Shloka 1
Gautama–Ahalyā-Upākhyāna: Durbhikṣa, Tapas, and Varuṇa’s Boon (गौतमाहल्योपाख्यानम्)
सूत उवाच । श्रूयतामृषयः श्रेष्ठाः कथां पापप्रणाशिनीम् । कथयामि यथा व्यासात्सद्गुरोश्च श्रुता मया
sūta uvāca | śrūyatāmṛṣayaḥ śreṣṭhāḥ kathāṃ pāpapraṇāśinīm | kathayāmi yathā vyāsātsadgurośca śrutā mayā
Sūta said: “Listen, O best of sages, to this sin-destroying sacred account. I shall narrate it exactly as I heard it from Vyāsa and from my true Guru.”
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse establishes śravaṇa (devotional listening) to Shiva-kathā as purifying and sin-destroying, and it emphasizes authenticity through guru-paramparā—knowledge received from Vyāsa and a realized teacher.
By inviting the sages to hear a ‘pāpa-praṇāśinī’ kathā, Sūta frames the coming narration as an act of devotion to Saguna Shiva—where hearing the Lord’s līlā, tīrtha, and Jyotirliṅga glories becomes a form of worship comparable to ritual reverence.
The implied practice is regular śravaṇa of Shiva Purana in a reverent setting (satsanga), ideally under guidance of a sadguru; this can be paired with mental japa of the Pañcākṣarī ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’ while listening.