Shloka 34
Ghuśmeśa-jyotirliṅga-māhātmya
The Greatness of the Ghuśmeśa Jyotirlinga
सुदेहोवाच । मयि पुत्रो न चास्त्वन्या पत्नीं कुरु मदाज्ञया । तस्यां नूनं सुतश्चैव भविष्यति न संशयः
sudehovāca | mayi putro na cāstvanyā patnīṃ kuru madājñayā | tasyāṃ nūnaṃ sutaścaiva bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ
Sudehā said: “Since no son has been born from me, marry another wife by my command. From her, surely a son will be born—of this there is no doubt.”
Sudeha
Tattva Level: pashu
Jyotirlinga: Ghṛṣṇeśvara
Sthala Purana: The Ghṛṣṇeśvara narrative uses the household decision of taking another wife as a dharma-claim that can still be driven by bondage (pāśa)—kāma, fear, and social pressure—thereby setting the stage for Śiva’s later anugraha that reorders values toward devotion.
Significance: The māhātmya teaches that even ‘reasonable’ dharmic counsel can be colored by mala; pilgrimage and worship at the Jyotirliṅga are presented as purifying intention and granting right discernment.
FAQs
It highlights grihastha-dharma: accepting difficult life realities and choosing a lawful, duty-centered course for sustaining lineage—an outer discipline that supports inner steadiness, which Shaiva tradition sees as conducive to worship and dharma.
Though not directly about Linga worship, it frames the narrative world in which devotees uphold dharma while seeking Shiva’s grace; in the Shiva Purana, righteous household conduct commonly accompanies pilgrimage, vrata, and Jyotirlinga devotion to Saguna Shiva.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; the practical takeaway is dharmic decision-making and prayerful reliance on Shiva’s anugraha—often expressed in the text through japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and vrata observances when seeking auspicious outcomes.