Shloka 5
Niṣādasya Bhillasya Itihāsaḥ — Śivarātri-vrata-prabhāvaḥ
The Hunter’s Account and the Efficacy of the Śivarātri Observance
निरन्तरं वने गत्वा मृगान्हन्ति स्म नित्यशः । चौर्य्यं च विविधं तत्र करोति स्म वने वसन्
nirantaraṃ vane gatvā mṛgānhanti sma nityaśaḥ | cauryyaṃ ca vividhaṃ tatra karoti sma vane vasan
He would go ceaselessly into the forest and, day after day, kill deer; and dwelling there in the woods, he would also commit theft of many kinds.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse intensifies the depiction of pāśa as karma-bandha through habitual हिंसा (violence) and steya (theft).
Significance: Instructional: shows how repeated acts (abhyāsa) thicken karmic bonds—setting up the later contrast of Śiva’s grace.
FAQs
It establishes the character’s ongoing pāpa-karma (violence and stealing), setting the karmic backdrop against which Shiva’s grace and the possibility of purification through right turning (śaraṇāgati and devotion) can later be shown.
By highlighting habitual wrongdoing, the text prepares the contrast central to many Jyotirliṅga narratives: even those burdened by grave actions can be redirected when they approach Saguna Shiva (Liṅga) with repentance, service, and sincere worship.
This verse itself prescribes no ritual, but its implied takeaway is to abandon हिंसा (violence) and चोरी (theft), adopt self-restraint, and turn to Shiva-upāsanā such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) as part of a purificatory path.