Kotirudra Samhita

by Sage Vyasa (traditional attribution; narrated by Suta to the sages of Naimisharanya)

43 chapters · 2,189 shlokas

The Kotirudra Samhita is built around a single devotional project: telling the origin-story of each of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Shiva's self-manifested pillars of light, one by one — Somanatha's rescue of the moon-god Chandra from a curse, Mallikarjuna, Mahakala's protection of the devotee-child Shrikara, Omkareshvara's rise from the Vindhya mountain's penance, Kedareshvara through Nara-Narayana and the Pandavas, Bhimeshvara's origin in the destruction of the demon Bhima, Kashi Vishveshvara and Rudra's arrival in that city, Trimbakeshvara, Vaidyanatheshvara tied to the Ravana legend, Nageshvara born from the Rakshasas of Darukavana, Rameshvara consecrated by Rama himself, and finally Ghushmesha, closing the set. Woven through and after this sequence: the story of how Vishnu received the Sudarshana Chakra as a gift from Shiva's own worship, the complete thousand names of Shiva (Shiva Sahasranama) together with the fruits of reciting them, the full procedure and glory of the Shivaratri vow — including the well-loved story of a hunter who unknowingly kept the vow through a night of watchfulness and was liberated — and closing chapters distinguishing Shiva with attributes (saguna) from Shiva beyond them (nirguna), ending in a discourse on liberation and knowledge itself.

Chapters

1The Greatness of the Jyotirlingas and Their Upalingas45 v 2The Greatness of the Shiva-lingas31 v 3The Penance of Anasuya and Atri39 v 4The Greatness of Atrishvara61 v 5The Death of the Brahmin Lady, in the Glory of Nandikeshvara39 v 6The Brahmin Lady Attains Heaven, in the Glory of the Nandikeshvara Linga66 v 7The Greatness of the Nandikeshvara Shiva-linga35 v 8The Greatness of Mahabala28 v 9The Salvation of the Chandala Woman39 v 10The Greatness of the Mahabala Shiva-linga51 v 11The Greatness of the Chandrabhala and Pashupatinatha Lingas21 v 12The Origin of the Linga's Form54 v 13The Origin of the Batuka77 v 14The Origin of the Somanatha Jyotirlinga62 v 15The Second Jyotirlinga Named Mallikarjuna23 v 16The Greatness of the Mahakala Jyotirlinga, Part One52 v 17The Greatness of the Mahakala Jyotirlinga, Part Two78 v 18The Greatness of the Omkareshvara Jyotirlinga27 v 19The Greatness of the Kedareshvara Jyotirlinga26 v 20The Havoc Wrought by the Demon Bhima67 v 21The Origin of the Bhimeshvara Jyotirlinga and Its Greatness54 v 22Rudra's Arrival in Kashi40 v 23The Greatness of the Kashi Vishveshvara Jyotirlinga57 v 24The Glory of Gautama33 v 25The Rule of Expiation Prescribed to Gautama58 v 26The Greatness of Trimbakeshvara57 v 27The Greatness of the Trimbakeshvara Jyotirlinga50 v 28The Greatness of the Vaidyanatheshvara Jyotirlinga76 v 29The Disturbance Caused by the Rakshasas of Darukavana53 v 30The Greatness of the Origin of the Nageshvara Jyotirlinga44 v 31The Greatness of Rameshvara45 v 32The Story of Sudeha and Sudharma52 v 33The Origin of the Ghushmesha Jyotirlinga56 v 34How Vishnu Obtained the Sudarshana Chakra35 v 35The Thousand Names of Shiva134 v 36The Fruit of Reciting the Shiva-sahasranama38 v 37The Devotion of Gods, Sages, and Kings to Shiva55 v 38The Glory of the Shivaratri Vow88 v 39The Completion Rite of the Shivaratri Vow23 v 40The Glory of the Shivaratri Vow: The Hunter's Tale102 v 41The Description of Liberation27 v 42The Distinction Between Saguna and Nirguna Shiva32 v 43The Description of Knowledge59 v

Why it matters today

The Jyotirlinga cycle at this Samhita's heart remains the direct textual basis for the twelve Jyotirlinga pilgrimage circuit still followed by devotees across India today — each shrine's own local legend, as told at the site, traces back to exactly this text.