Shloka 75
महाकालज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्ये चन्द्रसेन-चिन्तामणि-प्रसङ्गः
Mahākāla Jyotirliṅga Māhātmya: The Episode of King Candrasena and the Cintāmaṇi
चन्द्रसेनो महाराजः श्रीकरो गोपबालकः । उभावपि परप्रीत्या महाकालं च भेजतुः
candraseno mahārājaḥ śrīkaro gopabālakaḥ | ubhāvapi paraprītyā mahākālaṃ ca bhejatuḥ
മഹാരാജാ ചന്ദ്രസേനനും ഗോപബാലകനായ ശ്രീകരനും—ഇരുവരും പരമ പ്രീതി-ഭക്തിയോടെ ശ്രീമഹാകാലനെ ശരണം പ്രാപിച്ച്, അവനെ സേവിച്ചു പൂജിച്ചു।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Mahākāla is worshipped as the Lord of Time who grants refuge and final good. In Ujjayinī’s Mahākāla tradition, the Lord is famed as a svayaṃbhū jyotirliṅga whose presence protects the city and grants both bhukti and mukti; this verse explicitly names Mahākāla as the object of refuge (bhajana).
Significance: Refuge in Mahākāla is held to destroy fear of time/death and bestow Śiva’s grace culminating in liberation; also famed for protective, kṣetrapāla-like guardianship of the sacred city.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: Kāla as the governing cosmic principle is foregrounded through the name Mahākāla (Lord beyond/over Time).
FAQs
It highlights that Mahākāla’s grace is accessed through paraprīti (supreme devotion), transcending social status—both a king and a simple cowherd attain refuge in Shiva by heartfelt bhakti.
Mahākāla here is Saguna Shiva worshipped as the Jyotirliṅga; the verse emphasizes approaching the manifested form of Shiva with love and surrender as a direct means to receive protection and upliftment.
A practical takeaway is bhakti-centered Jyotirliṅga worship—mentally taking refuge in Mahākāla, offering prayer with the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and maintaining steady devotion as the core practice.