Shloka 23
उपमन्युकुमारस्य क्षीरार्थ-प्रार्थना तथा शिवप्रसाद-निबन्धनम् | Upamanyu’s Longing for Milk and the Doctrine of Shiva’s Grace
सुरेश्वर उवाच । तुष्टोऽस्मि ते वरं ब्रूहि तपसानेन सुव्रत । ददामि चेच्छितान्कामान्सर्वान्नात्रास्ति संशयः
sureśvara uvāca | tuṣṭo'smi te varaṃ brūhi tapasānena suvrata | dadāmi cecchitānkāmānsarvānnātrāsti saṃśayaḥ
Sureśvara said: “I am pleased with you because of this austerity, O noble-vowed one. Speak your boon. I shall grant all that you desire; of this there is no doubt.”
Sureśvara (Lord of the Devas, commonly Indra)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse highlights that disciplined tapas (austerity) and steadfast vrata (vow) attract divine grace; yet in a Shaiva Siddhanta reading, worldly boons are secondary to inner purification that ultimately supports devotion to Pati (Shiva) and liberation.
Although a deva offers boons here, the Shiva Purana repeatedly teaches that all divine powers operate under Shiva’s lordship; thus the devotee’s tapas is best oriented toward Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-seva, mantra-japa, and bhakti—so that gifts become supports for dharma rather than bindings of desire.
The verse implies vrata with tapas: regular mantra-japa (especially Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), simple living, and focused worship; if undertaken for Shiva, it is traditionally paired with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha as aids to steadiness and remembrance.