Shloka 7
Mukti-bheda-nirūpaṇa (Classification of Liberation) and Śiva as the Sole Bestower of Mokṣa
कैवल्याख्या पंचमी च दुर्लभा सर्वथा नृणाम् । तल्लक्षणं प्रवक्ष्यामि श्रूयतामृषिसत्तमाः
kaivalyākhyā paṃcamī ca durlabhā sarvathā nṛṇām | tallakṣaṇaṃ pravakṣyāmi śrūyatāmṛṣisattamāḥ
कैवल्याख्या पञ्चमी च दुर्लभा सर्वथा नृणाम् । तल्लक्षणं प्रवक्ष्यामि श्रूयतामृषिसत्तमाः ॥
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Marks an auspicious, rare pañcamī conducive to Śiva-upāsanā aimed at kaivalya (release from pāśa), emphasizing the scarcity of such liberating occasions for embodied souls.
Role: liberating
FAQs
It elevates a specific sacred time (Kaivalyā Pañcamī) as a rare opportunity for humans, implying that right timing joined with Shaiva devotion can accelerate purification and liberation-oriented practice.
By announcing the ‘marks’ of Kaivalyā Pañcamī, the text prepares the listener for prescribed observances typically centered on Saguna Shiva—Linga worship, vrata discipline, and devotion—which in Shaiva Siddhanta become means toward the grace that culminates in moksha.
The verse signals an upcoming vrata guideline for Pañcamī; the practical takeaway is to observe the prescribed tithi with Shiva-focused worship—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), Linga-pūjā, and disciplined conduct—when the text defines its lakṣaṇas.