Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 3
शिवतेजसः समुद्रे बालरूपप्रादुर्भावः (Śiva’s Tejas Manifesting as a Child in the Ocean)
सनत्कुमार उवाच । शृणु तात महाप्राज्ञ शिवलीलां महाद्भुताम् । यच्छ्रुत्वा श्रद्धया भक्तो योगिनां गतिमाप्नुयात्
sanatkumāra uvāca | śṛṇu tāta mahāprājña śivalīlāṃ mahādbhutām | yacchrutvā śraddhayā bhakto yogināṃ gatimāpnuyāt
सनत्कुमार म्हणाले—हे महाप्राज्ञ ताता, शिवाची अत्यंत अद्भुत लीला ऐक. ती श्रद्धेने ऐकली असता भक्त योगीजनांची परम गती प्राप्त करतो.
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Significance: Śiva-līlā-śravaṇa (hearing the Lord’s deeds) is presented as a soteriological act: it purifies and elevates the listener toward the yogic goal (yogināṃ gati).
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that śravaṇa (devotional listening) of Śiva’s līlā, when done with śraddhā, becomes a direct means to inner elevation—granting the same lofty spiritual destination associated with accomplished yogins.
By praising “Śiva-līlā,” the verse emphasizes Saguna Śiva—Śiva known through compassionate acts and sacred narratives—supporting devotional approaches such as Linga worship where faith-filled remembrance and hearing deepen communion with Śiva.
The implied practice is regular śravaṇa and smaraṇa: hearing Śiva’s sacred accounts with faith and devotion, ideally supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) as a steady contemplative discipline.