Shloka 23
Gautama–Ahalyā-Upākhyāna: Durbhikṣa, Tapas, and Varuṇa’s Boon (गौतमाहल्योपाख्यानम्)
सिंहस्य मंदिरे सेवा मुक्ताफलकरी मता । शृगालमंदिरे सेवा त्वस्थिलाभकरी स्मृता
siṃhasya maṃdire sevā muktāphalakarī matā | śṛgālamaṃdire sevā tvasthilābhakarī smṛtā
獅子の住処における奉仕は真珠の果を授けるとされるが、豺の住処における奉仕は、ただ骨ばかりの利を得るに過ぎぬと伝えられる。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara
Sthala Purana: In the Tryambakeśvara-māhātmya, the teaching contrasts the worth of serving the truly great (lion) versus the petty (jackal): devotion/service directed to Śiva and His devotees yields precious spiritual fruit, while misdirected service yields paltry results.
Significance: Rightly placed sevā and bhakti at the Jyotirliṅga is said to yield superior phala (purification, merit, and Śiva’s grace) compared to worldly patronage.
Type: stotra
FAQs
It teaches discernment in devotion: serving a noble and spiritually potent refuge yields exalted merit, while serving an unworthy object yields only trivial results—urging the seeker to place bhakti in Lord Shiva, the supreme Pati who grants true auspicious fruits.
By contrasting ‘lion’ and ‘jackal’ abodes, the verse implies gradations of spiritual receptacles: worship and service offered to Shiva’s sacred presence—especially the Jyotirlinga/Saguna manifestation—returns a refined, liberating fruit, unlike devotion directed to lesser or impure aims.
Choose a worthy locus of worship—Shiva-linga/Jyotirlinga—then perform steady sevā with mantra-japa (e.g., the Panchakshara ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’), along with Shaiva marks such as Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha where appropriate, so the ‘fruit’ of practice becomes elevated rather than merely worldly.