Chapter 74 - Greatness of Śākalyeśvara (Śākalya-īśvara)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Īśvara said:

1-3. Thereafter, O great goddess, a pilgrim should go to the excellent shrine of Śākalyeśvara. It is situated within a distance of thirty Dhanus to the north-west of Daityasūdana.

It is the bestower of all desires, O great goddess. It was worshipped by Śākalya. It is the spot where the saintly king named Śākalya performed great penance. By propitiating the great Lord Bhāva, he made him manifest to himself. He made the delighted Maheśvara descend into the Liṅga.

4. O beautiful lady of elegence [elegance?], when the Lord is visited sins committed in the course of seven births get dissolved quickly like darkness at sunrise.

5. A pilgrim should bathe god Śiva there with milk on the eighth and fourteenth lunar days. He should duly adore with scents, flowers etc. in the proper order.

6. Gold should be offered there by those who wish the benefit of a perfect pilgrimage. Listen, as I enumerate the four names (of the deity).

7. At the outset, in the Kṛta Age, O goddess, the Lord was glorified as Bhairaveśvara. Then, O my beloved, he was perfectly propitiated by Manu named Sāvarṇi.

8. The name of that Lord in Tretā was Sāvarṇikeśvara. Then in Dvāpara, O goddess, the Bull-emblemed Lord in the form of a Liṅga was perfectly propitiated by the noble-souled Gālava.

9-10. The third appellation of the Lord was Gālaveśvara. When Kali Yuga set in, the sage named Śākalya attained Siddhi there and acquired the great powers of Aṇimā (minuteness) etc. Therefore, the fourth name is well-known as Śākalyeśvara.

11. Thus the names of that Liṅga in all the four Yugas have been glorified. They are destructive of sins. They confer merit on men. They have been glorified as the bestowers of all cherished desires.

12. O my beloved, listen from me the origin of the holy spot of the same Lord of Devas.

13. The area all round, O goddess, extends to eighteen Dhanus. It is destructive of all great sins of the residents of the holy spot, O goddess.

14. There the water in the wells etc. is remembered as Śārasvata [Sārasvata?] (belonging to river Sarasvatī). It accords salvation unto even worms, insects, locusts—unto all lower creatures.

15-18. A man may take his bath anywhere. He is honoured in the heavenly world. By visiting that Liṅga, one attains the entire benefit of a thousand horse-sacrifices and a hundred Vājapeya sacrifices.

During lunar Parva (i.e. New-Moon and Full-Moon) a devotee should remain pure and self-controlled and perform the Japa of Aghora Mantra along with the perfect Ājyahoma (consigning ghee to fire). He should remain all the while in the vicinity of the Liṅga. O my beloved of excellent complexion, he attains all excellent Siddhis even if he has been defiled by major sins or minor ones.

19. That Liṅga is remembered as Kāmika, that is the bestower of all the desired benefits. The face of the Lord there is (called) Aghora (benign). It is highly terrible (Bhairava).

20. It was well-known formerly by the name Bhairaveśvara on the earth. After the advent of this Yuga, it has been named Śākalyeśvara.