Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 23
संध्यायाः शुद्धिः सूर्यलोकप्रवेशश्च — Purification of Sandhyā and Her Entry into the Solar Sphere
ब्रह्मविष्णुमहेशानां करनिस्सृततोयतः । सप्तनद्यस्समुत्पन्नाश्शिप्राद्यास्सुपवित्रकाः
brahmaviṣṇumaheśānāṃ karanissṛtatoyataḥ | saptanadyassamutpannāśśiprādyāssupavitrakāḥ
De l’eau qui s’écoula des mains de Brahmā, de Viṣṇu et de Maheśa naquirent les sept fleuves sacrés—à commencer par la Shiprā—d’une puissance de purification extrême pour tous les êtres.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara
Sthala Purana: The verse names Shiprā as first among the seven rivers arising from the hand-water of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa—an etiological sanctification of Shiprā, the principal tīrtha-river of Ujjayinī where Mahākāla is pre-eminent.
Significance: Snāna in Shiprā and darśana of Mahākāleśvara are classically held to remove pāpa and strengthen adhikāra for Śiva-bhakti; the river’s origin from the Trimūrti’s ‘pāṇi-toya’ marks it as supremely purifying.
FAQs
It presents sacred rivers as divinely sourced instruments of inner and outer purification, supporting the Shaiva aim of cleansing mala (impurity) and preparing the devotee for Shiva-bhakti and liberation.
By linking purification to Maheśa alongside Brahmā and Viṣṇu, the verse frames tīrtha-snāna and sanctity as aids to Saguna Shiva worship—making the worshipper fit for Linga-pūjā, mantra-japa, and temple rites.
Pilgrimage bathing (tīrtha-snāna) with Shiva mantra-japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as a practice of purification before Linga worship.