Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 44
तुलसी-शङ्खचूडोपाख्यानम् — Viṣṇu’s Disguise and the Tulasī Episode
Prelude to Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Fall
तवेयं तनुरुत्सृष्टा नदीरूपा भवेदिह । भारते पुण्यरूपा सा गण्डकीति च विश्रुता
taveyaṃ tanurutsṛṣṭā nadīrūpā bhavediha | bhārate puṇyarūpā sā gaṇḍakīti ca viśrutā
«Ce corps même qui est le tien, une fois relâché, deviendra ici un fleuve. En Bhārata (l’Inde), il sera de nature méritoire et sainte, et sera renommé sous le nom de Gaṇḍakī.»
Lord Śiva (narrative voice relayed by Sūta Gosvāmin in the Yuddhakhaṇḍa context)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Sthala Purana: Śiva declares that a released divine body becomes the Gaṇḍakī river in Bhārata, thereby sacralizing a geography through which beings gain puṇya; this functions as a tīrtha-origination motif rather than a Jyotirliṅga-māhātmya.
Significance: Snāna and tarpaṇa in a divinely-origin river are framed as puṇya-producing; the river becomes a medium of purification (mala-kṣaya) and dharma-supporting merit.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse sacralizes a geographical tīrtha by presenting it as a transformed divine form, teaching that Shiva’s grace can manifest as purifying, merit-bestowing presences in the world that support bhakti and inner purification.
By describing a divine form becoming a holy river, the verse reinforces Saguna Shiva’s compassionate accessibility—devotees may approach the Lord’s grace through tangible sacred supports (tīrthas, temples, and ultimately the Liṅga as a concentrated emblem of Shiva’s presence).
Tīrtha-snāna (reverent bathing) with Shiva-smaraṇa—mentally repeating the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and offering water (jala-arpana) in a spirit of devotion—aligns with the verse’s emphasis on holiness and purification.