Shloka 10
व्यासशौनकादिसंवादः | Vyāsa–Śaunaka and the Sages: Opening Dialogue of the Kailāsa-saṃhitā
तस्मिन्नवसरे सूतं पञ्चक्रोशदिदृक्षया । गत्वा समागतं वीक्ष्य मुदा ते तं ववन्दिरे । सोपि विश्वेश्वरं साक्षाद्देवदेवमुमापतिम् । नमस्कृत्याथ तैस्साकम्मुक्तिमण्डपमाविशत्
tasminnavasare sūtaṃ pañcakrośadidṛkṣayā | gatvā samāgataṃ vīkṣya mudā te taṃ vavandire | sopi viśveśvaraṃ sākṣāddevadevamumāpatim | namaskṛtyātha taissākammuktimaṇḍapamāviśat
At that very time, Sūta arrived, desiring to behold the sacred region extending for five krośas. Seeing him come, they joyfully bowed to him. Sūta too—after offering reverence to Viśveśvara, the manifest Lord of the universe, the God of gods, Umā’s consort—then entered the Mukti-maṇḍapa, the Hall of Liberation, together with them.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Reference to the pañcakrośī-kṣetra and the Mukti-maṇḍapa strongly signals Kāśī: the five-krośa sacred circuit culminating in Viśveśvara’s grace and liberation teachings.
Significance: Pañcakrośī-yātrā/darśana is a famed Kāśī pilgrimage; entering the Mukti-maṇḍapa symbolizes entry into the liberating discourse and Śiva’s special salvific presence in the kṣetra.
Shakti Form: Umā
Role: nurturing
Offering: dipa
FAQs
The verse highlights that approaching a Shiva-kṣetra with sincere longing (didṛkṣā) and offering direct reverence to Viśveśvara leads one toward the atmosphere of liberation symbolized by the Mukti-maṇḍapa—showing Shaiva Siddhānta’s emphasis on grace received through devotion and right orientation to Pati (Śiva).
By naming Śiva as Viśveśvara, ‘manifestly present’ (sākṣāt), the verse points to Saguna worship—meeting Śiva in an accessible, worshipable form within a holy domain, which in Shiva Purana narrative often centers on Liṅga-reverence and temple darśana as a doorway to mokṣa.
A clear takeaway is tīrtha-darśana with namaskāra: pilgrimage undertaken with devotional intent, followed by respectful prostration to Śiva (Viśveśvara). Practically, this aligns with entering sacred space after salutations and inward recollection of Śiva (e.g., silent japa of ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’).