Shloka 24
Nāgeśa-jyotirliṅga-prādurbhāvaḥ — The Manifestation of the Nāgeśa Jyotirliṅga
तद्वरश्च मया प्राप्तः कथं दुःखं विषह्यते । जलं वनं च नीत्वा वै सुखं स्थेयं तु राक्षसैः
tadvaraśca mayā prāptaḥ kathaṃ duḥkhaṃ viṣahyate | jalaṃ vanaṃ ca nītvā vai sukhaṃ stheyaṃ tu rākṣasaiḥ
«لقد نلتُ تلك النعمة؛ فكيف يُحتمل العذاب بعد الآن؟ خذوا الماء وامضوا إلى الغابة، ولْيَمكُثِ الرّاكشاسا حقًّا في راحةٍ وسكينة.»
Suta Goswami (narrating the Kotirudra Saṃhitā dialogue to the sages; the verse itself is spoken by a rākṣasa figure within the story)
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: No explicit Jyotirliṅga linkage; the verse highlights how a boon can become a veil (tirodhāna) when it strengthens rākṣasic complacency, setting up later divine intervention.
Significance: Didactic: worldly boons can reduce the felt need for dharma and intensify bondage; pilgrimage/śiva-bhakti is implied as the corrective trajectory later in the narrative.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights how worldly boons can inflate ego and create a false sense of invulnerability; Shaiva Siddhanta stresses that only Shiva’s grace (not mere powers) truly ends duḥkha and the bondage of pasha.
In Jyotirlinga-centered narratives, rakshasic confidence based on boons is ultimately humbled by Shiva’s Saguna manifestation (Linga/Jyotirlinga), teaching that surrender to Shiva’s visible, worshipful form is superior to reliance on granted powers.
A practical takeaway is to replace pride in “acquired merits” with Shiva-upasana: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and steady devotion at a Linga/Jyotirlinga, supported by Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of humility and protection.