Shloka 38
शिवपुराण-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Śiva Purāṇa) / Śivapurāṇa Māhātmya
कैलाससंहितायास्तु माहात्म्यं वेत्ति शंकरः । कृत्स्नं तदर्द्धं व्यासश्च तदर्द्धं वेद्म्यहं द्विजाः
kailāsasaṃhitāyāstu māhātmyaṃ vetti śaṃkaraḥ | kṛtsnaṃ tadarddhaṃ vyāsaśca tadarddhaṃ vedmyahaṃ dvijāḥ
Of the greatness of the Kailāsa-saṃhitā, Śaṅkara (Lord Śiva) alone knows it in full. Vyāsa knows half of that entirety, and I know half of what Vyāsa knows—O twice-born sages.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; it is a humility/topos of gradated access to śāstra-māhātmya: Śiva knows fully, Vyāsa partially, Sūta even less—implying the text’s transcendence beyond ordinary cognition.
Significance: Encourages śraddhā: even partial hearing yields benefit; the ‘unknowability’ motif elevates the saṃhitā as a grace-bearing revelation rather than a merely human composition.
FAQs
It establishes a Shaiva Siddhanta principle: Śiva (Pati) is the supreme knower, while even great seers know only a portion—encouraging humility, devotion, and reliance on Śiva’s grace for true understanding.
By declaring Śiva as the fullest knower of the scripture’s glory, it implicitly points seekers toward Saguna Śiva worship (such as Liṅga-upāsanā) as a practical means to approach the infinite reality that words and partial knowledge cannot fully contain.
The takeaway is śravaṇa (devotional listening) with humility, supported by daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” as a Shaiva method to turn limited learning into realized devotion.