Shloka 35
अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्य
The Greatness of Avimukta–Vārāṇasī and Viśveśvara
अपापश्च मृतो यो वै सद्यो मोक्षं समश्नुते । सपापश्च मृतौ यस्स्यात्कायव्यूहान्समश्नुते
apāpaśca mṛto yo vai sadyo mokṣaṃ samaśnute | sapāpaśca mṛtau yassyātkāyavyūhānsamaśnute
Indeed, one who dies free from sin attains liberation immediately. But one who dies burdened with sin undergoes further embodied formations, taking on successive bodily states according to the web of karma.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva Purana teachings to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Avimukta (Kāśī) is Śiva’s ‘never-abandoned’ kṣetra where His anugraha ensures final release; the teaching contrasts immediate mokṣa for the purified with continued embodiment for the sin-burdened.
Significance: Dying in Kāśī with Śiva’s grace is held to conduce to liberation; ethical purification (pāpa-kṣaya) is emphasized as the proximate condition for sadyo-mukti.
FAQs
The verse contrasts two death-outcomes: a purified (apāpa) being gains immediate moksha, while an impure (sapāpa) being continues through further embodied states. In Shaiva thought, liberation is not accidental—it reflects inner purification and Shiva-oriented merit that dissolves karmic bondage.
Kotirudra Saṃhitā emphasizes Jyotirlinga pilgrimage and devotion to Saguna Shiva as a powerful means of purification. By Linga-worship, vows, and remembrance of Shiva, sin is attenuated, making the soul fit for grace and release rather than further embodiment.
The implied practice is karmic purification through Shiva-upāsanā—regular Linga worship, japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and observances like Mahāśivarātri-vrata—so that one meets death with reduced pāpa and increased Shiva-bhakti.