Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 20
पूर्वगतिवर्णनम् (Pūrvagati-varṇana) — “Description of the Prior Course / Earlier Lineage Account”
सनत्कुमार उवाच । यूयं तिस्रो भगिन्यश्च मूढाः सद्वयुनोज्झिताः । अज्ञातश्रुतितत्त्वा हि पितृकन्या अपि ध्रुवम्
sanatkumāra uvāca | yūyaṃ tisro bhaginyaśca mūḍhāḥ sadvayunojjhitāḥ | ajñātaśrutitattvā hi pitṛkanyā api dhruvam
सनत्कुमार बोले—हे तीनों बहनो, तुम मोहग्रस्त हो और सच्चे विवेक से रहित हो। तुमने वेद-श्रुति का वास्तविक तत्त्व नहीं जाना; पिता की पुत्रियाँ होकर भी यह निश्चय है।
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse stresses viveka (right discernment) grounded in Śruti: without knowing the Vedic purport, one remains mūḍha (deluded) and cannot properly orient devotion toward Pati (Śiva) as the liberating Lord.
Linga/Saguna worship is meant to be guided by Śruti and right understanding; Sanatkumāra’s rebuke implies that ritual or identity alone (being “daughters of a father”) is insufficient without grasping the scriptural truth that leads devotion toward Śiva correctly.
The implied practice is scripturally guided sādhana—study/hearing (śravaṇa) of Śruti and applying viveka—so that Shiva-upāsanā (including japa of the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) is done with correct understanding rather than confusion.