Shloka 30
तुलसी-शङ्खचूडोपाख्यानम् — Viṣṇu’s Disguise and the Tulasī Episode
Prelude to Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Fall
तुलस्युवाच । को वा त्वं वद मामाशु भुक्ताहं मायया त्वया । दूरीकृतं यत्सतीत्वमथ त्वां वै शपाम्यहम्
tulasyuvāca | ko vā tvaṃ vada māmāśu bhuktāhaṃ māyayā tvayā | dūrīkṛtaṃ yatsatītvamatha tvāṃ vai śapāmyaham
Tulasī said: “Who indeed are you? Tell me at once. By your māyā I have been deceived and violated. Since my chastity has been driven away, therefore I surely curse you.”
Tulasī
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; it belongs to the Tulasī–Viṣṇu deception/curse episode, functioning as a moral-aetiological frame for later sacralization motifs (stone/śilā, plant sanctity).
Significance: Highlights dharma-breach and the karmic/daiva consequence motif; used in kathā contexts to stress restraint, truthfulness, and the gravity of māyā-driven transgression.
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: destructive
FAQs
It highlights how māyā can veil discernment and lead to adharma, and how the moral shock of violated dharma gives rise to powerful karmic speech (śāpa), stressing accountability and the need for inner clarity under Pati (Śiva).
The verse contrasts human vulnerability to māyā with the Shaiva aim of taking refuge in Saguna Śiva (often through Liṅga-worship) so that consciousness becomes steady, protected, and guided toward dharma rather than deception.
A practical takeaway is to cultivate viveka through daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and steady dharma, which Shaiva tradition treats as protection against māyā’s confusion.