Shloka 43
अत्रीश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Atrīśvara-māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Atrīśvara”
गंगोवाच । शंकरार्चनसंभूतफलं वर्षस्य यच्छसि । स्वामिनश्च तदा स्थास्ये देवानामुपकारणात
gaṃgovāca | śaṃkarārcanasaṃbhūtaphalaṃ varṣasya yacchasi | svāminaśca tadā sthāsye devānāmupakāraṇāta
Gaṅgā said: “O Lord, since you bestow the fruit produced by the worship of Śaṅkara for the whole year, I too shall remain there at that time, for the benefit of the gods.”
Ganga (Goddess Gaṅgā)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Gaṅgā links her abiding at the tīrtha to the annual fruit of Śaṅkara-arcana: the river’s presence becomes a standing conduit for the merit and grace generated by Śiva-worship, benefiting devas and devotees.
Significance: Frames Gaṅgā as a grace-bearing medium that amplifies or distributes the ‘year-long’ fruit of Śiva-arcana; bathing/approaching the ford during the indicated time is implied to yield heightened merit and divine support.
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse highlights that Śiva-arcana (worship of Śaṅkara) can yield year-long spiritual merit, and that sacred presences like Gaṅgā align themselves with such worship to support divine order—pointing to grace (anugraha) responding to devotion.
Śaṅkara’s worship here implies Saguna upāsanā—devotional pūjā directed to the manifest Lord (often through the Liṅga). The promised “fruit of a year” underscores the Purāṇic teaching that Liṅga-arcana at holy sites multiplies merit and draws supportive tīrtha-śakti (like Gaṅgā).
Perform Śiva-pūjā/abhiṣeka with tīrtha-jala (sacred water such as Gaṅgā), accompanied by mantra-japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with the intention of loka-kalyāṇa (benefit of all beings).