Shloka 49
गौतमस्य शिवदर्शनं पापक्षयवचनं च | Gautama’s Vision of Śiva and the Teaching on Sin and Purification
सूत उवाच । इत्येवं प्रार्थितस्तैस्तु गौतमेन महर्षिणा । स्थितोऽसौ शंकरः प्रीत्या स्थिता सा च सरिद्वरा
sūta uvāca | ityevaṃ prārthitastaistu gautamena maharṣiṇā | sthito'sau śaṃkaraḥ prītyā sthitā sā ca saridvarā
Sūta said: Thus entreated by them—by the great sage Gautama—Śaṅkara, pleased at heart, remained there; and that most excellent river also stayed there.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara
Sthala Purana: Gautama and the devotees entreat Śaṅkara to remain; Śiva stays out of pleasure/grace, and the ‘best of rivers’ also becomes established—grounding the permanence of the tīrtha and liṅga-kṣetra.
Significance: Darśana of the abiding Lord and bathing in the established river-tīrtha are presented as enduring sources of pāpa-kṣaya and merit.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights bhakti as an effective means: when a realized devotee like Gautama prays with sincerity, Shiva responds with prasāda—choosing to remain present and sanctify the place.
Śaṅkara “remaining there” implies Shiva’s gracious, accessible Saguna presence that devotees can approach through sacred sites and concrete forms of worship such as the Liṅga, pilgrimage, and temple devotion.
The takeaway is steadfast prayer and place-sanctifying worship—daily Liṅga-pūjā with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, Om Namaḥ Śivāya) performed with devotion and humility.