Shloka 44
गौतमस्य शिवदर्शनं पापक्षयवचनं च | Gautama’s Vision of Śiva and the Teaching on Sin and Purification
एकादश च वर्षाणि लोकानां पातकं त्विह । क्षालितं यद्भवेदेवं मलिनास्स्मः सरिद्वरे
ekādaśa ca varṣāṇi lokānāṃ pātakaṃ tviha | kṣālitaṃ yadbhavedevaṃ malināssmaḥ saridvare
บาปของผู้คนที่สั่งสมมาสิบเอ็ดปี ณ ที่นี้ ย่อมถูกชำระล้างไปโดยประการฉะนี้ ถึงกระนั้น โอ้แม่น้ำผู้ประเสริฐ เรายังมลทินอยู่
Suta Goswami (narrating the tīrtha-māhātmya within the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Tīrtha-māhātmya motif: the river is praised as 'best of rivers' whose waters wash away accumulated pāpa over a long span (here, eleven years), yet the speaker confesses residual impurity—preparing for further grace through Śiva’s presence/darśana.
Significance: Snāna at the tīrtha removes pāpa-saṃskāras; the confession of remaining mala underscores the need for Śiva’s anugraha beyond mere external cleansing.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
The verse highlights tīrtha-śuddhi (purification through sacred waters) as a means to reduce accumulated pāpa, while also implying that deeper inner purity arises through Shiva-bhakti and right awareness, not merely external cleansing.
In the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā’s pilgrimage framework, river-bathing and tīrtha practices are typically preparatory acts that culminate in darśana and worship of Saguna Shiva as the Jyotirliṅga—where devotion and surrender complete what external purification begins.
It suggests tīrtha-snāna (sacred bath) with a repentant, prayerful attitude, ideally followed by Shiva worship—such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and simple liṅga-pūjā.