Shloka 39
नरकलोकमार्गयमदूतस्वरूपवर्णनम् / Description of the Path to Naraka and the Nature of Yama’s Messengers
मुद्गरैर्लोहदण्डैश्च हन्यमाना मुहुर्मुहुः । कंटकैर्विविधैर्घोरैर्ज्वलनार्कसमप्रभैः
mudgarairlohadaṇḍaiśca hanyamānā muhurmuhuḥ | kaṃṭakairvividhairghorairjvalanārkasamaprabhaiḥ
Immer wieder werden sie mit Keulen und Eisenstangen geschlagen und von vielerlei schrecklichen Stacheln gequält, die leuchten wie die flammende Sonne—so wirkt die bindende Macht des pāśa, wenn die Seele sich von Śiva, dem Befreier, dem Herrn (Pati), abwendet.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
FAQs
The verse portrays the harsh fruits of bondage (pāśa): when the pashu (individual soul) is driven by ignorance and karma, it undergoes repeated torment; liberation comes by returning to Pati—Lord Shiva—through devotion, right conduct, and inner purification.
By contrasting suffering under bondage with the peace of refuge, it implicitly urges surrender to Saguna Shiva—worship of the Śiva-liṅga as the compassionate, accessible form of Pati who burns karmas and grants protection and release.
A practical takeaway is steady Shiva-upāsanā: japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing rudrākṣa and applying tripuṇḍra-bhasma with remembrance of Shiva, as disciplines that reduce pāśa and orient the mind toward moksha.