Shloka 11
महाबलमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Mahābala Māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Mahābala (and Western Sacred Liṅgas)”
गोकर्णे तत्र मुनयो गत्वा पुण्यर्क्षवासरे । येऽर्चयन्ति च तं भक्त्या ते रुद्राः स्युर्न संशय
gokarṇe tatra munayo gatvā puṇyarkṣavāsare | ye'rcayanti ca taṃ bhaktyā te rudrāḥ syurna saṃśaya
గోకర్ణంలో మునులు పుణ్య నక్షత్రయుక్త శుభదినాన వెళ్లి, భక్తితో ఆయనను ఆరాధించువారు నిస్సందేహంగా రుద్రులగుదురు।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Rudra
Sthala Purana: The māhātmya highlights that sages who arrive at Gokarṇa on a puṇya-nakṣatra day and worship Śiva with bhakti ‘become Rudras’—a Purāṇic idiom for attaining Rudra-sāyujya/sārūpya (Śiva-like participation), stressing the kṣetra’s power when aligned with auspicious cosmic timing.
Significance: Merit amplified by auspicious nakṣatra; promise of Rudra-sāmīpya/sāyujya (becoming ‘Rudra-like’) through bhakti-yukta arcana.
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It declares that sincere bhakti offered to Śiva at the Gokarṇa tīrtha—especially on an auspicious nakṣatra day—transforms the devotee by granting Rudra-sāmīpya (nearness and participation in Rudra’s divine nature), indicating powerful purification and upliftment toward mokṣa.
In the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā, Jyotirliṅga worship is Saguna devotion to Śiva’s manifest presence. The verse emphasizes that arcana (ritual worship) performed with devotion at the liṅga is not merely symbolic—it is a means of real grace, drawing the worshipper into Śiva’s Rudra-tattva.
Perform Śiva-arcana at Gokarṇa on an auspicious nakṣatra day: offer water/abhisheka, bilva leaves, and repeat the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with bhakti; keep the mind fixed on Śiva as Pati (the Lord) who liberates the paśu (bound soul).