Atulya (meaning ‘incomparable’ in Sanskrit) is one of the one thousand and eight epithets of Śiva-Mahādeva (Siva-Mahadeva). As He is the Supreme Being, the Absolute, nothing in the universe is comparable to him – this is the thought behind imparting this particular epithet to Him.

After seeing the cosmic form (viśvarūpa; viswarupa) of Kṛṣṇa (Krishna) in Śrīmadbhagavadgītā (Srimadbhagavadgita), Arjuna hails Him as atulya or incomparable. He says, “You are the father of the cosmos. You are the guru – even more than a guru –  to it. There is nothing and nobody equal or comparable to you in the universe; nor existence of something or somebody better than you in the universe is possible” –

pitāsi lokasya carācarasya tvamasya pūjyaśca gurorgarīyān
na tvatsamo’styabhyadhikaḥ kuto’nyo lokatraye’pyapratimaprabhāvaḥ.

Śiva’s epithet of atulya generates from the same line of thought.