Shloka 12
नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions
स्पर्शदोषेण ये मूढास्स्पृशंति च परस्त्रियम् । तेषां करोऽग्निवर्णाभिः पांशुभिः पूर्य्यते भृशम्
sparśadoṣeṇa ye mūḍhāsspṛśaṃti ca parastriyam | teṣāṃ karo'gnivarṇābhiḥ pāṃśubhiḥ pūryyate bhṛśam
Those deluded men who, through the fault of improper touch, lay hands upon another’s wife—their hand becomes thoroughly filled, as it were, with ash-like dust the color of fire, as a mark of the burning consequence of that transgression.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
FAQs
It warns that adharma—especially violating marital boundaries—creates a burning karmic imprint (pāśa/bondage). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, such impurity strengthens pasha and obstructs the soul’s clarity needed for Shiva-realization.
Linga-worship emphasizes purity of body, speech, and mind; this verse highlights restraint as a prerequisite for approaching Saguna Shiva with integrity. Ethical discipline supports genuine devotion and makes ritual worship spiritually effective rather than merely external.
Practice self-restraint (brahmacharya in conduct), daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and purification disciplines such as Tripuṇḍra-bhasma with remembrance of Shiva—using worship to burn impurities rather than feed them.