Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 25
मङ्गलाचरणम्, तीर्थ-परिसरः, सूतागमनम् — Invocation, Sacred Setting, and the Arrival of Sūta
पुराणं धर्मशास्त्रं च विद्याश्चेताश्चतुर्दश । आयुर्वेदो धनुर्वेदो गांधर्वश्चेत्यनुक्रमात्
purāṇaṃ dharmaśāstraṃ ca vidyāścetāścaturdaśa | āyurvedo dhanurvedo gāṃdharvaścetyanukramāt
Dans l’ordre prescrit sont comptés les Purāṇa, les Dharmaśāstra et les quatorze branches du savoir — Āyurveda, Dhanurveda, Gāndharva et les autres — toutes comme des moyens de vivre selon le dharma et d’atteindre le but suprême, qui s’accomplit dans la dévotion à Śiva, le Seigneur (Pati).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; it enumerates vidyā-sthānas (Purāṇa, Dharmaśāstra, and fourteen vidyās) as ordered supports for dharma leading toward the highest puruṣārtha, culminating in Śiva-bhakti.
Significance: Frames learning itself as a preparatory sādhana: śāstra-vidyā becomes an aid to right conduct and devotion to Pati (Śiva).
FAQs
It affirms that sacred learning—Purāṇas, Dharmaśāstras, and the recognized vidyās—has a spiritual purpose: to establish right conduct and inner refinement so the soul (paśu) can move toward liberation through alignment with Śiva (Pati).
By placing Purāṇa and Dharmaśāstra at the head of ordered knowledge, it implies that scriptural guidance and dharmic discipline support proper Saguna worship—such as Linga-pūjā—so devotion is not merely emotional but grounded in right method and right living.
The takeaway is disciplined scriptural study (svādhyāya) joined with dharmic conduct; in Shaiva practice this naturally pairs with daily Linga worship and japa of the Panchākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) as the integrating sādhanā.