Shloka 1
Munipraśna-varṇana
Description of the Sages’ Inquiry
इति श्रीशैवेमहापुराणे विद्येश्वरसंहितायां मुनिप्रश्नवर्णनो नाम प्रथमोऽध्यायः
iti śrīśaivemahāpurāṇe vidyeśvarasaṃhitāyāṃ munipraśnavarṇano nāma prathamo'dhyāyaḥ
ഇങ്ങനെ ശ്രീശൈവ മഹാപുരാണമായ ശിവപുരാണത്തിലെ വിദ്യേശ്വരസംഹിതയിൽ ‘മുനിപ്രശ്നവർണനം’ എന്ന പേരിലുള്ള ആദ്യ അധ്യായം സമാപ്തമായി.
Suta Goswami (traditional Purāṇic colophon closure to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
FAQs
This is a colophon marking the completion of the chapter; it signals that the teaching proceeds through the sages’ questions—an authentic Shaiva method where inquiry (praśna) leads to right understanding of Pati (Śiva) and the path to liberation.
Though not describing worship directly, it introduces the Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā framework in which the sages’ questions typically open into teachings on Śiva’s saguna manifestations such as the Liṅga, along with the inner meaning leading toward nirguṇa realization.
As a chapter-ending marker, it implies no specific rite; the practical takeaway is attentive śravaṇa (listening/reading) of the Purāṇa with devotion, which in later verses culminates in disciplines like japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), bhasma (tripuṇḍra), and rudrākṣa.