Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 48
Niṣādasya Bhillasya Itihāsaḥ — Śivarātri-vrata-prabhāvaḥ
The Hunter’s Account and the Efficacy of the Śivarātri Observance
सूत उवाच । इत्युक्तश्च तया व्याधो गच्छेत्याह मृगीं च सः । सा मृगी च जलं पीत्वा हृष्टाऽगच्छत्स्वमाश्रमम्
sūta uvāca | ityuktaśca tayā vyādho gacchetyāha mṛgīṃ ca saḥ | sā mṛgī ca jalaṃ pītvā hṛṣṭā'gacchatsvamāśramam
सूत बोले—उसके ऐसा कहने पर व्याध ने मृगी से कहा, “जाओ।” मृगी जल पीकर हर्षित हुई और अपने आश्रम को चली गई।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: A classic tīrtha-motif: the animal drinks sacred water and returns ‘hṛṣṭā’ (joyful). In Jyotirliṅga narratives, such water often signals Śiva’s hidden grace operating even through non-human beings, foreshadowing a revelation of sanctity at the site.
Significance: Highlights tīrtha as a medium of śuddhi and ānanda; even inadvertent contact with sanctified water can become a doorway to merit and eventual liberation when aligned with Śiva’s will.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights dharma through restraint and compassion: even in a worldly setting (a hunter and a frightened doe), mercy and truthfulness restore harmony—an attitude that supports Shaiva bhakti and inner purification.
Kotirudra narratives frame pilgrimage and devotion as not merely external travel but ethical transformation; compassion and self-control are inner offerings that align the devotee with Saguna Shiva’s grace as embodied in the Jyotirlinga tradition.
A practical takeaway is ahiṃsā (non-harm) and japa with a calm mind—such as repeating the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” while cultivating compassion, which serves as an inner vrata supportive of Mahashivratri worship.