Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 36
दीक्षितपुत्रस्य दैन्यचिन्ता तथा शिवरात्र्युपासनाप्रसङ्गः / The Initiate’s Son in Distress and the Occasion of Śivarātri Worship
अपरोपि परो धर्मो जातस्तत्रास्य किंकरः । शृण्वतः शिवनामानि प्रसंगादपि गृह्णताम्
aparopi paro dharmo jātastatrāsya kiṃkaraḥ | śṛṇvataḥ śivanāmāni prasaṃgādapi gṛhṇatām
Ali, até mesmo outro ato — que pareceria secundário — torna-se o Dharma supremo e o serve como um atendente devoto, quando se ouvem os nomes de Śiva, ainda que por acaso, e mesmo que apenas se os tome de passagem.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: General bhakti-doctrine: even incidental contact with Śiva-nāma (hearing/uttering) elevates ‘secondary’ acts into supreme dharma—anugraha operating beyond strict intentionality.
Significance: Śiva-nāma-śravaṇa is itself a tīrtha: even accidental hearing is meritorious and can initiate a turn toward liberation.
Type: panchakshara
Role: liberating
FAQs
It declares that Śiva-nāma—especially hearing His names—can elevate even an incidental act into the highest Dharma, because contact with Śiva’s name awakens devotion and turns the mind toward Pati (Śiva), loosening bondage.
Hearing and taking up Śiva’s names is a direct Saguna-upāsanā (devotional approach to Śiva with attributes), which naturally supports Linga-worship: the name fixes attention on Śiva, and the Linga becomes the stable focus for that devotion.
Practice Śiva-nāma-śravaṇa and nāma-japa—regularly listen to recitations of Śiva’s names and repeat them (e.g., with the Panchākṣarī ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’), even in daily life, so that remembrance becomes continuous.