Shloka 25
ज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्य-प्रस्तावना तथा सोमनाथ-प्रसङ्गः
Prologue to the Glory and Origin of the Jyotirliṅgas; Somnātha Episode Begins
सर्वं दुष्टेन चन्द्रेण कृतं कर्माप्यनेकशः । श्रूयतामृषयो देवाश्चन्द्रकृत्यं पुरातनम्
sarvaṃ duṣṭena candreṇa kṛtaṃ karmāpyanekaśaḥ | śrūyatāmṛṣayo devāścandrakṛtyaṃ purātanam
All this—many deeds and misdeeds—was done again and again by the wicked Moon, Candra. O sages and gods, hear now the ancient account of what was done by Candra.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga; this is the narrative pivot where Brahmā (or the narrator) announces an ‘ancient account’ of Candra’s deeds—typical purāṇic etiological setup for a remedy that will ultimately involve Śiva’s governance.
Significance: Hearing (śravaṇa) of purāṇic accounts is itself framed as spiritually efficacious; it instructs on the operation of pāśa (karma) and the need for divine recourse.
Cosmic Event: Didactic recounting of prior actions (karma) as causal substrate for present suffering—purāṇic karmic historiography.
FAQs
It frames karma as inevitably consequential: even a celestial being like Candra becomes “duṣṭa” through repeated wrongdoing, and the Purana invites attentive listening so the devotee learns discernment, repentance, and the need for Shiva’s purifying grace.
By introducing an “ancient account” of fault and its resolution, the text implicitly points to Saguna Shiva’s role as the accessible Lord who purifies karma; in Kotirudrasaṁhitā this narrative stream commonly supports Jyotirliṅga-centered devotion as a means of restoration and upliftment.
The direct takeaway is śravaṇa (devotional listening) with humility; practically, one may pair it with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and Liṅga-abhiṣeka as acts of purification and restraint from repeated faults.