Shloka 77
उपमन्युकुमारस्य क्षीरार्थ-प्रार्थना तथा शिवप्रसाद-निबन्धनम् | Upamanyu’s Longing for Milk and the Doctrine of Shiva’s Grace
इदमाख्यानमनघं सर्वकामफलप्रदम् । स्वर्ग्यं यशस्यमायुष्यं भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदं सताम्
idamākhyānamanaghaṃ sarvakāmaphalapradam | svargyaṃ yaśasyamāyuṣyaṃ bhuktimuktipradaṃ satām
This spotless sacred account bestows the fruits of all rightful desires. It grants heavenly merit, fame, and longevity—and for the virtuous, it bestows both worldly enjoyment and final liberation.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Frames Śiva-kathā as a merit-and-liberation yielding act: dharma (svarga, yaśas, āyus) culminating in bhukti-mukti for satām.
Role: liberating
FAQs
It is a phalaśruti (promise of fruits) declaring that sincere hearing/recitation of this Shaiva narrative purifies the mind and ripens devotion, culminating in both dharmic prosperity and the supreme goal of moksha through Shiva’s grace.
By praising the ‘ākhyāna’ as liberating, it endorses Saguna Shiva-upasana—devotional engagement with Shiva’s forms, names, and deeds (including Linga worship)—as a valid means that leads from merit and blessings to inner purification and liberation.
Regular śravaṇa (hearing) and pāṭha (recitation) of the Shiva Purana with bhakti, ideally alongside japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and simple Shiva worship (Linga abhisheka) as one’s capacity permits.