Adhyaya 105

The chapter begins with the sages requesting a sacred account. Śiva narrates a dramatic episode in which desire and anger give rise to a kṛtyā apparition, and then leads Rāma toward Lokāloka and the radiant city of Nārāyaṇapura. There Viṣṇu receives them with honor, and Rāma’s vow of single-wifed fidelity (ekapatnī-vrata) is implicitly tested and praised. The text then turns to dharma-instruction: when śrāddha should be postponed, repeated, or entrusted to another because of sūtaka and calendrical complications—amāvāsyā, aparāhṇa, tithi increase or decrease, and kutupa—along with guidance on proper worship timing and its efficacy. Śiva next proclaims at length the greatness of sacred ash (bhasma): its derivation, where it is applied on the body, its power to destroy sin and confer protection, supported by legends (Dhanañjaya’s lineage, Arundhatī and Dadhīci, and a cosmic meeting of Hari and Śaṅkara). The chapter ends with a phalaśruti promising purification and attainment of Śiva’s abode to those who listen.