Shloka 16

अवंतीस्थ-ब्राह्मणकथा तथा तृतीय-ज्योतिर्लिङ्गोपाख्यान-प्रस्तावना

Avanti Brahmin Narrative and Prelude to the Third Jyotirliṅga

Devanagari script

इति श्रीशिवमहापुराणे चतुर्थ्यां कोटिरुद्रसंहितायां महाकालज्योतिर्लिंगमाहात्म्यवर्णनं नाम षोडशोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīśivamahāpurāṇe caturthyāṃ koṭirudrasaṃhitāyāṃ mahākālajyotirliṃgamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma ṣoḍaśo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Śiva Mahāpurāṇa, in the Fourth (Koṭirudra) Saṃhitā, ends the sixteenth chapter entitled “The Description of the Glory of the Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga.”

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-निपात (quotative particle)

• श्रीशिवमहापुराणे: in the Śrī Śiva Mahāpurāṇa
• श्रीशिवमहापुराणे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location-context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री + शिव + महापुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समास (श्री-शिव-महा-पुराण)

• चतुर्थ्याम्: in the fourth (book)
• चतुर्थ्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location-context)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• कोटिरुद्रसंहितायाम्: in the Koṭirudra-saṃhitā
• कोटिरुद्रसंहितायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location-context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटिरुद्र + संहिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास

• महाकालज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्यवर्णनम्: the description of the greatness of the Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga
• महाकालज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्यवर्णनम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकाल + ज्योतिः + लिङ्ग + माहात्म्य + वर्णन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (topic-title)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Title marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नामार्थक-अव्यय (title-marker: 'called')

• षोडशः: sixteenth
• षोडशः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (sixteenth)

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Colophon marking the completion of the chapter specifically devoted to Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga’s māhātmya within the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā.

Significance: Textual authority for kṣetra-māhātmya: hearing/reciting the chapter is itself treated in Purāṇic culture as a merit-bearing act (śravaṇa-phala).

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Mahakala

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

This is the colophon concluding the chapter, formally sealing the teaching that the Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga’s glory is a recognized means of devotion (bhakti) and grace (anugraha) leading toward liberation in the Shaiva view.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

By naming the “Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga Māhātmya,” it emphasizes Saguna worship through the Jyotirliṅga—Shiva’s accessible, luminous manifestation—while implying that such devotion ultimately points to Shiva as the supreme Pati beyond limitation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

As a chapter-ending marker, it indirectly points to Jyotirliṅga-centered sādhana: pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā), liṅga abhiṣeka, and japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” especially in Mahākāla’s context.