Shloka 22
नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions
तेषामुरसि कण्ठे च जिह्वायां दंतसन्धिषु । तालुन्योष्ठे नासिकायां मूर्ध्नि सर्वाङ्गसन्धिषु
teṣāmurasi kaṇṭhe ca jihvāyāṃ daṃtasandhiṣu | tālunyoṣṭhe nāsikāyāṃ mūrdhni sarvāṅgasandhiṣu
In their chest and throat, on the tongue and at the junctions of the teeth; on the palate and lips, in the nose, on the crown of the head, and at all the joints of the body.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga setting; this verse enumerates bodily loci (chest, throat, tongue, teeth-joints, palate, lips, nose, crown, joints) as targets in the described punishment—symbolically mapping sin of speech (nindā) and sensory misuse onto the very instruments of action (karaṇa).
Significance: Ethical-ritual takeaway: guard speech and senses in sacred spaces; bodily faculties are to be consecrated for mantra and stuti, not for slander or appropriation.
FAQs
It points to an inward, yogic recognition of Shiva’s sacred presence throughout the body—speech-organs, breath-path, and bodily junctions—supporting Shaiva practice where devotion (bhakti) is joined with disciplined awareness to loosen pasha (bondage) and turn the pashu toward Pati.
While the Linga is worshiped outwardly as Saguna Shiva, this verse complements it by directing the devotee to internalize worship—treating the body as a field for remembrance and consecration—so external Linga-puja and inner dhyana become one continuous act of Shiva-bhakti.
It supports nyasa-like contemplation—placing mantra-awareness in the chest, throat, tongue, palate, lips, nose, crown, and joints—often aligned with japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and breath-centered meditation, optionally preceded by Tripundra (bhasma) and rudraksha observances.