Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 12
Kedāreśvara-pratiṣṭhā: Nara-Nārāyaṇa’s Worship and Śiva’s Abiding as Jyoti
तद्दिनं हि समारभ्य केदारेश्वर एव च । पूजितो येन भक्त्या वै दुःखं स्वप्नेऽति दुर्लभम्
taddinaṃ hi samārabhya kedāreśvara eva ca | pūjito yena bhaktyā vai duḥkhaṃ svapne'ti durlabham
اسی دن سے جو شخص سچی بھکتی کے ساتھ کیداریشور کی پوجا کرتا ہے، اس کے لیے غم خواب میں بھی نہایت نایاب ہو جاتا ہے۔
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya, Kotirudrasaṃhitā context)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Kedāranātha
Sthala Purana: After the Mahābhārata war, the Pāṇḍavas sought expiation and pursued Śiva, who eluded them by assuming a buffalo form; when grasped, He disappeared into the earth and later manifested as the Kedāra-liṅga, granting darśana and boons to devotees.
Significance: Bhakti to Kedāreśvara is said to make duḥkha ‘rare even in dreams’, indicating removal of inner affliction and karmic burden through Śiva’s anugraha.
Type: stotra
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse declares the fruit of single-minded bhakti to Kedāreśvara: Shiva’s grace reduces the very seed of suffering (duḥkha) so thoroughly that even dream-experience of sorrow becomes rare, indicating inner purification and protection on the path to liberation.
Kedāreśvara is approached as Saguna Shiva through Jyotirlinga worship (pūjā). By honoring Shiva in a tangible sacred form, the devotee’s mind is steadied in devotion, making divine grace accessible and transforming karmic distress into peace.
Perform bhakti-yukta pūjā to Kedāreśvara—offer water, bilva leaves, and recite the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with a focused mind; this steady devotion is presented as the practical means by which duḥkha diminishes.