Shloka 9
Anasūyā–Atri Tapas-Varṇana
Description of Anasūyā and Atri’s Austerities
पूर्वं कदाचित्तत्रैव ह्यनावृष्टिरभून्मुने । दुःखदा प्राणिनां दैवाद्विकटा शतवार्षिकी
pūrvaṃ kadācittatraiva hyanāvṛṣṭirabhūnmune | duḥkhadā prāṇināṃ daivādvikaṭā śatavārṣikī
Formerly, O sage, in that very place there arose a drought—by the force of destiny—terribly severe, bringing suffering to living beings, and it lasted for a hundred years.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: The hundred-year drought is a narrative ‘concealment’ phase: prosperity is withdrawn, pressing beings toward dependence on divine grace and the merit of tapas performed in the kṣetra.
Significance: Teaches kṣānti and śaraṇāgati: calamity as a spur to dharma and seeking Śiva; pilgrims recall that endurance and devotion in adversity invite anugraha.
Cosmic Event: Prolonged anāvṛṣṭi (drought) lasting a hundred years; a localized calamity framed as daiva (cosmic ordinance).
FAQs
It frames collective suffering (a century-long drought) as arising under daiva (divine ordinance shaped by karma), preparing the listener to seek Shiva as Pati—the compassionate Lord who grants protection and restoration when beings are afflicted.
In Kotirudrasaṃhitā narratives, worldly crises often become the setting in which devotees turn to Saguna Shiva through the Linga—approaching the Jyotirlinga/pilgrimage site for grace, rain, and welfare, while remembering Shiva’s higher Nirguna reality.
The implied response to distress is Shiva-upāsanā: steady japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and Linga worship with devotion; such remembrance is traditionally paired with simple vrata and prayer for loka-kalyāṇa (the welfare of all beings).