Shloka 12
Svagati-varṇana
Description of the Supreme State / One’s True Attainment
उपमन्युरुवाच । शृणु कृष्ण महाशैव महिमानं महेशितुः । यमद्राक्षमहं शंभोर्भक्तिवर्द्धनमुत्तमम्
upamanyuruvāca | śṛṇu kṛṣṇa mahāśaiva mahimānaṃ maheśituḥ | yamadrākṣamahaṃ śaṃbhorbhaktivarddhanamuttamam
Upamanyu said: “Listen, O Kṛṣṇa, great devotee of Śiva, to the glory of Maheśa, the Supreme Lord. I shall relate what I myself witnessed—an excellent episode that increases devotion to Śambhu.”
Upamanyu
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Upamanyu announces a first-person witnessed (dṛṣṭa) Śiva-glory episode meant to increase bhakti; it is not tied here to a named Jyotirliṅga.
Significance: Śiva-māhātmya as bhakti-vardhana: hearing/retelling witnessed līlā strengthens devotion and becomes a vehicle for Śiva’s grace.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse frames śravaṇa (devotional listening) as a direct means to strengthen bhakti toward Pati (Śiva), preparing the mind for grace and liberation in a Shaiva Siddhanta understanding.
By praising Maheśa’s “mahima” and presenting a devotion-increasing narrative, it supports Saguna upāsanā—approaching Śiva through accessible names and forms (Śambhu/Maheśa), which commonly culminates in Linga-centered worship in the Purāṇic tradition.
The implied practice is śravaṇa and kīrtana—listening to and reciting Shiva’s glories as a daily devotion that steadily deepens faith and steadies the mind for mantra-japa and pūjā.