Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 26
Viśveśvara-māhātmya and the Nirguṇa–Saguṇa Emergence of Śiva (Śakti–Puruṣa/Prakṛti Discourse)
अन्यत्र प्राप्यते मुक्तिस्सारूप्यादिर्मुनीश्वराः । अत्रैव प्राप्यते जीवैः सायुज्या मुक्तिरुत्तमा
anyatra prāpyate muktissārūpyādirmunīśvarāḥ | atraiva prāpyate jīvaiḥ sāyujyā muktiruttamā
噢，诸位最尊胜的牟尼圣者：在别处或可得如“同形解脱”(sārūpya)等解脱；而在此处，众生即能得至上解脱——“合一解脱”(sāyujya)，与主湿婆合而为一。
Suta Goswami (narrating the Kotirudra Samhita’s Jyotirlinga glory to the sages of Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahadeva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī is proclaimed Śiva’s own kṣetra where the Lord grants the highest mukti; unlike other tīrthas that yield sālokya/sārūpya etc., Kāśī uniquely bestows sāyujya through Śiva’s special grace at/near the Avimukta region and the Viśveśvara liṅga.
Significance: Assurance of supreme liberation (sāyujya) for embodied beings through residence, darśana, and death in Kāśī; paradigmatic kṣetra of Śiva’s anugraha.
Role: liberating
FAQs
It elevates the Jyotirlinga context as uniquely potent: while other places may grant graded liberations (like sārūpya), this sacred Śaiva locus is praised as granting the highest fruit—sāyujya, the soul’s consummate union with Śiva’s grace.
In the Kotirudra Samhita, the Linga (as Jyotirlinga) is the accessible Saguna focus through which the devotee receives Śiva’s anugraha (grace). The verse frames Linga-centered pilgrimage and worship as a direct means to the supreme liberating attainment, not merely worldly merit.
The practical takeaway is steadfast Jyotirlinga worship—darśana, pūjā, japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and Śiva-bhakti with purity—performed with the intent of liberation (mumukṣutva), which the text praises as leading to the highest mukti.