Shloka 44
शिवपुराण-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Śiva Purāṇa) / Śivapurāṇa Māhātmya
शिवालये बिल्ववने संहितां तां पठेत्तु यः । स तत्फलमवाप्नोति यद्वाचोऽपि न गोचरे
śivālaye bilvavane saṃhitāṃ tāṃ paṭhettu yaḥ | sa tatphalamavāpnoti yadvāco'pi na gocare
مَن تلا تلك السَّمهيتا في معبد شيفا، في غابة شجرة البِلفا، نال ثمرةً عظيمةً لا تبلغها الألفاظ ولا تطيقها العبارة وصفًا.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a specific jyotirliṅga; it prescribes an auspicious locus: śivālaya and bilva-vana, both classic Śaiva sacred spaces where merit is said to become ineffable.
Significance: Temple-recitation in bilva-grove intensifies puṇya and bhakti; ‘beyond speech’ signals transcendent fruit (mokṣa/anugraha) rather than merely worldly gain.
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It extols śravaṇa–pāṭha (hearing/recitation) of Śaiva scripture in a consecrated Śiva-space—especially a bilva-grove—as an act of intense bhakti that yields an inexpressibly vast spiritual merit and grace.
A Śiva-temple and bilva-offering culture are centered on Saguna Śiva worship through the Liṅga; reciting the Saṃhitā there is treated as direct upāsanā (devotional service) to the manifest form of Śiva while pointing to a fruit that transcends ordinary description.
Recite/read the Shiva Purana (this Saṃhitā) in a Śiva-mandira or bilva-vana, ideally alongside Liṅga-upacāra such as offering bilva leaves and mentally repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”