Shloka 5
अवंतीस्थ-ब्राह्मणकथा तथा तृतीय-ज्योतिर्लिङ्गोपाख्यान-प्रस्तावना
Avanti Brahmin Narrative and Prelude to the Third Jyotirliṅga
अवंती नगरी रम्या मुक्तिदा सर्वदेहिनाम् । शिवप्रिया महापुण्या वर्तते लोकपावनी
avaṃtī nagarī ramyā muktidā sarvadehinām | śivapriyā mahāpuṇyā vartate lokapāvanī
Die schöne Stadt Avantī gewährt allen verkörperten Wesen Befreiung. Von Śiva geliebt und von höchstem Verdienst, steht sie da als Läuterin der Welten.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Avantī (Ujjayinī) is praised as Śiva-priyā and mokṣa-pradā. In the Mahākāla kṣetra-māhātmya stream, Śiva abides here as Mahākāleśvara, making the city itself a liberating field (kṣetra) where devotion and worship culminate in grace.
Significance: Kṣetra-māhātmya: residence/visit, darśana, and worship in Avantī are extolled as leading to pāpa-kṣaya and mokṣa; the verse explicitly calls it ‘muktidā sarvadehinām’.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It proclaims Avantī as a Śiva-loved kṣetra whose sanctity supports mokṣa: by contact with Śiva’s holy field, the bound soul (paśu) is purified and oriented toward liberation through grace and devotion.
Kotirudrasaṃhitā emphasizes Jyotirliṅga-kṣetras; calling Avantī “Śiva-priyā” signals that Saguna worship of Śiva through the Liṅga in this sacred geography is a direct means of purification and release.
A practical takeaway is kṣetra-sevā: pilgrimage, Liṅga-darśana and abhiṣeka, and japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” undertaken with bhakti for inner purification leading toward mokṣa.