Shloka 23
मित्रसह-राज्ञो रक्षत्व-शापकथा — The Curse that Turns King Mitrasaha into a Rakshasa
Vasiṣṭha’s Śāpa Narrative
भर्तारमनुगच्छन्ती संविशंती हुताशनम् । राजानं राक्षसाकारं सा शशाप द्विजाङ्गना
bhartāramanugacchantī saṃviśaṃtī hutāśanam | rājānaṃ rākṣasākāraṃ sā śaśāpa dvijāṅganā
Following her husband and entering the sacrificial fire, the brahmin lady cursed the king—who had taken on a demonic disposition and appearance.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Kotirudra Saṃhitā account to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: destructive
FAQs
It highlights that adharma transforms one’s inner nature into a rākṣasa-like disposition, and that grave wrongdoing invites immediate karmic consequences—here expressed through a curse uttered at a moment of intense tapas and truth-force.
Kotirudrasaṃhitā repeatedly frames worldly events as governed by Śiva’s moral order (ṛta/dharma). The verse supports Saguna Śiva as the upholder of justice: when dharma collapses, suffering follows, and turning toward Śiva (often through Jyotirliṅga pilgrimage and devotion) becomes the remedial path in the broader narrative.
The takeaway is restraint and purification: maintain dharma, and when seeking inner correction, adopt Śaiva sādhana such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa, cultivating non-violence and truthfulness so one does not fall into rākṣasa-bhāva.