Shloka 7
मित्रसह-राज्ञो रक्षत्व-शापकथा — The Curse that Turns King Mitrasaha into a Rakshasa
Vasiṣṭha’s Śāpa Narrative
अथ तस्मिन्वने राजा कियत्कालं विहृत्य सः । निवृत्तो मृगयां हित्वा स्वपुरीमाययौ मुदा
atha tasminvane rājā kiyatkālaṃ vihṛtya saḥ | nivṛtto mṛgayāṃ hitvā svapurīmāyayau mudā
Then, having sported for some time in that forest, the king desisted; abandoning the hunt, he returned with joy to his own city.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: The king’s joyful return after abandoning the hunt is a narrative ‘cooling’ that often precedes the surfacing of hidden consequences. In Siddhānta terms, cessation of one outward act does not end bondage if the inner causes (mala/karma) remain operative.
Significance: Implicit: turning away from हिंसा (hunting) is auspicious, but true mudā (joy) becomes stable only when oriented to Śiva (bhakti/jñāna) rather than circumstance.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights a turning-point mood: the king withdraws from a restless, outward pursuit (the hunt) and returns with gladness—an image of nivṛtti (turning inward) that prepares the mind for Shiva-oriented dharma and devotion.
Though the Linga is not named here, the Kotirudra Saṃhitā commonly frames Jyotirlinga glory through narrative transitions like this—moving from worldly activity to a state receptive to Saguna Shiva worship (darśana, pilgrimage, and reverence).
The practical takeaway is restraint and redirection: pause harmful or agitating actions and return to sāttvika conduct—then take up Shiva-smaraṇa, japa of the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), and simple temple or Linga worship with a steady mind.