Shloka 4
Nāgeśa-jyotirliṅga-prādurbhāvaḥ — The Manifestation of the Nāgeśa Jyotirliṅga
पश्चिमे सागरे तस्य वनं सर्वसमृद्धिमत् । योजनानां षोडशभिर्विस्तृतं सर्वतो दिशम्
paścime sāgare tasya vanaṃ sarvasamṛddhimat | yojanānāṃ ṣoḍaśabhirvistṛtaṃ sarvato diśam
On the western ocean there was a forest of that sacred region, endowed with every kind of prosperity; it extended sixteen yojanas in all directions.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Jyotirlinga: Nāgeśvara
Sthala Purana: The verse locates the prosperous Darukavana on the western ocean—geographic anchoring for the Nāgeśvara jyotirliṅga narrative where Śiva later reveals himself in/near this forest to end oppression and re-establish dharma.
Significance: Darukavana remembrance: pilgrimage as entry into the mythic landscape where Śiva’s grace manifests in a specific place (sthala) to protect devotees.
FAQs
It presents the sacred kshetra as outwardly abundant and well-ordered, implying that a Shiva-tirtha supports both worldly well-being and inward readiness for devotion—prosperity framed as an aid to dharma and Shiva-bhakti.
In the Kotirudrasaṃhitā, such geographical descriptions typically introduce a Jyotirlinga setting; the fertile, expansive forest functions as the sanctified environment where devotees approach Saguna Shiva in the form of the Linga for darshana and grace.
The verse itself is descriptive, but in Jyotirlinga contexts it supports tirtha-yatra with Linga-darshana, japa of the Panchakshara ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), and simple purity observances (bhasma/tripundra and rudraksha) while entering the sacred precinct.