August 29, 2017: Shiva Mahimna Stotra

śrīpuṣpadantaviracita
śivamāhimnastotram

atītaḥ panthānaṁ tava ca mahimā vāṅmānasayoratadvyāvṛttyā yaṁ 

cakitamabhidhatte śrutirapi       |
sa kasya stotavyaḥ katividhaguṇaḥ 

kasya viṣayaḥ pade tvarvācīne 

patati na manaḥ kasya na vacaḥ     ||2||

tava mahimā - (Oh Lord Shiva!), Your glory

vāṅmānasayoḥ panthānaṃ atītaḥ - (Is) beyond the reach/ambit of speech and thought ;

ca api śrutiḥ - and, whilst even the Vedas

cakitaṃ  abhidhatte  - in astonishment describe (actually give up describing)

yaṃ atad vyāvṛttyā  - whom=You by saying "not that", i.e. using exclusions;

saḥ stotavyaḥ kasya - such a person (=You, Lord Shiva) is extollable (with apt descriptions) by whom?

(saḥ)kati vidhaguṇaḥ - - such a person (=You, Lord Shiva) has how many varieties of attributes?

(saḥ)viṣayaḥ kasya - (such a person) can be perceived by whom?

tu kasya na manaḥ na vacaḥ - however, whose mind or word doesn't 

patati pade arvācīne  - drop/enter into that state of beyond (through Your contemplation)?

Pushpadanta, the poet here, is a heavenly musician (Gandharva) who loves flowers, visits a garden in his invisible form,  and robs many wonderful flowers. But the garden belongs to a king, Chitraratha, who grows the flowers only for Shiva's worship. The king finds flowers disappearing, and wants to catch the magical thief. He spreads nirmalya flowers (made sacred by being already used in worship the previous day) on the garden ground. Pushapadanta commits the sin of stepping on the sacred nirmalya flowers, and loses his magical invisibility. He is caught and tied up. He then bursts into the Shiva Mahimna Stotra, a wonderful poem extolling the indescribable glories of Shiva. He thereby pleases Shiva who releases him from the bondage.

You can see how the poet has managed to convey the transcendental glories of Shiva by using negatives and rhetorical questions.