Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 56
दीक्षितपुत्रस्य दैन्यचिन्ता तथा शिवरात्र्युपासनाप्रसङ्गः / The Initiate’s Son in Distress and the Occasion of Śivarātri Worship
ग्रामाधीशान्समाहूय सर्वान्स विषयस्थितान् । इत्थमाज्ञापयामास दीपा देयाश्शिवालये
grāmādhīśānsamāhūya sarvānsa viṣayasthitān | itthamājñāpayāmāsa dīpā deyāśśivālaye
ਉਸ ਨੇ ਪਿੰਡਾਂ ਦੇ ਮੁਖੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਤਾਇਨਾਤ ਸਭਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਬੁਲਾ ਕੇ ਇਹ ਹੁਕਮ ਦਿੱਤਾ—“ਸ਼ਿਵਾਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਦੀਵੇ ਚੜ੍ਹਾਏ ਜਾਣ।”
Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā account to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Administrative propagation of temple lamp-offering: the king institutionalizes a daily act of worship, sustaining dharma in society.
Significance: Highlights collective merit: when leaders organize temple service, many participate and accrue puṇya; supports continuity of worship (nitya-kriyā).
Mantra: “dīpā deyāḥ śivālaye” (injunctive devotional refrain; not a Vedic mantra)
Role: nurturing
Offering: dipa
FAQs
The verse elevates dīpa-dāna (offering a lamp) as a simple, public act of bhakti that spreads auspiciousness and supports collective worship of Pati (Śiva), drawing the mind from darkness (ignorance) toward divine awareness.
Lighting a lamp in a Śiva-alaya is a Saguna mode of worship—serving Śiva as present in the temple and in the Liṅga—where devotion is expressed through tangible offerings that steady attention and reverence.
Perform deepa-dāna in a Śiva temple—light a clean oil/ghee lamp before the Liṅga, mentally offer the light to Śiva, and (if desired) accompany it with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”