Shloka 18
महाकालज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्ये चन्द्रसेन-चिन्तामणि-प्रसङ्गः
Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga Māhātmya: The Episode of King Candrasena and the Cintāmaṇi
तदैव समये गोपि काचित्तत्र पुरोत्तमे । चरंती सशिशुर्विप्रा महाकालांतिकं ययौ
tadaiva samaye gopi kācittatra purottame | caraṃtī saśiśurviprā mahākālāṃtikaṃ yayau
Just at that very time, in that excellent city, a certain cowherd woman—who was also a brāhmaṇa woman—was walking along with her infant child, and she went near Mahākāla.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
FAQs
The verse sets the devotional scene: an ordinary devotee (a gopī) with her child is drawn to Mahākāla, implying that proximity to the Jyotirliṅga—Pati, the Lord—becomes a doorway to grace that uplifts bound souls (paśu) beyond worldly conditions.
Mahākāla here is approached as Saguna Śiva—Śiva present and accessible through the Jyotirliṅga. The narrative emphasizes going near the Liṅga (antikaṃ yayau) as an act of bhakti and śaraṇāgati, the concrete form through which the formless Lord bestows protection and liberation.
A practical takeaway is Jyotirliṅga-darśana and pradakṣiṇā (reverent approach and circumambulation) with remembrance of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as one goes near Mahākāla, cultivating devotion and inner steadiness.