Shloka 27
नरकलोकमार्गयमदूतस्वरूपवर्णनम् / Description of the Path to Naraka and the Nature of Yama’s Messengers
विषमेणैव महता निर्जनापाश्रयेण च । तमोरूपेण कष्टेन सर्वदुष्टाश्रयेण च
viṣameṇaiva mahatā nirjanāpāśrayeṇa ca | tamorūpeṇa kaṣṭena sarvaduṣṭāśrayeṇa ca
那确是可怖而险恶之地——广大而荒寂，如孤绝的栖身处；充满令人苦楚的黑暗，并成了诸般恶类的藏身之所。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Bhairava
Shakti Form: Kālī
Role: destructive
FAQs
The verse describes a tamasic, painful state of existence—symbolic of pasha (bondage) where consciousness is covered by darkness and drawn toward unwholesome supports; Shaiva Siddhanta reads this as the soul’s condition when separated from Shiva’s grace and right knowledge.
Such descriptions contrast the refuge of darkness with the true refuge—Saguna Shiva in the Linga—whose worship purifies tamas and redirects the soul from duṣṭa-āśraya (wrong supports) to Shiva as the supreme āśraya (shelter).
A practical takeaway is tamas-shamana: daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing Rudraksha with devotion, and applying Tripundra (bhasma) to cultivate purity and steadiness away from dark influences.