Shloka 80
Niṣādasya Bhillasya Itihāsaḥ — Śivarātri-vrata-prabhāvaḥ
The Hunter’s Account and the Efficacy of the Śivarātri Observance
शिव उवाच । इति तेषां वचश्श्रुत्वा व्याधो विस्मयमागतः । शिवपूजाप्रभावेण ज्ञानं दुर्लभमाप्तवान्
śiva uvāca | iti teṣāṃ vacaśśrutvā vyādho vismayamāgataḥ | śivapūjāprabhāveṇa jñānaṃ durlabhamāptavān
Lord Śiva said: “Thus, having heard their words, the hunter was filled with wonder; and by the power of worshipping Śiva, he attained that rare jñāna—spiritual knowledge difficult to obtain.”
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: Śiva’s own speech interprets the event as the fruit of Śiva-pūjā: the hunter receives ‘durlabha jñāna’. This mirrors many Śiva-kathās where the Lord reveals the hidden meaning of seemingly ordinary acts.
Significance: Affirms that Śiva grants jñāna as grace (anugraha), not merely as intellectual attainment—central to Siddhānta soteriology.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that even an ordinary person can attain rare liberating knowledge when devotion is directed to Pati (Śiva); Śiva-pūjā purifies the bound soul (paśu) and loosens bondage (pāśa), making jñāna arise by grace.
The verse highlights the “prabhāva” (transforming potency) of Śiva-worship—classically expressed through saguna upāsanā such as Liṅga-pūjā—by which the mind becomes fit for true knowledge of Śiva beyond form.
Regular Śiva-pūjā with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and simple offerings is implied as the practical means through which inner clarity and jñāna become attainable.