Shloka 14
पुराणश्रवणप्रस्तावः
Prologue to the Recitation of the Śaiva Purāṇa
बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन शिवे भक्त्या विमुच्यते । प्रसादाद्देवताभक्तिः प्रसादो भक्तिसंभवः । यथेहांकुरतो बीजं बीजतो वा यथांकुरः
bahunātra kimuktena śive bhaktyā vimucyate | prasādāddevatābhaktiḥ prasādo bhaktisaṃbhavaḥ | yathehāṃkurato bījaṃ bījato vā yathāṃkuraḥ
Was braucht es hier vieler Worte? Durch Hingabe an Śiva wird man befreit. Aus (Śivas) Gnade, dem Prasāda, entsteht die Hingabe zur Gottheit, und diese Gnade selbst wird aus Hingabe geboren — wie hier: aus dem Spross entsteht der Same, und aus dem Samen wiederum der Spross.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating Shiva Purana teachings to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī’s Viśveśvara theology centers on mokṣa through Śiva’s prasāda; this verse explicitly states liberation (vimukti) through bhakti and grace, resonant with Kāśī’s mokṣa-kṣetra identity.
Significance: Frames liberation as the fruit of bhakti matured by Śiva’s grace; supports pilgrimage as a means to intensify devotion and receive prasāda.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches that moksha is attained through Śiva-bhakti, and that bhakti and Śiva’s prasāda mutually reinforce each other—forming a self-sustaining spiritual cycle like seed and sprout.
It supports Saguna upāsanā—devotion to Śiva as worshipped (often through the Liṅga)—as a direct means to liberation, where steady pūjā matures into grace, and grace deepens devotion.
Regular Śiva-pūjā with heartfelt bhakti—such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and prayer for prasāda—since devotion itself is presented as the cause of liberation.