Shloka 25
ब्राह्मणीमरणवर्णनम् (Account of the Brahmin Woman’s Death) — within Nandikeśvara-māhātmya
सूत उवाच । तच्छ्रुत्वोक्तं तया तत्र न्यूनं तु विद्यते बहु । तदेव क्रियते चेद्वै सुखेन मरणं भवेत्
sūta uvāca | tacchrutvoktaṃ tayā tatra nyūnaṃ tu vidyate bahu | tadeva kriyate cedvai sukhena maraṇaṃ bhavet
Sūta said: Having heard what she said there, it was understood that much still remained incomplete. If that very instruction is truly carried out, then even death becomes peaceful and easeful.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: General Koṭirudrasaṃhitā framing: instruction (upadeśa) connected with tīrtha/Śiva-sevā is said to remove fear at death; here the narrator stresses that even a partial teaching, if practiced, yields a ‘sukha-maraṇa’ (peaceful dying).
Significance: Practice of Śiva-related instruction is presented as a direct means to transform the dying process into serenity (mṛtyu-bhaya-nivṛtti).
FAQs
The verse emphasizes that sincere implementation of the given Shaiva instruction (upāsanā and dharma aligned to Shiva) transforms the experience of death—reducing fear and agitation—because the devotee’s mind becomes steadied in Pati (Shiva), the liberating Lord.
In the Kotirudra context—connected with Jyotirlinga glory—this points to practical worship (Saguna Shiva through Linga/arcana, pilgrimage, and vow) as an effective means to purify the pashu (bound soul) and loosen pāśa (bondage), making even life’s end calm.
The takeaway is to actually practice the prescribed Shaiva sādhana—regular Shiva-pūjā (often Linga worship), japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and disciplined observances—so the mind becomes composed and death is faced with inner ease.