Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 23
मुनिप्रश्नवर्णनम्
Description of the Sages’ Questions
शंभोर्गुणानुवादात्को विरज्येत पुमान्द्विजाः । विना पशुघ्नं त्रिविधजनानन्दकरात्सदा
śaṃbhorguṇānuvādātko virajyeta pumāndvijāḥ | vinā paśughnaṃ trividhajanānandakarātsadā
ഹേ ദ്വിജന്മാരേ! ശംഭുവിന്റെ ഗുണാനുവാദം (കീർത്തനം) കേട്ട് ആരാണ് വിരക്തനാകുക? പാശുഘ്നൻ—എപ്പോഴും ത്രിവിധ ജനങ്ങൾക്ക് ആനന്ദം നൽകുന്നവൻ—അവനെ ഒഴികെ സദാ അത്തരം ഹർഷം നൽകാൻ മറ്റാരുണ്ട്?
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga passage; the epithet ‘Paśughna’ is interpreted theologically: Śiva destroys paśutva (bonded animality) by severing pāśa through grace.
Significance: Frames Śiva as the unique source of ānanda for ‘threefold beings’ and as the remover of bondage—aligning pilgrimage with inner transformation from paśu to mukta through pati’s anugraha.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It declares that praising Śiva’s qualities is intrinsically uplifting and cannot lead to boredom or aversion, because Śiva alone removes the paśu-state (bonded, instinct-driven existence) and continually grants bliss—pointing to bhakti as a direct means toward liberation.
Guṇānuvāda (praise of Śiva’s virtues) is a Saguna approach—contemplating Śiva with attributes such as compassion and liberating power. In Śiva-pūjā, this becomes stotra, nāma-japa, and Liṅga-arcana, where the devotee experiences Śiva’s grace as the Paśughna who cuts bondage.
Regular recitation of Śiva-stotras and nāma-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with devotional remembrance of Śiva as Paśughna; this can be paired with Liṅga-abhiṣeka and wearing/using rudrākṣa for steady bhakti and inner purification.