त्रिदलं त्रिगुणाकारं त्रिनेत्रं च त्रियायुधम्। त्रिजन्मपापसंहारमेकबिल्वं शिवार्पणम्॥

Meaning

The Bilvashtakam, composed in praise of the bilva or wood-apple leaf that is the favorite offering of Lord Shiva, opens with a verse that uncovers layer upon layer of symbolism in the three-pointed leaf. The leaf has three lobes, mirrors the three gunas of sattva, rajas, and tamas, recalls the three eyes of Shiva, and recalls his three weapons, the trident, the bow, and the goad. Most importantly the verse declares that a single bilva leaf, offered with devotion, destroys the accumulated sins of three lifetimes. The repetition of the syllable tri builds a rhythmic intensity that mirrors the ringing of the bell during Shiva worship, and the closing words eka bilvam sivarpanam, one bilva leaf is offered to Shiva, become the refrain of the entire ashtakam. The teaching is twofold. First, every natural object can be read as a scripture; the same leaf the gardener tramples becomes, in the eye of the devotee, a complete cosmology. Second, the spiritual power of an offering lies not in its quantity but in the consciousness behind it. A single leaf, placed at the feet of Shiva with concentrated love, accomplishes what mountains of unmindful ritual cannot.