Shloka 24
गौतमस्य शिवदर्शनं पापक्षयवचनं च | Gautama’s Vision of Śiva and the Teaching on Sin and Purification
गौतम उवाच । धन्यासि कृतकृत्यासि पावितं भुवनं त्वया । मां च पावय गंगे त्वं पततं निरये ध्रुवम्
gautama uvāca | dhanyāsi kṛtakṛtyāsi pāvitaṃ bhuvanaṃ tvayā | māṃ ca pāvaya gaṃge tvaṃ patataṃ niraye dhruvam
Gautama said: “Blessed are you; your sacred task is fulfilled. By you the worlds have been purified. O Gaṅgā, purify me also—for I am surely falling into Naraka (hell).”
Sage Gautama
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Gautama petitions Gaṅgā for purification, confessing imminent fall into naraka; the verse functions as tīrtha-prārthanā emphasizing Gaṅgā’s salvific power.
Significance: Encodes the doctrine of pāvana: sincere confession and appeal to a purifier (Gaṅgā) is portrayed as a means to avert naraka and restore dharmic purity.
Mantra: धन्यासि कृतकृत्यासि पावितं भुवनं त्वया । मां च पावय गंगे त्वं पततं निरये ध्रुवम्
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Tārā
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse highlights śuddhi (purification) through humility and surrender: even a great sage confesses moral downfall and seeks sanctification, showing that liberation in Shaiva thought depends on grace that removes pāpa and pāśa (bondage), not on pride in one’s status.
In the Kotirudrasaṃhitā context of tīrthas and Jyotirliṅga devotion, Gaṅgā is revered as Shiva’s sacred power and purifier; approaching her with repentance parallels approaching the Jyotirliṅga—seeking the Lord’s saguna mercy to cleanse impurities and turn the mind toward Pati (Shiva).
A practical takeaway is tīrtha-snāna (sacred bathing) with prayerful repentance, coupled with Shiva-bhakti such as pañcākṣarī japa (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and a resolve to abandon pāpa—treating outer cleansing as support for inner purification.