ना बाधिष्ट तथा मां स तापो हालाहलोद्भवः । काशीविरहजन्मात्र यथा मामतिबाधते
nā bādhiṣṭa tathā māṃ sa tāpo hālāhalodbhavaḥ | kāśīvirahajanmātra yathā māmatibādhate
A aflição nascida do veneno Hālāhala não me atormentou assim; mas esta dor, nascida apenas da separação de Kāśī, me oprime em excesso.
Śiva (Śrīkaṇṭha)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis at Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame)
Scene: Śiva, inwardly burning with the pain of separation from Kāśī, compares it to the Hālāhala poison; his throat bears the Nīlakaṇṭha mark, yet the deeper torment is devotional longing for the kṣetra.
Separation from a liberating sacred space is depicted as a profound spiritual pain, underscoring Kāśī’s unmatched sanctity.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), elevated above even cosmic ordeals like the Hālāhala poison episode.
None; the verse intensifies the māhātmya through comparison.