Shloka 23
शिवपुराण-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Śiva Purāṇa) / Śivapurāṇa Māhātmya
एतच्छिवपुराणं यस्साधारणपदेच्छया । अन्यतः शृणुयात्सोऽपि मत्तो मुच्येत पातकात्
etacchivapurāṇaṃ yassādhāraṇapadecchayā | anyataḥ śṛṇuyātso'pi matto mucyeta pātakāt
Whoever hears this Śiva Purāṇa—even with an ordinary motive, desiring common worldly gains—if he listens to it from another reciter, he too is released from sin through Me, Śiva.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s teaching within the Vidyeshvara/Viśveśvara context)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: The verse stresses śravaṇa from ‘another’ (anyataḥ)—a guru/reciter lineage—by which Śiva (mattaḥ) releases even worldly-motivated listeners from sin, resonating with Kāśī’s theme of Śiva as direct liberator of bound beings.
Significance: Encourages public kathā/pravacana culture: even incidental hearing becomes purificatory; emphasizes Śiva’s accessibility to ordinary aspirants.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It declares the purifying power of śravaṇa (devout listening) to Śiva-kathā: even if one begins with worldly motives, contact with the Śiva Purāṇa draws Śiva’s grace and removes pāpa (sin), turning the listener toward liberation.
Hearing the Śiva Purāṇa is presented as direct engagement with Saguna Śiva’s compassionate, accessible grace—like Linga worship—where devotion can begin in a simple, “ordinary” way yet still becomes a channel for purification and upliftment.
Regular śravaṇa of the Śiva Purāṇa from a competent speaker (kathā/pravacana) is recommended; as a practical takeaway, pair listening with simple Śiva-bhakti such as mental japa of the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”).