Shloka 27
ब्राह्मणीमरणवर्णनम् (Account of the Brahmin Woman’s Death) — within Nandikeśvara-māhātmya
द्विजपत्न्युवाच । शृणु पुत्र वचः प्रीत्या पुरासीन्मे मनः स्पृहा । काश्यां गंतुं तथा नासीदिदानीं म्रियते पुनः
dvijapatnyuvāca | śṛṇu putra vacaḥ prītyā purāsīnme manaḥ spṛhā | kāśyāṃ gaṃtuṃ tathā nāsīdidānīṃ mriyate punaḥ
ద్విజపత్నీ పలికెను—పుత్రా, ప్రేమతో నా మాటలు వినుము. చాలా కాలం క్రితం నా హృదయంలో కాశీకి వెళ్లాలనే తపన కలిగింది; అది నెరవేరలేదు. ఇప్పుడు అదే తపన మళ్లీ వచ్చింది, మరణించి మళ్లీ పుట్టినట్లుగా.
Dvija-patni (the brahmin’s wife)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī is portrayed as Śiva’s own city where Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha grants taraka-upadeśa and liberation at death; the woman’s lifelong longing to reach Kāśī signals the salvific pull of the kṣetra.
Significance: Dying with Kāśī-saṃsmaraṇa or reaching Kāśī is held to confer mṛtyu-kāla-anugraha (grace at the time of death) and kṣetra-mukti.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights how sacred longing for a Shaiva tīrtha like Kāśī can repeatedly arise in the heart; such yearning is treated as a grace-oriented impulse drawing the jīva toward Shiva’s presence and liberation-oriented merit.
Kāśī is celebrated as Shiva’s own city, associated with Saguna worship—especially the reverence of Shiva as Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha through the Liṅga—so the desire to go there reflects a turn toward embodied devotional practice centered on the Liṅga.
A practical takeaway is to nurture the longing through japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and, if pilgrimage is not possible, perform Liṅga-pūjā at home with bhakti as a substitute discipline.