Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 3
विष्णुचेष्टितवर्णनम् / Account of Viṣṇu’s Stratagem and Its Aftermath
सनत्कुमार उवाच । शृणु व्यास महाप्राज्ञ शैवप्रवर सत्तम । वैष्णवं चरितं शंभुचरिताढ्यं सुनिर्मलम्
sanatkumāra uvāca | śṛṇu vyāsa mahāprājña śaivapravara sattama | vaiṣṇavaṃ caritaṃ śaṃbhucaritāḍhyaṃ sunirmalam
قال سَنَتْكُمارا: «اسمع يا فياسا، أيها الأشدُّ حكمة، يا أسبقَ أهل الشَّيْوَة وأفضلَ الصالحين. سأروي الخبر الفَيْشْنَويّ، طاهرًا نقيًّا، غير أنه مفعمٌ بأعمال شَمْبُو ومجده، أي الرب شِيفا.»
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pati
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It affirms that even narratives framed as “Vaiṣṇava” can be spiritually purifying when they reveal Śambhu’s divine conduct and supremacy, encouraging śravaṇa (devotional listening) as a means to inner purification and bhakti.
By praising “Śambhu-carita” as stainless and worthy to hear, it supports Saguna upāsanā—devotion to Shiva’s manifest attributes and deeds—which in the Shiva Purana commonly culminates in reverence for the Śiva-tattva expressed through the Liṅga.
The implied practice is śravaṇa of Shiva-kathā with reverence—hearing sacred narration as a discipline—ideally accompanied by remembrance of Shiva (japa of Om Namaḥ Śivāya) to internalize the purifying meaning.