Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 17
श्रद्धामाहात्म्यं तथा देवीप्रश्नः
The Greatness of Śraddhā and Devī’s Question to Śiva
साध्या तस्मान्मयि शद्धा मां वशीकर्तुमिच्छता । श्रद्धा हेतुस्स्वधर्मस्य रक्षणं वर्णिनामिह । स्ववर्णाश्रमधर्मेण वर्तते यस्तु मानवः । तस्यैव भवति श्रद्धा मयि नान्यस्य कस्यचित्
sādhyā tasmānmayi śaddhā māṃ vaśīkartumicchatā | śraddhā hetussvadharmasya rakṣaṇaṃ varṇināmiha | svavarṇāśramadharmeṇa vartate yastu mānavaḥ | tasyaiva bhavati śraddhā mayi nānyasya kasyacit
لذلك، يجب على من يرغب في الفوز بي أن ينمي الإيمان بي. الإيمان هو سبب حماية دارما المرء لأهل الطوائف (الفارنا) في هذا العالم. لكن الإنسان الذي يعيش وفقًا لواجبات طائفته ومرحلة حياته - في ذلك الشخص وحده ينشأ الإيمان بي، وليس في أي شخص آخر.
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Significance: Links śraddhā with svadharma/varṇāśrama as preparatory discipline; frames ethical order as a support for devotion that overcomes concealment (tirodhāna).
Role: teaching
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse teaches that śraddhā (devoted, steady trust) is not mere emotion but a dharmic power: when one safeguards svadharma and lives rightly, the heart becomes fit for Śiva, and faith naturally stabilizes in Him—opening the path to His grace (anugraha) and liberation.
Linga-worship and Saguna devotion require inner steadiness and purity. Śiva states that true śraddhā in Him is grounded in right conduct (svavarṇāśrama-dharma); such discipline supports consistent pūjā, mantra-japa, and reverence for the Linga as Śiva’s accessible form for the devotee.
The implied practice is dharma-aligned daily sādhana: regular Śiva-pūjā and japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) supported by ethical living; this stabilizes śraddhā and makes devotion effective.