Shloka 23
अवधूतेश्वरलीला (Avadhūteśvara-līlā) — Śiva Tests Indra’s Pride on the Way to Kailāsa
मायया मोहितास्सर्वे ब्रह्मविष्ण्वादयोपि ते । त्वां न जानन्ति तत्त्वेन जानन्ति त्वदनुग्रहात्
māyayā mohitāssarve brahmaviṣṇvādayopi te | tvāṃ na jānanti tattvena jānanti tvadanugrahāt
All of them—even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the others—are deluded by Your Māyā. They do not know You in Your true reality; they come to know You only by Your grace.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Significance: Establishes the Siddhānta axiom: even exalted deities are limited by māyā; true recognition of Śiva arises only through anugraha—hence pilgrimage, pūjā, and vrata are efficacious insofar as they invite grace.
FAQs
The verse teaches that even the highest cosmic deities cannot grasp Shiva’s ultimate reality (tattva) by their own power, because Māyā veils true knowledge; realization arises through Shiva’s anugraha (grace), aligning with Shaiva emphasis on grace-led liberation.
Since tattva-knowledge depends on grace, Saguna worship—such as Linga-pūjā—becomes a practical doorway: devotion, humility, and surrender invite Shiva’s anugraha, through which the worshipper is led from form (Saguna) toward the formless truth (Nirguna) of Shiva.
Cultivate grace-oriented devotion: daily japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with a surrendering attitude, accompanied by simple Linga-abhisheka or Tripuṇḍra/Bhasma remembrance, praying specifically for Shiva’s anugraha to dispel Māyā.