Shloka 6
द्वादशज्योतिर्लिङ्गावतारकथनम्
Account of the Twelve Jyotirliṅga Manifestations
तत्राद्यस्सोमनाथो हि चन्द्रदुःखक्षयंकरः । क्षयकुष्ठादिरोगाणां नाशकः पूजनान्मुने
tatrādyassomanātho hi candraduḥkhakṣayaṃkaraḥ | kṣayakuṣṭhādirogāṇāṃ nāśakaḥ pūjanānmune
There, the first is indeed Somanātha, who brings the Moon’s sorrow to an end. O sage, by worshipping him, ailments such as consumption and leprosy are destroyed.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Jyotirlinga: Somanātha
Sthala Purana: Candra (Soma), afflicted by decline/sorrow (classically linked to Dakṣa’s curse), worshipped Śiva and regained well-being; thus the liṅga is famed as Somanātha, remover of the Moon’s affliction and bestower of health.
Significance: Darśana and pūjā are said to remove wasting diseases and chronic ailments; the deeper Siddhānta reading is pāśa-kṣaya: Śiva’s grace loosens karmic bonds manifesting as duḥkha/roga.
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse proclaims Somanātha as Śiva’s compassionate, saguna presence who alleviates the Moon’s affliction and, by extension, removes devotees’ suffering—showing that surrender and pūjā to Śiva transforms both inner and outer distress.
Somanātha is approached through linga-pūjā as a tangible, saguna form of Śiva; the text links devoted worship (pūjanāt) with the grace that dissolves afflictions, reflecting the Purāṇic model of receiving Śiva’s anugraha through ritual and bhakti.
It implies regular pūjā of Somanātha—offering water/milk, bilva leaves, and recitation of Śiva mantras such as the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—as a devotional discipline seeking Śiva’s healing and protection.