Shloka 95
भैरवावतारलीलावर्णनम् (Bhairava-avatāra-līlā-varṇanam) — “Narration of the Divine Play of Bhairava’s Descent”
क्षेत्रे प्रविष्टमात्रेऽथ भैरवे भीषणाकृतौ । हाहेत्युक्त्वा ब्रह्महत्या पातालं चाविशत्तदा
kṣetre praviṣṭamātre'tha bhairave bhīṣaṇākṛtau | hāhetyuktvā brahmahatyā pātālaṃ cāviśattadā
కానీ పవిత్ర క్షేత్రంలో ప్రవేశించిన క్షణమే అది భయంకరాకార భైరవుని ఎదుర్కొంది. ‘హాయ్! హాయ్!’ అని అరచి బ్రహ్మహత్యా పాపం అప్పుడు పాతాళంలోకి దూకింది.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Kālabhairava
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: Bhairava as kṣetrapāla bars the entry of grave pāpa (here personified brahmahatyā) into the sacred precinct; the sin flees to Pātāla, implying the kṣetra’s intrinsic power to repel impurity and grant protection to devotees.
Significance: Entering the kṣetra under Bhairava’s guardianship signifies pāpa-kṣaya and protection; the narrative frames the site as spiritually ‘inviolable’ to certain sins when confronted by Śiva’s fierce grace.
Type: stotra
FAQs
The verse teaches that a true Shiva-kṣetra is guarded by the Lord’s Saguna power—Bhairava—before whom even grave karmic impurities like brahma-hatyā cannot remain; they are driven away, affirming Shiva as Pati who dissolves pāśa (bondage).
Bhairava represents Shiva’s protective Saguna manifestation associated with holy sites and temple precincts; reverence to Shiva in form (including Linga-worship) is shown here as a living spiritual force that repels negativity and purifies the devotee’s approach to the sanctum.
Enter a Shiva-kṣetra with humility and protection-invocation—mentally remembering Bhairava and reciting the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”); traditional Shaiva practice may include Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as aids for purity and steadiness.