Shloka 24
Nāgeśa-jyotirliṅga-prādurbhāvaḥ — The Manifestation of the Nāgeśa Jyotirliṅga
तद्वरश्च मया प्राप्तः कथं दुःखं विषह्यते । जलं वनं च नीत्वा वै सुखं स्थेयं तु राक्षसैः
tadvaraśca mayā prāptaḥ kathaṃ duḥkhaṃ viṣahyate | jalaṃ vanaṃ ca nītvā vai sukhaṃ stheyaṃ tu rākṣasaiḥ
ಆ ವರ ನನಗೆ ದೊರೆತಿದೆ; ಇನ್ನು ದುಃಖವನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಸಹಿಸಬೇಕು? ನೀರನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಕಾಡಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ರಾಕ್ಷಸರು ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ಸುಖವಾಗಿ ನೆಲಸಬೇಕು.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Kotirudra Saṃhitā dialogue to the sages; the verse itself is spoken by a rākṣasa figure within the story)
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: No explicit Jyotirliṅga linkage; the verse highlights how a boon can become a veil (tirodhāna) when it strengthens rākṣasic complacency, setting up later divine intervention.
Significance: Didactic: worldly boons can reduce the felt need for dharma and intensify bondage; pilgrimage/śiva-bhakti is implied as the corrective trajectory later in the narrative.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights how worldly boons can inflate ego and create a false sense of invulnerability; Shaiva Siddhanta stresses that only Shiva’s grace (not mere powers) truly ends duḥkha and the bondage of pasha.
In Jyotirlinga-centered narratives, rakshasic confidence based on boons is ultimately humbled by Shiva’s Saguna manifestation (Linga/Jyotirlinga), teaching that surrender to Shiva’s visible, worshipful form is superior to reliance on granted powers.
A practical takeaway is to replace pride in “acquired merits” with Shiva-upasana: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and steady devotion at a Linga/Jyotirlinga, supported by Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of humility and protection.