Supriya

Supriya was a vaiśya (a merchant) and a devoted bhakta (devotee) of Bhagavān Śiva. His imprisonment by the rākshasī Dārukā led to the founding of Nāgeśvara Jyotirliṅga. His name means “deeply beloved”. The account shows that he was just that to Bhagavān Śiva, whose own coming protected his life.

Who he was

Supriya belonged to the vaiśya community of merchants and traders. He was travelling the sea-routes near the Saurāshṭra coast (Gujarat) when Dārukā seized him. She imprisoned him in the rākshasa city in the Dārukāvana. What marked him out was his sincere and unshaken devotion to Bhagavān Śiva. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 29)

In the prison

Supriya did not give up his devotion in prison. He made a pārthiva liṅga (a liṅga made of earth) from the earth at hand and began to perform pūjā to Bhagavān Śiva every day. He did more than worship alone. He gathered the other captives into a group of worshippers and led them in pārthiva liṅga pūjā. In this way the prison became a place of devotion. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 29)

The confrontation with Dārukā

Dārukā found out about the worship and came to Supriya herself. She told him to give up the worship of Bhagavān Śiva there in her domain, or she would kill him. Supriya refused. He kept up his worship and was ready to face what followed. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 30)

The coming of Bhagavān Śiva

As Dārukā attacked, Bhagavān Śiva came out of the pārthiva liṅga and destroyed her. All the captives were freed. The place of their freedom became Nāgeśvara Jyotirliṅga, the tenth of the Jyotirliṅgas. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 30)

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 29–30