Shloka 17
अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्य
The Greatness of Avimukta–Vārāṇasī and Viśveśvara
स्वेदजश्चांडजो वापि द्युद्भिज्जोऽथ जरायुजः । मृतो मोक्षमवाप्नोति यथात्र न तथा क्वचित्
svedajaścāṃḍajo vāpi dyudbhijjo'tha jarāyujaḥ | mṛto mokṣamavāpnoti yathātra na tathā kvacit
Whether born from sweat, from an egg, from sprouting through the earth, or from a womb—whoever dies here attains liberation. Such a bestowal of mokṣa is found here, and nowhere else.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: The kṣetra’s salvific power is universalized across all yonis (svedaja, aṇḍaja, udbhijja, jarāyuja). The point is not biological taxonomy but the collapse of all eligibility barriers under the kṣetra’s Śiva-anugraha.
Significance: Promises liberation even to non-human or lowly births if death occurs within the kṣetra—maximal inclusivity of grace.
Role: liberating
FAQs
It proclaims the extraordinary grace of a Jyotirlinga-kṣetra: regardless of one’s form of birth, dying in that Shiva-abode is said to culminate in moksha, emphasizing Shiva as Pati (the liberating Lord) who cuts the bonds (pāśa) of the soul (paśu).
In the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā, the Jyotirlinga is Saguna Shiva’s supreme, compassionate manifestation in a sacred place; the verse teaches that proximity to and surrender at the Linga-tīrtha carries a unique liberating potency through Shiva’s anugraha (saving grace).
Pilgrimage with devotion—Linga-darśana, japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and simple Shaiva observances like applying tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and wearing rudrākṣa—are fitting practices to align oneself with the kṣetra’s moksha-bestowing grace.