Shloka 51
भैरवावतारवर्णनम् (Bhairavāvatāra-varṇanam) — “Description of the Descent/Manifestation of Bhairava”
तत्र ये पातकिनरास्तेषां शास्ता त्वमेव हि । शुभाशुभं च तत्कर्म चित्रगुप्तो लिखिष्यति
tatra ye pātakinarāsteṣāṃ śāstā tvameva hi | śubhāśubhaṃ ca tatkarma citragupto likhiṣyati
Tại đó, đối với những kẻ tội lỗi, Ngài chính là vị Thẩm phán duy nhất. Và Ngài Chitragupta sẽ ghi chép lại nghiệp quả của họ—cả thiện lẫn ác.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: In the Kāśī/Yama narrative, karmic accounting (Citragupta) and judgment (Yama) are affirmed, yet Kāśī remains exceptional as Śiva’s mokṣa-kṣetra where ordinary bondage can be transcended by grace.
Significance: Highlights the moral-ritual seriousness of Kāśī: pilgrimage is not license for sin; karmic record persists, while sincere devotion and Śiva’s anugraha are decisive for release.
FAQs
It affirms Shiva as the ultimate moral governor: karma is precisely accounted for (through Chitragupta), yet final judgement and dispensation rest with Shiva as Pati, the supreme Lord who upholds dharma and grants liberation.
By presenting Shiva as the living, personal Lord who judges and guides beings, it supports Saguna devotion—worship of the Linga as Shiva’s accessible form—through which the devotee seeks purification of karma and refuge in the Lord’s grace.
Regular karma-review and repentance supported by Shiva-upasana—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing rudraksha, and applying tripundra (bhasma)—as disciplines for purification and right conduct.