Shloka 18
ज्ञानाज्ञानकृतं पापं नाशयत्येव ते स्मृतिः । तादृशे त्वयि दृष्टे मे मिथ्यादोषः कुतो भवेत्
jñānājñānakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ nāśayatyeva te smṛtiḥ | tādṛśe tvayi dṛṣṭe me mithyādoṣaḥ kuto bhavet
Whether sins are committed knowingly or unknowingly, the very remembrance of You destroys them. And when I have beheld You in such a form, how could any fault of falsehood or delusion remain in me?
A devotee/narrative voice within Vidyeśvarasaṃhitā addressing Lord Śiva (inferred from direct second-person address and devotional tone)
Tattva Level: pati
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: In the Kāśī/Viśveśvara milieu, mere smṛti/darśana of Śiva is proclaimed as a purifier that burns pāpa and dispels moha; the verse echoes the Kāśī doctrine that remembrance of Viśveśvara grants rapid purification and fitness for jñāna.
Significance: Smaraṇa and darśana are framed as immediate pāpa-kṣaya and moha-nivṛtti, preparing the paśu for Śiva’s anugraha (liberating grace).
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva-smṛti (remembrance of Lord Śiva) is intrinsically purifying—destroying pāpa done knowingly or unknowingly—and that true darśana stabilizes the mind in truth, removing delusion (mithyā-doṣa).
In the Vidyeśvarasaṃhitā, devotion is anchored in accessible Saguna worship—especially Śiva’s presence as the Liṅga and in darśana. The verse reflects the doctrine that contact through remembrance and vision of Śiva’s manifest form purifies and corrects inner error.
Practice Śiva-smaraṇa and japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as daily remembrance; combine it with steady darśana of the Liṅga to cultivate inner clarity and the cessation of delusion.