रावणस्य तपः-शिवानुग्रहः — Rāvaṇa’s Austerity and Śiva’s Bestowal of Grace
नारद उवाच । श्रूयतां राक्षसश्रेष्ठ कथयामि हितं तव । त्वया तदेव कर्त्तव्यं मदुक्तं नान्यथा क्वचित्
nārada uvāca | śrūyatāṃ rākṣasaśreṣṭha kathayāmi hitaṃ tava | tvayā tadeva karttavyaṃ maduktaṃ nānyathā kvacit
നാരദൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ രാക്ഷസശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, ശ്രവിക്കൂ; നിനക്കു ഹിതകരമായതു ഞാൻ പറയുന്നു. ഞാൻ പറഞ്ഞതുതന്നെ ചെയ്യുക; ഒരിക്കലും മറ്റെങ്ങനെ ചെയ്യരുത്.
Narada
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Frames ‘hita’ (true welfare) as instruction leading away from bondage; in Siddhānta, such hita is ultimately pāśa-kṣaya through right conduct, worship, and Śiva’s grace.
Role: teaching
The verse highlights śreyas (true good) received through a realized sage’s counsel: spiritual progress comes from listening with humility and acting in alignment with dharma, which in Shaiva Siddhanta supports purification (mala-kṣaya) and steady devotion toward Pati (Shiva).
Though the Linga is not named here, the verse establishes the devotional foundation for Saguna Shiva worship: attentive hearing (śravaṇa) and obedient practice of prescribed vows, pilgrimages, or pūjā instructions—central to Kotirudra narratives connected with Jyotirlinga worship.
A direct practice is śravaṇa and anushṭhāna—listening to sacred instruction and carrying it out exactly; in Kotirudra settings this typically supports disciplined Shiva-sādhana such as mantra-japa (e.g., Pañcākṣarī), vrata observance, and pilgrimage conduct as instructed by elders.