Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 1
शिवतेजसः समुद्रे बालरूपप्रादुर्भावः (Śiva’s Tejas Manifesting as a Child in the Ocean)
व्यास उवाच । सनत्कुमार सर्वज्ञ ब्रह्मपुत्र नमोस्तु ते । श्रुतेयमद्भुता मेऽद्य कथा शंभोर्महात्मनः
vyāsa uvāca | sanatkumāra sarvajña brahmaputra namostu te | śruteyamadbhutā me'dya kathā śaṃbhormahātmanaḥ
വ്യാസൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ സർവ്വജ്ഞനായ ബ്രഹ്മപുത്ര സനത്കുമാരാ, നമസ്കാരം. ഇന്ന് മഹാത്മാവായ ശംഭു (ശിവൻ)യുടെ ഈ അത്ഭുതകഥ ഞാൻ ശ്രവിച്ചു.
Vyāsa
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Mantra: namo'stu te
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It models śraddhā (reverent receptivity): a realized listener (Vyāsa) honors the guru-like sage (Sanatkumāra) and recognizes Shiva-kathā as “adbhuta,” capable of turning the mind toward Śiva as the supreme Pati and bestower of grace.
By praising “Śaṃbhu” as the great-souled Lord, the verse frames the coming narrative as devotion to Saguna Śiva—approached through name, form, and sacred story—whose compassion is also expressed through Linga-worship and other Purāṇic modes of upāsanā.
The implied practice is attentive śravaṇa (listening) to Shiva-kathā with humility and salutations to the teacher; it naturally pairs with japa of the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” before or after recitation.