Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 37
देवस्तुतिः (Devastuti) — Hymn/Praise of the Devas
वर्णानां ब्राह्मणोऽसि त्वं नृणां राजासि शंकर । मुक्तिक्षेत्रेषु काशी त्वं तीर्थानां तीर्थराड् भवान्
varṇānāṃ brāhmaṇo'si tvaṃ nṛṇāṃ rājāsi śaṃkara | muktikṣetreṣu kāśī tvaṃ tīrthānāṃ tīrtharāḍ bhavān
يا شَنْكَرا! بين الطبقات (الفَرْنَة) أنتَ البراهمن، الأسمى في العلم المقدّس؛ وبين الناس أنتَ الملك. وبين ميادين التحرّر أنتَ كاشي ذاتها؛ وبين جميع التيِرثا أنتَ تيرثَراجا، سيّد المزارات المقدّسة.
Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating the Purāṇic dialogue; the verse itself praises Lord Śiva as Śaṅkara)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī is proclaimed the foremost muktikṣetra where Śiva grants tāraka-upadeśa at the time of death; Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha is revered as the lord who bestows liberation in the city of light.
Significance: Darśana of Viśvanātha and death/antyeṣṭi in Kāśī are traditionally held to confer mokṣa through Śiva’s grace (anugraha).
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It declares Śiva as the supreme source of both dharma and mokṣa—He is the highest sanctity (brahmin-principle), the sovereign protector (king), and the very power that makes liberation-places like Kāśī liberating.
By praising Śaṅkara as the ‘king of tīrthas,’ it implies that all sanctity culminates in Him; thus, worship of Saguna Śiva—especially in the Śiva-liṅga—connects the devotee to the same liberating presence attributed to Kāśī and all tīrthas.
A direct takeaway is tīrtha-smaraṇa and Śiva-stuti: recite the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with devotion, viewing Śiva as the inner Kāśī (mukti-kṣetra), and offer simple liṅga-pūjā (water, bilva) as a liberation-oriented practice.