Shloka 35
अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्य
The Greatness of Avimukta–Vārāṇasī and Viśveśvara
अपापश्च मृतो यो वै सद्यो मोक्षं समश्नुते । सपापश्च मृतौ यस्स्यात्कायव्यूहान्समश्नुते
apāpaśca mṛto yo vai sadyo mokṣaṃ samaśnute | sapāpaśca mṛtau yassyātkāyavyūhānsamaśnute
പാപരഹിതനായി മരിക്കുന്നവൻ ഉടൻ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ പാപത്തോടെ മരിക്കുന്നവൻ കർമ്മഫലമായി വീണ്ടും ശരീരങ്ങൾ സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നു.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva Purana teachings to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Avimukta (Kāśī) is Śiva’s ‘never-abandoned’ kṣetra where His anugraha ensures final release; the teaching contrasts immediate mokṣa for the purified with continued embodiment for the sin-burdened.
Significance: Dying in Kāśī with Śiva’s grace is held to conduce to liberation; ethical purification (pāpa-kṣaya) is emphasized as the proximate condition for sadyo-mukti.
FAQs
The verse contrasts two death-outcomes: a purified (apāpa) being gains immediate moksha, while an impure (sapāpa) being continues through further embodied states. In Shaiva thought, liberation is not accidental—it reflects inner purification and Shiva-oriented merit that dissolves karmic bondage.
Kotirudra Saṃhitā emphasizes Jyotirlinga pilgrimage and devotion to Saguna Shiva as a powerful means of purification. By Linga-worship, vows, and remembrance of Shiva, sin is attenuated, making the soul fit for grace and release rather than further embodiment.
The implied practice is karmic purification through Shiva-upāsanā—regular Linga worship, japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and observances like Mahāśivarātri-vrata—so that one meets death with reduced pāpa and increased Shiva-bhakti.