Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 27
ब्राह्मणीमरणवर्णनम् (Account of the Brahmin Woman’s Death) — within Nandikeśvara-māhātmya
द्विजपत्न्युवाच । शृणु पुत्र वचः प्रीत्या पुरासीन्मे मनः स्पृहा । काश्यां गंतुं तथा नासीदिदानीं म्रियते पुनः
dvijapatnyuvāca | śṛṇu putra vacaḥ prītyā purāsīnme manaḥ spṛhā | kāśyāṃ gaṃtuṃ tathā nāsīdidānīṃ mriyate punaḥ
Người vợ của vị Bà-la-môn nói: “Con ơi, hãy ân cần lắng nghe lời mẹ. Từ lâu trong lòng mẹ đã dấy lên niềm khát nguyện—được đến Kāśī—nhưng chưa thể thành. Nay chính khát nguyện ấy lại trở về, như thể vừa chết đi rồi lại tái sinh.”
Dvija-patni (the brahmin’s wife)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī is portrayed as Śiva’s own city where Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha grants taraka-upadeśa and liberation at death; the woman’s lifelong longing to reach Kāśī signals the salvific pull of the kṣetra.
Significance: Dying with Kāśī-saṃsmaraṇa or reaching Kāśī is held to confer mṛtyu-kāla-anugraha (grace at the time of death) and kṣetra-mukti.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights how sacred longing for a Shaiva tīrtha like Kāśī can repeatedly arise in the heart; such yearning is treated as a grace-oriented impulse drawing the jīva toward Shiva’s presence and liberation-oriented merit.
Kāśī is celebrated as Shiva’s own city, associated with Saguna worship—especially the reverence of Shiva as Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha through the Liṅga—so the desire to go there reflects a turn toward embodied devotional practice centered on the Liṅga.
A practical takeaway is to nurture the longing through japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and, if pilgrimage is not possible, perform Liṅga-pūjā at home with bhakti as a substitute discipline.