Shloka 6
चाण्डालीसद्गतिवर्णनम् (Cāṇḍālī-sadgati-varṇanam) — “Account of the Cāṇḍālī’s Attainment of a Good Destiny”
अथ तस्याः पतिर्विप्रस्तरुणस्सुरुजार्दितः । सौमिन्याः कालयोगात्तु पञ्चत्वमगमद्द्विजाः
atha tasyāḥ patirviprastaruṇassurujārditaḥ | sauminyāḥ kālayogāttu pañcatvamagamaddvijāḥ
Then, O twice-born sages, her husband—a young brāhmaṇa—stricken by grievous illness, by the ordained conjunction of Time (kāla), attained death, leaving Sauminī widowed.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who grants liberation; the Ujjayinī liṅga is famed for subduing death/time and bestowing fearlessness.
Significance: Worship is sought for relief from untimely death, disease, and fear of kāla; emphasizes Śiva as conqueror of mortality.
Type: mahamrityunjaya
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: kāla-yoga (destiny/time’s conjunction) causing death
FAQs
It highlights the sovereignty of Kāla (Time) over embodied life and points the seeker toward Shiva as Pati—the liberating Lord beyond decay—so that grief becomes a doorway to vairāgya (dispassion) and bhakti.
By stressing mortality and the collapse of worldly supports, the narrative implicitly directs one to take refuge in Saguna Shiva—worshipped as the Linga—who grants steadiness, purification of karma, and finally liberation beyond the five elements.
A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with remembrance of Kāla and impermanence, supported by simple Shiva upāsanā such as vibhūti (Tripuṇḍra) and Rudrākṣa where appropriate.