Shloka 3
महाबलमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Mahābala Māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Mahābala (and Western Sacred Liṅgas)”
पश्चिमे सागरे चैव महासिद्धेश्वरः स्मृतः । धर्मार्थकामदश्चैव तथा मोक्षप्रदोऽपि हि
paścime sāgare caiva mahāsiddheśvaraḥ smṛtaḥ | dharmārthakāmadaścaiva tathā mokṣaprado'pi hi
పశ్చిమ సముద్రంలో ఆ జ్యోతిర్లింగం ‘మహాసిద్ధేశ్వర’మని స్మరించబడుతుంది. అది ధర్మం, అర్థం, కామం ప్రసాదించి, నిజంగా మోక్షమును కూడా ఇస్తుంది.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: The liṅga in the western sea is praised as Mahāsiddheśvara (‘Lord of great siddhis’). The phala-śruti explicitly spans puruṣārthas—dharma, artha, kāma—and culminates in mokṣa, presenting the kṣetra as a complete ladder from worldly order to liberation.
Significance: Grants the four puruṣārthas; especially emphasizes mokṣa-pradatva, aligning tīrtha-yātrā with Śaiva Siddhānta’s goal of pāśa-kṣaya and Śiva’s anugraha leading to liberation.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse presents Mahāsiddheśvara as a Jyotirliṅga whose grace covers the full spectrum of human aims—dharma, artha, and kāma—yet culminates in mokṣa, showing that worldly well-being is ultimately meant to mature into liberation through Śiva’s anugraha (grace).
By naming a specific Jyotirliṅga, the text emphasizes Saguna Śiva worship through the Liṅga as a concrete locus of divine presence; devotion at such a sacred form is taught to yield both worldly fruits and, when approached with surrender and purity, the highest fruit of liberation.
Pilgrimage and Liṅga-pūjā with Śiva-mantra japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), along with offerings like water and bilva leaves, are the implied practices for seeking Śiva’s boons—including the inner orientation toward mokṣa.