Shloka 17
चाण्डालीसद्गतिवर्णनम् (Cāṇḍālī-sadgati-varṇanam) — “Account of the Cāṇḍālī’s Attainment of a Good Destiny”
एवं बहुतिथे काले गते सा सौमिनी द्विजाः । कालस्य वशमापन्ना जगाम यमसंक्षयम्
evaṃ bahutithe kāle gate sā sauminī dvijāḥ | kālasya vaśamāpannā jagāma yamasaṃkṣayam
Thus, when a long time had passed, that gentle brahmin lady, O twice-born ones, having fallen under the dominion of Time, went to Yama’s abode—the appointed end for embodied life.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Kāla (Time) is portrayed as irresistible; the verse’s movement into Yama’s domain resonates with Ujjayinī’s Mahākāla motif where Śiva is Kāla’s Lord and grants transcendence over death to devotees.
Significance: Contemplation of mortality and surrender to Śiva as Mahākāla; motivates śaraṇāgati and prāyaścitta-oriented devotion.
Type: mahamrityunjaya
FAQs
It underscores that all embodied beings are bound by Kāla (Time) and karma, and that death (Yama’s domain) is inevitable unless one turns to Shiva—the Lord beyond Kāla—as the liberating refuge.
By highlighting Time’s dominion over the body, the verse implicitly points devotees toward Saguna Shiva worship—especially Linga devotion at Jyotirlingas—as a means to seek Shiva’s grace that leads beyond fear, bondage, and the cycle governed by Yama.
Remembering Shiva in the face of mortality is central—regular japa of the Panchakshara ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") with bhakti and contemplation on Shiva as Kāla-antaka (the ender of Time’s terror) is the practical takeaway.