Shloka 138
बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्
Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause
शिवप्रदक्षिणात्सर्वं पातकं नश्यति क्षणात् । दुःखस्य मूलं व्याधिर्हि व्याधेर्मूलं हि पातकम्
śivapradakṣiṇātsarvaṃ pātakaṃ naśyati kṣaṇāt | duḥkhasya mūlaṃ vyādhirhi vyādhermūlaṃ hi pātakam
By circumambulating Śiva, every sin is destroyed in an instant. For disease is the root of suffering, and sin is indeed the root of disease.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Vaidyanātha
Jyotirlinga: Vaidyanātha
Sthala Purana: The verse links pāpa → vyādhi → duḥkha and presents Śiva-pradakṣiṇā as immediate pāpa-kṣaya; this resonates with the Vaidyanātha (Lord as Divine Physician) motif—Śiva as healer of karmic disease through grace.
Significance: Frames pradakṣiṇā as instant purification and as a remedy for the karmic root of illness and suffering; encourages devotional ‘therapy’ through Śiva-centered practice.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva-bhakti expressed through pradakṣiṇā quickly purifies pātaka (karmic impurity), cutting the causal chain that manifests as suffering; devotion to Pati (Śiva) loosens pāśa (bondage) for the paśu (bound soul).
Pradakṣiṇā is a core act of saguna worship around the Śiva-liṅga, honoring Śiva as the indwelling Lord of all directions; the verse frames this simple outer rite as an inner purification that removes karmic causes behind distress.
Perform Śiva pradakṣiṇā (clockwise circumambulation) with reverence—ideally while repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as a purificatory practice aimed at reducing pātaka and its resulting afflictions.