Shloka 14
अत्रीश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Atrīśvara-māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Atrīśvara”
उवाच वचनं चैतल्लोकानां सुखहेतवे । अनसूया मुनेः पत्नी दिव्यरूपां सरिद्वराम्
uvāca vacanaṃ caitallokānāṃ sukhahetave | anasūyā muneḥ patnī divyarūpāṃ saridvarām
For the happiness and welfare of all beings, Anasūyā—the sage’s wife—spoke these words, addressing that best of rivers, radiant in a divine form.
Suta Goswami (narrating the episode and reporting Anasūyā’s speech)
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Anasūyā’s forthcoming speech is framed as ‘lokānāṃ sukhahetave’—a didactic tīrtha/river sanctification context, not a Jyotirliṅga legend.
Significance: Positions the river as ‘saridvarā’ (best of rivers) whose presence benefits the worlds—supporting snāna, śrāddha, and Śaiva rites.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It presents compassionate speech (hita-vākya) offered for the welfare of the worlds, highlighting that sacred guidance—often connected with tīrthas in the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā—supports dharma and inner purification that leads toward Shiva-oriented liberation.
Koṭirudrasaṃhitā commonly frames rivers and tīrthas as supportive contexts for Jyotirliṅga worship; praising or addressing a ‘best of rivers’ points to pilgrimage culture where devotees approach Saguna Shiva in liṅga form with greater purity and receptivity.
A practical takeaway is tīrtha-sevā: bathing with reverence, offering water (jala/abhisheka) to Shiva, and repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with a welfare-intention (lokahita-bhāva).