Shloka 23
मित्रसह-राज्ञो रक्षत्व-शापकथा — The Curse that Turns King Mitrasaha into a Rakshasa
Vasiṣṭha’s Śāpa Narrative
भर्तारमनुगच्छन्ती संविशंती हुताशनम् । राजानं राक्षसाकारं सा शशाप द्विजाङ्गना
bhartāramanugacchantī saṃviśaṃtī hutāśanam | rājānaṃ rākṣasākāraṃ sā śaśāpa dvijāṅganā
Suivant son époux et entrant dans le feu sacrificiel, la femme brāhmane maudit le roi, qui avait pris une disposition et une apparence démoniaques.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Kotirudra Saṃhitā account to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: destructive
FAQs
It highlights that adharma transforms one’s inner nature into a rākṣasa-like disposition, and that grave wrongdoing invites immediate karmic consequences—here expressed through a curse uttered at a moment of intense tapas and truth-force.
Kotirudrasaṃhitā repeatedly frames worldly events as governed by Śiva’s moral order (ṛta/dharma). The verse supports Saguna Śiva as the upholder of justice: when dharma collapses, suffering follows, and turning toward Śiva (often through Jyotirliṅga pilgrimage and devotion) becomes the remedial path in the broader narrative.
The takeaway is restraint and purification: maintain dharma, and when seeking inner correction, adopt Śaiva sādhana such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa, cultivating non-violence and truthfulness so one does not fall into rākṣasa-bhāva.