Shloka 5
ज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्य-प्रस्तावना तथा सोमनाथ-प्रसङ्गः
Prologue to the Glory and Origin of the Jyotirliṅgas; Somnātha Episode Begins
सप्तविंशन्मिताः कन्या दक्षेण च महात्मना । तेन चन्द्रमसे दत्ता अश्विन्याद्या मुनीश्वराः
saptaviṃśanmitāḥ kanyā dakṣeṇa ca mahātmanā | tena candramase dattā aśvinyādyā munīśvarāḥ
O best of sages, the great-souled Dakṣa had twenty-seven daughters. He gave them in marriage to the Moon-god Candra, beginning with Aśvinī.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Jyotirlinga: Somanātha
Sthala Purana: Begins the backstory leading to Soma’s later affliction: Dakṣa’s 27 daughters (nakṣatra-devīs) are married to Candra; the imbalance in affection will precipitate curse and the need for Śiva’s grace at Somanātha.
Significance: Frames human/divine relational imbalance as a cause of bondage (pāśa) and suffering, resolved ultimately by Śiva’s anugraha at the kṣetra.
FAQs
It frames cosmic order (ṛta) through dharmic relationships: Dakṣa’s lineage and Candra’s marriage to the 27 nakṣatras symbolize regulated time and destiny, within which the soul (paśu) must pursue Shiva’s grace (Pati) for liberation.
Though not naming the Liṅga directly, it sets the mythic background for later Shaiva narratives where worldly order and ritual merit are shown to be incomplete without devotion to Saguna Shiva and surrender to the Liṅga as the stabilizing center beyond time.
A practical takeaway is time-disciplined worship: perform daily Shiva-japa (e.g., the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and regular Liṅga-abhiṣeka aligned with lunar observances (especially Mondays), remembering that time itself is sanctified when offered to Shiva.