Shloka 27
महाबलमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Mahābala Māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Mahābala (and Western Sacred Liṅgas)”
स्त्रियो वृद्धाश्च बालाश्च चतुराश्रमवासिनः । दृष्ट्वा तत्रेत्य देवेशं लेभिरे कृतकृत्यताम्
striyo vṛddhāśca bālāśca caturāśramavāsinaḥ | dṛṣṭvā tatretya deveśaṃ lebhire kṛtakṛtyatām
സ്ത്രീകളും വൃദ്ധരും ബാലരും—ചതുർആശ്രമവാസികളുമൊക്കെയും—അവിടെ എത്തി ദേവേശനെ ദർശിച്ച് കൃതകൃത്യത പ്രാപിച്ചു.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Sthala Purana: The verse universalizes eligibility for Śiva-darśana: women, elders, children, and all four āśramas attain ‘kṛtakṛtyatā’ by seeing Deveśa—typical of tīrtha-māhātmya rhetoric.
Significance: Darśana of Deveśa is presented as life-fulfillment (kṛtakṛtyatā), implying liberation-oriented merit beyond social category or life-stage.
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva’s darśana is universally liberating—regardless of age, gender, or life-stage—and that sincere encounter with the Lord culminates in kṛtakṛtyatā, the inner sense that life’s highest aim has been met.
In the Kotirudra context of Jyotirliṅga pilgrimage, seeing the Deveśa points to Saguna Śiva approached through sacred presence (liṅga/tejas). The verse highlights that devotion expressed through darśana of Śiva’s manifest form leads to spiritual completion.
The implied practice is pilgrimage and darśana with bhakti—approaching Śiva with reverence, repeating the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and cultivating single-pointed remembrance while beholding the Lord.