Shloka 54
गौतमस्य शिवदर्शनं पापक्षयवचनं च | Gautama’s Vision of Śiva and the Teaching on Sin and Purification
ज्योतिर्लिंगमिदं प्रोक्तं त्र्यंबकं नाम विश्रुतम् । स्थितं तटे हि गौतम्या महापातकनाशनम्
jyotirliṃgamidaṃ proktaṃ tryaṃbakaṃ nāma viśrutam | sthitaṃ taṭe hi gautamyā mahāpātakanāśanam
This Jyotirliṅga is declared to be renowned by the name Tryambaka. It stands upon the bank of the river Gautamī, and it is the destroyer of the gravest sins.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Tryambakeśvara
Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara
Sthala Purana: Proclaimed as the Jyotirliṅga ‘Tryambaka’, established on the bank of the Gautamī; its very presence is said to destroy mahāpātakas through darśana and worship.
Significance: Mahāpātaka-nāśana: pilgrimage and darśana are framed as powerful pāpa-kṣaya leading toward eligibility for higher sādhana and liberation.
Mantra: (Associated by name) tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt ||
Type: mahamrityunjaya
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse identifies Tryambaka as a Jyotirliṅga—Śiva’s self-manifest, luminous presence—affirming that sincere approach to this sacred form and place purifies even mahāpātakas, pointing the devotee toward Śiva’s grace and liberation.
By naming the Jyotirliṅga “Tryambaka,” the Purana presents Śiva in a worshipable, saguna focus (the Liṅga) through which the devotee can access the transcendent reality of Śiva; the Liṅga serves as the sanctioned, purifying locus of devotion and surrender.
Undertake tīrtha-sevā at the Gautamī’s bank with Liṅga-abhisheka (water, bilva leaves), japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” and contemplation of Śiva as Tryambaka (the Three-eyed Lord) while praying for inner purification.