Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 1
विष्णुचेष्टितवर्णनम् / Account of Viṣṇu’s Stratagem and Its Aftermath
व्यास उवाच । ब्रह्मपुत्र नमस्तेऽस्तु धन्यस्त्वं शैवसत्तम । यच्छ्राविता महादिव्या कथेयं शांकरी शुभा
vyāsa uvāca | brahmaputra namaste'stu dhanyastvaṃ śaivasattama | yacchrāvitā mahādivyā katheyaṃ śāṃkarī śubhā
વ્યાસ બોલ્યા—હે બ્રહ્મપુત્ર, તને નમસ્કાર. હે શૈવોમાં શ્રેષ્ઠ, તું ધન્ય છે, કારણ કે તને આ પરમ દિવ્ય, શુભ શાંકરી કથા સાંભળાવવામાં આવી છે।
Vyāsa
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
The verse glorifies śravaṇa (devotional listening) of Śiva’s sacred narrative as a direct source of puṇya and auspiciousness, marking the listener as “dhanya” and firmly aligned with Pati (Śiva) through bhakti.
By calling the account “śāṅkarī” and “śubhā,” it affirms that engaging with Saguna Śiva through story, praise, and remembrance is itself a form of upāsanā—supporting Linga-worship and devotion as accessible means to approach Śiva’s grace.
The implied practice is regular śravaṇa and smaraṇa of Śiva-kathā—hearing recitations of the Shiva Purana with reverence, ideally alongside mantra-japa such as the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”).