Shloka 18
ब्राह्मणीमरणवर्णनम् (Account of the Brahmin Woman’s Death) — within Nandikeśvara-māhātmya
तत्र द्विजवरः कश्चिदुत्तस्य कुलसम्भवः । काश्यां गतश्च पुत्राभ्यामर्पयित्वा स्वपत्निकाम्
tatra dvijavaraḥ kaściduttasya kulasambhavaḥ | kāśyāṃ gataśca putrābhyāmarpayitvā svapatnikām
അവിടെ ഉത്ത വംശത്തിൽ ജനിച്ച ഒരു ശ്രേഷ്ഠ ദ്വിജൻ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. അവൻ തന്റെ ഭാര്യയെ രണ്ടു പുത്രന്മാർക്കു ഏൽപ്പിച്ച് കാശിയിലേക്കു പോയി.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Viśvanātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī is Śiva’s eternal kṣetra where Viśvanātha grants liberation; the narrative’s move to Kāśī signals entry into a mokṣa-field where death and rites are theologically charged.
Significance: Kāśī is famed for granting taraka (liberating) grace; pilgrimage and death there are traditionally held to conduce to mokṣa through Śiva’s anugraha.
FAQs
It introduces a pilgrim-brahmin’s deliberate turn toward Kāśī, a foremost Shaiva kṣetra associated with liberation, showing how worldly duties are responsibly arranged while seeking Shiva’s grace.
In the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā, journeys to sacred Shaiva sites typically culminate in darśana and worship of Shiva in manifest (saguṇa) form—often as a liṅga—so this travel to Kāśī signals approaching such worship and its fruit.
The verse implies tīrtha-yātrā undertaken with dharma (responsible household arrangements); a fitting Shaiva practice in this context is liṅga-darśana with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) during the pilgrimage.