Shloka 58
भैरवावतारलीलावर्णनम् (Bhairava-avatāra-līlā-varṇanam) — “Narration of the Divine Play of Bhairava’s Descent”
विधेः कपालं नामुंचत्करमत्यन्तदुस्सहम् । परस्य भ्रमतः क्वापि तत्काश्यां क्षणतोऽपतत्
vidheḥ kapālaṃ nāmuṃcatkaramatyantadussaham | parasya bhramataḥ kvāpi tatkāśyāṃ kṣaṇato'patat
विधेः कपालं न मुमोच करं, अत्यन्तदुःसहम्। परमेण भ्रमता क्वापि तत् काश्यां क्षणतोऽपतत्॥
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Bhikṣāṭana
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: After Śiva severed Brahmā’s fifth head, the skull (kapāla) stuck to His hand as the mark of brahmahatyā. Roaming as a mendicant, He reached Kāśī; there the skull instantly fell away, establishing the Kapālamocana tīrtha and Kāśī’s fame as a place where even the gravest taints are dissolved by Śiva’s grace.
Significance: Remembrance/visit is said to destroy grave sins and remove heavy karmic burdens; reinforces Kāśī as the pre-eminent kṣetra of Śiva’s liberating presence.
FAQs
It highlights Kāśī as a supremely purifying kṣetra where even a grave karmic burden symbolized by the skull can be released by the grace of the Supreme Lord, pointing to Śiva’s power to dissolve bondage (pāśa) and bestow liberation.
Kāśī is revered as Śiva’s own abode where Saguna Śiva is approached through sacred place, ritual, and devotion; the falling of the skull there underscores the tangible, grace-filled efficacy of worship in Śiva-kṣetras, often centered on the Liṅga.
Pilgrimage and worship at Kāśī—Liṅga-darśana, japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and living with humility and repentance—are implied as practical means to seek Śiva’s grace for the removal of heavy inner burdens.