Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 3
श्रद्धामाहात्म्यं तथा देवीप्रश्नः
The Greatness of Śraddhā and Devī’s Question to Śiva
अन्यथा हि जगत्यस्मिन् देवो वा दानवो ऽपि वा । त्वत्तोन्यः परमं भावं को जानीयाच्छिवात्मकम् । तस्मात्तव मुखोद्गीर्णं साक्षादिव पिनाकिनः । शिवज्ञानामृतं पीत्वा न मे तृप्तमभून्मनः
anyathā hi jagatyasmin devo vā dānavo 'pi vā | tvattonyaḥ paramaṃ bhāvaṃ ko jānīyācchivātmakam | tasmāttava mukhodgīrṇaṃ sākṣādiva pinākinaḥ | śivajñānāmṛtaṃ pītvā na me tṛptamabhūnmanaḥ
Autrement, en ce monde—qu’il s’agisse d’un dieu ou d’un démon—qui, en dehors de toi, pourrait connaître véritablement cette Réalité suprême dont l’essence même est Śiva ? C’est pourquoi, bien que j’aie bu le nectar de la connaissance de Śiva sorti de ta bouche—comme s’il venait directement de Pinākin (le Seigneur Śiva, porteur de l’arc)—mon esprit n’en est pas encore rassasié.
A devotee-disciple in the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā addressing the revered teacher/narrator (contextually within Sūta’s Vāyu-Saṃhitā discourse)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Positions Śiva-jñāna as the highest ‘nectar’ accessible through the guru’s mouth—pilgrimage culminates in śravaṇa of liberating doctrine and assimilation into practice.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It declares that the supreme Reality is Shivātman (of the nature of Śiva) and cannot be known by mere status—god or demon—without the grace of the true revealer; even after tasting Śiva-jñāna, the seeker’s longing deepens, showing bhakti ripening into jñāna.
The verse points to Śiva as the supreme tattva (nirguṇa in essence) revealed through instruction and direct experience; in practice, devotees approach this through saguna upāsanā—Śiva-kathā, mantra, and Liṅga worship—until knowledge of Shivātman dawns.
Śravaṇa (listening) and manana (contemplation) of Śiva-jñāna as taught by the guru, supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and meditation on Śiva as Pinākin, letting devotion become steady insight.