Shloka 39
अवधूतेश्वरलीला (Avadhūteśvara-līlā) — Śiva Tests Indra’s Pride on the Way to Kailāsa
इत्थं कृत्वा सुचरितं शंकरो लोकशंकरः । अवधूतस्वरूपेण ततश्चान्तर्हितोऽभवत्
itthaṃ kṛtvā sucaritaṃ śaṃkaro lokaśaṃkaraḥ | avadhūtasvarūpeṇa tataścāntarhito'bhavat
Demikianlah, setelah melaksanakan perbuatan mulia itu, Śaṅkara—pelindung dan penenteram segala alam—mengambil rupa avadhūta (pertapa yang lepas ikatan), lalu menghilang daripada pandangan.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; after completing the deed, Śaṅkara assumes an avadhūta mode and becomes ‘antarhita’—a narrative marker of divine withdrawal/concealment.
Significance: Contemplative teaching: Śiva is both immanent actor and transcendent, ungraspable reality; after intervention he ‘withdraws’—mirroring tirodhāna (veiling) that preserves cosmic order and autonomy of beings.
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse highlights Shiva’s compassion and transcendence: after accomplishing an auspicious purpose for the world, he withdraws into concealment, indicating that the Lord is not bound to visibility or form and is realized through inner awareness and grace.
Shiva’s avadhūta form points to Saguna manifestation used to uplift devotees, while his becoming ‘antarhita’ suggests the deeper Nirguna reality. Linga-worship bridges both—adoring the manifest symbol while contemplating the unmanifest Lord beyond sensory perception.
Meditate on Shiva as the avadhūta—repeat the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) and Rudrāksha, contemplating his detached, all-auspicious presence that appears for grace and withdraws into the heart as pure consciousness.