Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 43
तारकवधोत्तरं देवस्तुतिः पर्वतवरप्रदानं च / Devas’ Hymn after Tāraka’s Slaying and the Bestowal of Boons upon the Mountains
पर्वतानां सुमेरुस्त्वं नक्षत्राणां च चन्द्रमा । ऋषीणां च वशिष्ठस्त्वं देवानां वासवस्तथा
parvatānāṃ sumerustvaṃ nakṣatrāṇāṃ ca candramā | ṛṣīṇāṃ ca vaśiṣṭhastvaṃ devānāṃ vāsavastathā
Unter den Bergen bist du Meru; unter den Himmelslichtern bist du der Mond. Unter den ṛṣi bist du Vasiṣṭha; und unter den Göttern bist du ebenso Vāsava (Indra) — so stehst du als höchste Vortrefflichkeit in jeder Ordnung der Wesen.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Significance: The ‘foremost among categories’ (śreṣṭhatva) framing supports tīrtha-sevā as seeing Śiva in all excellences; pilgrims cultivate sarva-darśana (seeing the Lord everywhere).
Mantra: पर्वतानां सुमेरुस्त्वं नक्षत्राणां च चन्द्रमा । ऋषीणां च वशिष्ठस्त्वं देवानां वासवस्तथा
Type: stotra
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches that Shiva is the supreme principle (Pati) who appears as the highest excellence within every realm—mountains, luminaries, sages, and gods—guiding the devotee to see all greatness as rooted in Him.
By praising Shiva as the foremost in all categories, the verse supports Saguna upāsanā: the devotee concentrates reverence on Shiva (often through the Linga) as the visible focus of the supreme reality that empowers every deity and virtue.
Use this as a stuti during Linga-pūjā: apply Tripuṇḍra (bhasma), offer water and bilva leaves, and mentally contemplate Shiva as the inner summit of all greatness while repeating the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”