Shloka 2
अवंतीस्थ-ब्राह्मणकथा तथा तृतीय-ज्योतिर्लिङ्गोपाख्यान-प्रस्तावना
Avanti Brahmin Narrative and Prelude to the Third Jyotirliṅga
तस्मात्त्वं हि विशेषेण कृपां कृत्वातुलां प्रभो । ज्योतिर्लिंगं तृतीयं च कथय त्वं हि नोऽधुना
tasmāttvaṃ hi viśeṣeṇa kṛpāṃ kṛtvātulāṃ prabho | jyotirliṃgaṃ tṛtīyaṃ ca kathaya tvaṃ hi no'dhunā
Therefore, O Lord, be especially gracious—showing your incomparable compassion—and now tell us of the third Jyotirliṅga.
The sages at Naimisharanya (requesting Suta Goswami to narrate)
Tattva Level: pashu
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: The sages explicitly request the ‘third Jyotirliṅga’; in the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā sequence this points to Avantī/Ujjayinī’s Mahākāla—Śiva as the timeless Lord who grants liberation in that kṣetra.
Significance: Hearing (and later visiting) Mahākāleśvara is linked with kṣetra-māhātmya: removal of pāpa, fearlessness before time/death, and orientation toward mokṣa through Śiva’s grace.
FAQs
The verse shows bhakti as the doorway to sacred knowledge: devotees humbly seek the Lord’s grace so the glory of the Jyotirlinga—Shiva’s accessible, luminous presence (Saguna for worship yet pointing to Nirguna)—may be revealed.
By requesting the narration of a specific Jyotirlinga, the text frames the Linga as a concrete focus for devotion and pilgrimage, through which Shiva’s compassion is experienced and spiritual understanding matures.
The implied practice is śravaṇa (devotional listening) and kīrtana (reverent recitation) of Jyotirlinga māhātmya, ideally supported by Linga-pūjā with mantra-japa (especially “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and a pilgrim’s attitude of humility and surrender.