Shloka 8
Mahādāna-prakaraṇa (The Doctrine of Great Gifts): Suvarṇa–Go–Bhūmi and Tulā-dāna
गृहीत्वैतानि सर्वाणि ब्राह्मणो ज्ञानवित्सदा । वदान्यांस्तारयेत्सद्यो ह्यात्मानं च न संशयः
gṛhītvaitāni sarvāṇi brāhmaṇo jñānavitsadā | vadānyāṃstārayetsadyo hyātmānaṃ ca na saṃśayaḥ
Having taken up all these in full, a learned and ever-discerning brāhmaṇa should at once ferry across the generous devotees—and thereby save his own self as well; of this there is no doubt.
Lord Shiva (teaching within the Umāsaṃhitā discourse)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Highlights the salvific economy of dāna mediated by learned brāhmaṇas: donors gain merit and purification; the teacher-priestly mediator also advances spiritually—an ethical-social channel for Śiva’s anugraha.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that one grounded in Shaiva knowledge and right practice becomes a conduit of grace—helping devoted and charitable people cross saṁsāra, and in serving their upliftment, he also secures his own spiritual deliverance.
In Shaiva Siddhanta, Saguna Shiva (worshipped as the Linga) is approached through disciplined observance, devotion, and guidance from the knowledgeable; such a guide stabilizes devotees in proper Shiva-worship and leads them toward Shiva’s liberating grace.
The verse implies adopting the prescribed Shaiva means (vrata, pūjā, mantra-japa, charity) and then guiding other devotees—especially the generous—toward those same practices as a form of dharmic service.