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
مگر جونہی وہ مقدّس کْشَیتر میں داخل ہوئی، اس کا سامنا ہیبت ناک صورت والے بھَیرو سے ہوا۔ ‘ہائے! ہائے!’ پکار کر برہماہتیا کا گناہ اسی وقت پاتال میں جا گرا۔
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.