धृष्णु) – “steadfast in battle, one who does not run away.”
Together, Śūra and Dhṛṣṇu express the ideal of unwavering courage — and having no fear.
Purāṇic tradition carries this forward through His victories over forces of darkness such as Andhaka and Tripura. The former, subdued and purified, was made one of Śiva’s own gaṇas; the latter’s triple cities were incinerated by a single divine arrow.
To call Bhairava Śūra is to remember Him as the archetype of steady courage — the one who neither flees from poison nor hesitates before darkness.
NAMA 64
ॐ हरिणाय नमः
oṃ hariṇāya namaḥ
Meaning:
Salutations to the One who takes away the mind (of an Upasaka)
Remarks:
Hariṇa is derived from the root word √hṛ (“to take, to draw, to captivate”). It also can be considered as harati manaḥ, that which takes away the mind.
This word is etymologically similar to the Hara , which is associated with Shiva ( He who removes sins)
The skull (kapāla) he carries is indeed the mind emptied of ego —
the vessel of pure awareness after ahaṅkāra has been offered as oblation.
He “steals” that mind, taking away the limited, rational, restless aspect so it may merge into his own stillness.
He takes away the ignorance of the upasaka, and draws him to higher spiritual planes.
NAMA 65
ॐ पाण्डुलोचनाय नमः
oṃ pāṇḍulocanāya namaḥ
Meaning:
Salutations to the One who has white-yellow, luminous eyes
Remarks:
The word Pāṇḍu denotes a pale whiteness—soft gold, faint yellow, or moonlike silver—suggesting a luminosity without heat, a radiance without restlessness.
The pale eyes thus symbolize pure consciousness (cit): clear, uncolored by desire, yet subtly luminous from within.
Pāṇḍu can be also compared to the moon’s gentle glow—cool, soothing, and reflective. Śiva, who bears the crescent moon upon his head, embodies this very principle: the mastery of the mind, its pacification, its containment within still awareness.
His white, tranquil eyes mirror this inner calm—the stillness of one who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless worlds yet remains untouched.
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