Shloka 14
Dāruvana-parīkṣā: Śaṅkara’s Test and the Linga’s Ritual-Theological Grounding
एतस्मिन्नेव समये ऋषिवर्याः समागमन् । विरुद्धं तं च ते दृष्ट्वा दुःखिताः क्रोधमूर्च्छिताः
etasminneva samaye ṛṣivaryāḥ samāgaman | viruddhaṃ taṃ ca te dṛṣṭvā duḥkhitāḥ krodhamūrcchitāḥ
At that very moment, the foremost sages arrived there. Seeing that conflict had arisen, they became sorrowful and were overcome by a surge of anger.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: The arrival of ṛṣis at a moment of conflict functions as a narrative prelude to Śiva’s veiling-play (māyā) that will culminate in a liṅga episode; no specific jyotirliṅga is named here.
FAQs
The verse shows how realized sages respond when dharma is threatened: they feel compassion (sorrow) and also righteous intensity (anger) to restrain adharma, indicating that spiritual life includes protecting harmony, not passive indifference.
In the Kotirudra narrative context, social and inner conflicts are ultimately resolved by turning toward Saguna Shiva—often through Jyotirlinga-centered devotion—so that turbulent emotions are redirected into dharmic action and bhakti.
A practical takeaway is to pacify anger through japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and to re-center the mind with Shaiva disciplines like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) remembrance and steady breath before acting.