भुजाश्लेषान्नित्यं पुरदमयितुः कण्टकवती
तव ग्रीवा धत्ते मुखकमलनालश्रियमियम्।
स्वतः श्वेता कालागरुबहुलजम्बालमलिना
मृणालीलालित्यं वहति यदधो हारलतिका॥

bhujāśleṣānnityaṁ puradamayituḥ kaṇṭakavatī
tava grīvā dhatte mukhakamalanālaśriyamiyam |
svataḥ śvetā kālāgarubahulajambālamalinā
mṛṇālīlālityaṁ vahati yadadho hāralatikā ||

bhuja aśleṣa nityaṁ - always embracing by hands; pura damayituḥ - the burner of tripura (three worlds), Śiva; kaṇṭakavata – goose bumps; tava grīvā iyam dhatte – Your neck shows; mukha kamala nāla śriyam – the auspiciousness of (Your) face (neck) appearing like lotus stalk; svataḥ śvetā – naturally bright white; kālāgaru bahula jambāla malinā – darkened by the application of fragrant paste (it is the paste made from agaru, which is black in colour); mṛṇālī lālityaṁ -beautiful like lotus stalk; vaha iti – causing this; yat adhas – below that (neck); hāra latika – garland of pearls.

“Śiva always embraces you by keeping His hands on the nape of Your neck. When He does this, You develop goose bumps and this gives an impression that Your neck appears like a lotus stalk with bristles. Pure white pearl necklace below Your auspicious face, appear dark in colour due to black paste of agaru, which also appears like a lotus stalk.”

There are four types of visualization for Śiva and Śakti. One, they are in two different places. For example, when Śiva dances during cosmic annihilation, She witnesses His Cosmic dance from a distance, says Lalitā Sahasranāma 232, maheśvara-mahākalpa-mahātāṇḍava-sākṣiṇī. Their next posture is sitting on Royal Throne, where She sits by His side. The third posture is that She is sitting on the left lap of Śiva. Their last posture is ardhanārīśvara form, where She occupies Śiva’s left side. Śaṃkarācārya visualizes in this verse, a posture beyond their commonly known postures.

This verse says that Śiva is sitting by Her side, putting His hand around her neck. Because of this, She gets goose bumps and when the goose bumps appear in Her neck, Śaṃkarācārya sees Her neck as the stalk of lotus. Lotus stalk though soft, has minute bristles in it. If Her neck is the stalk of the lotus flower, Her face becomes the lotus flower itself. How does Her face look like? It is like a lotus flower and as white as a pure pearl necklace that She is wearing. But the pure white pearl necklace that She is wearing, has become dark in colour due to the frequent application of black coloured fragrant paste made out of arugu (bark of a tree). This half-white pearl necklace is also compared to the black roots of lotus stalk.