Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 51
संध्याचरित्रवर्णनम् (Sandhyā-caritra-varṇanam) — “Narration of Sandhyā’s Austerity and Encounter with Śiva”
एतच्छैलोपत्यकायां चंद्रभागानदीतटे । मेधातिथिर्महायज्ञं कुरुते तापसाश्रमे
etacchailopatyakāyāṃ caṃdrabhāgānadītaṭe | medhātithirmahāyajñaṃ kurute tāpasāśrame
Trong thung lũng của chính ngọn núi này, bên bờ sông Chandrabhāgā, hiền giả Medhātithi đang cử hành đại tế lễ tại am tu khổ hạnh của mình.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: Geographical anchoring: Medhātithi’s hermitage and mahāyajña on the Chandrabhāgā riverbank in a mountain valley; functions as the locus for Satī’s fire-birth (vahnijā) by Śiva’s grace.
Significance: Site-type significance: tīrtha on a sacred river where tapas and yajña enable divine manifestation; supports the Purāṇic idea that śrauta-tapas-kṣetra becomes a stage for Śiva’s anugraha.
FAQs
It establishes a sacred setting—tīrtha (Chandrabhāgā riverbank), tapas (ascetic hermitage), and mahāyajña—showing that disciplined worship and purity of place and intention become a vessel for Śiva’s anugraha (grace) in the Shaiva path.
Though the verse names a yajña rather than a liṅga directly, in the Shiva Purana such great rites in tapas-āśramas commonly culminate in invoking Saguna Śiva for protection and blessing; the narrative context typically uses the yajña-ground as the stage where devotion turns toward Śiva’s accessible, worshipful presence.
The implied practice is disciplined yajña supported by tapas—regular mantra-japa, purity observances, and offerings with focused intent; in Shaiva framing this naturally aligns with steady remembrance of Śiva (e.g., Panchākṣarī japa) alongside prescribed rites.