Shloka 23

अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्य

The Greatness of Avimukta–Vārāṇasī and Viśveśvara

Devanagari script

इति श्रीशिवमहापुराणे चतुर्थ्यां कोटिरुद्रसंहितायां काशीविश्वेश्वरज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनामत्रयोविंशोध्याय

Transliteration

iti śrīśivamahāpurāṇe caturthyāṃ koṭirudrasaṃhitāyāṃ kāśīviśveśvarajyotirliṅgamāhātmyavarṇanaṃnāmatrayoviṃśodhyāya

Translation

Demikianlah, dalam Śrī Śiva Mahāpurāṇa, pada bahagian keempat yang dinamakan Koṭirudrasaṃhitā, berakhirlah bab kedua puluh tiga yang bertajuk “Huraian Keagungan Jyotirliṅga Kāśī Viśveśvara.”

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Vākyārtha-dyotaka (वाक्यार्थ-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: समाप्ति/उद्धरण-निपात (closing/quotative particle)

• श्रीशिवमहापुराणे: in the Śrī Śiva Mahāpurāṇa
• श्रीशिवमहापुराणे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री + शिव + महापुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/बहुपद-समास (Locative singular; ‘in the venerable Śiva Mahāpurāṇa’)

• चतुर्थ्याम्: in the fourth (book)
• चतुर्थ्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्थी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Feminine, Locative, Singular)

• कोटिरुद्रसंहितायाम्: in the Koṭirudra-saṃhitā
• कोटिरुद्रसंहितायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि + रुद्र + संहिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (Locative singular; ‘in the Koṭirudra-saṃhitā’)

• काशीविश्वेश्वरज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्यवर्णनम्: the description of the glory of the Kāśī Viśveśvara Jyotirliṅga
• काशीविश्वेश्वरज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्यवर्णनम्: Karta (कर्ता/heading)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी + विश्वेश्वर + ज्योतिर् + लिङ्ग + माहात्म्य + वर्णन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (Nominative singular; chapter-title compound)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Nāmadheya-dyotaka (नामधेय-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘named/called’ (indeclinable used in titles)

• त्रयोविंशः: twenty-third
• त्रयोविंशः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रयोविंश (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (Masculine, Nom, Singular; ordinal ‘twenty-third’)

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta (कर्ता/heading)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Visvanatha

Sthala Purana: Colophon verse marking the conclusion of the chapter specifically dedicated to the māhātmya of the Kāśī Viśveśvara Jyotirliṅga.

Significance: Textual framing reinforces Viśveśvara as the focal sacred presence of Kāśī within the Śiva Purāṇa’s Jyotirliṅga theology.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kashi
• Vishveshvara
• Jyotirlinga

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

This is a colophon verse marking the completion of Adhyāya 23, formally sealing the teaching on the māhātmya (spiritual glory) of the Kāśī Viśveśvara Jyotirliṅga—affirming Kāśī as a foremost locus of Śiva’s grace and liberation-oriented worship.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

By naming “Viśveśvara Jyotirliṅga,” it frames Śiva’s worship through the Jyotirliṅga—Saguna access to the Nirguna reality—where the luminous liṅga signifies Śiva as transcendent yet compassionately present for devotees’ upāsanā.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

As a chapter-ending prompt, it supports concluding practices such as liṅga-abhisheka, japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and bhakti-filled remembrance of Viśveśvara in Kāśī as a direct means toward śuddhi (purification) and mokṣa-oriented devotion.