Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 3
गाणपत्यदानकथा
Bāṇāsura Receives Gaṇapatya; Genealogical Prelude
सनत्कुमार उवाच । शृणु व्यासादरात्तां वै कथां शंभोः परात्मनः । गाणपत्यं यथा प्रीत्या ददौ बाणा सुराय हि
sanatkumāra uvāca | śṛṇu vyāsādarāttāṃ vai kathāṃ śaṃbhoḥ parātmanaḥ | gāṇapatyaṃ yathā prītyā dadau bāṇā surāya hi
Sanatkumāra sprach: Höre—wahrlich—die heilige Erzählung von Śambhu, dem höchsten Selbst, die ich ehrfürchtig von Vyāsa empfangen habe: wie Er aus Zuneigung dem Bāṇa den Rang des Gaṇapatya verlieh.
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
FAQs
It frames Śiva as Parātman (the Supreme Self) and presents devotional lineages (like Gaṇapatya) as arising through grace and sacred transmission, indicating that true worship traditions ultimately rest in Śiva’s supreme reality.
By calling Śiva “Śambhu, the Supreme Self,” the verse links the personal, auspicious Lord (saguṇa) to the highest principle (parātman). Such narratives support worship—whether of the Liṅga or of Śiva’s divine family—as valid approaches grounded in Śiva’s supremacy.
The immediate takeaway is śravaṇa (devotional listening) to Śiva-kathā with reverence, which in Shaiva practice is paired with daily Śiva-nāma japa (e.g., Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and respectful Gaṇapati-vandana before Śiva-pūjā.