Shloka 4
Gautama–Ahalyā-Upākhyāna: Durbhikṣa, Tapas, and Varuṇa’s Boon (गौतमाहल्योपाख्यानम्)
कदाचिच्च ह्यनावृष्टिरभवत्तत्र सुव्रताः । वर्षाणां च शतं रौद्री लोका दुःखमुपागताः
kadācicca hyanāvṛṣṭirabhavattatra suvratāḥ | varṣāṇāṃ ca śataṃ raudrī lokā duḥkhamupāgatāḥ
At one time, O you of noble vows, there arose there a terrible drought; and for a full hundred years the worlds fell into suffering.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Rudra
Sthala Purana: A fierce hundred-year drought (anāvṛṣṭi) functions as a narrative form of tirodhāna—cosmic concealment/withholding—driving beings toward supplication and eventual grace.
Significance: Teaches that collective suffering can become a catalyst for turning to dharma and Śiva; motivates communal rites for rain and welfare.
Cosmic Event: Prolonged anāvṛṣṭi (multi-year drought) affecting the worlds
FAQs
The verse frames collective suffering (a prolonged drought) as a condition that turns beings toward Pati—Lord Shiva—seeking refuge beyond changing nature; it prepares the ground for Shiva-centered means of restoration and grace.
In the Kotirudra context, worldly crises often lead devotees to approach Saguna Shiva through the Linga—especially at Jyotirlinga kshetras—where Shiva’s accessible form becomes the focus for prayer, vow, and seeking divine intervention.
A practical Shaiva takeaway is to intensify Shiva-smaraṇa with the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), along with Linga-abhisheka and simple vrata (fasting/discipline), as acts of surrender during distress.