Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 50
स्कन्दसरः (Skandasara) — तीर्थवर्णनम् / Description of the Skandasara Sacred Lake
भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदं ब्रह्मसंमितं भक्तिवर्धनम् । एतच्छिवपुराणस्य वक्तुः श्रोतुश्च सर्वदा
bhuktimuktipradaṃ brahmasaṃmitaṃ bhaktivardhanam | etacchivapurāṇasya vaktuḥ śrotuśca sarvadā
ഈ ശിവപുരാണം ഭുക്തിയും മുക്തിയും നൽകുന്നതും, വേദസമമായ പ്രാമാണ്യമുള്ളതും, ഭക്തിവർധകവുമാണ്. ഈ ശിവപുരാണത്തിന്റെ വക്താവിനും ശ്രോതാവിനും സദാ ഫലപ്രാപ്തി ഉണ്ടാകുന്നു.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Positions the Purāṇa as ‘brahma-sammita’ (Veda-authoritative), legitimizing it as a śāstric means for both prosperity and liberation—akin to a portable tīrtha through recitation.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It declares śravaṇa (devout listening) and pravacana (recitation) of the Shiva Purana as a direct means to grow bhakti toward Pati (Shiva), yielding both dharmic wellbeing (bhukti) and final release from pāśa (bondage) as mukti.
By praising the Purana as bhakti-vardhana, it supports Saguna upāsanā—devotional worship of Shiva through Linga, names, and narratives—where sustained devotion matures into right knowledge and grace, culminating in mukti.
Regular hearing/reading of the Shiva Purana with devotion—especially in vratās and festivals like Mahāśivarātri—serves as a primary practice; it can be paired with japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and simple Linga-pūjā to deepen the stated bhakti.