Shloka 7
शिवमायाप्रभाववर्णनम्
Description of the Power/Effects of Śiva’s Māyā
सनत्कुमार उवाच । शृणु व्यास महाबुद्धे शांकरीं सुखदां कथाम् । तस्याः श्रवणमात्रेण शिवे भक्तिः प्रजायते
sanatkumāra uvāca | śṛṇu vyāsa mahābuddhe śāṃkarīṃ sukhadāṃ kathām | tasyāḥ śravaṇamātreṇa śive bhaktiḥ prajāyate
Sanatkumāra said: “Listen, O Vyāsa of great intellect, to this Śāṃkarī narrative that bestows joy. By merely hearing it, devotion to Śiva is born.”
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Emphasizes śravaṇa-māhātmya: hearing Śiva-kathā itself is a means that ripens bhakti and becomes a doorway to grace (anugraha).
Type: stotra
FAQs
It declares śravaṇa (devout listening) to Śiva-centered sacred narrative as a direct cause of bhakti—an inner grace-response that turns the mind toward Pati (Śiva) and loosens bondage (pāśa).
Śiva-kathā cultivates reverence and loving attention toward Saguna Śiva—making the heart fit to worship the Liṅga with faith; hearing becomes the doorway that ripens into pūjā, japa, and surrender.
Regularly hear or recite Śiva-kathā (especially in a vrata or on Mahāśivarātri) as a bhakti-sādhana; it naturally supports mantra-japa (e.g., Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and focused remembrance of Śiva.