Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 44
स्कन्दसरः (Skandasara) — तीर्थवर्णनम् / Description of the Skandasara Sacred Lake
अभक्ताय महेशस्य तथा धर्मध्वजाय च । एतच्छ्रुत्या ह्येकवारं भवेत्पापं हि भस्मसात्
abhaktāya maheśasya tathā dharmadhvajāya ca | etacchrutyā hyekavāraṃ bhavetpāpaṃ hi bhasmasāt
Mesmo para quem não é devoto de Maheśa, e mesmo para quem apenas ostenta o estandarte do dharma, ao ouvir isto uma única vez, o pecado é de fato reduzido a cinzas.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Significance: Highlights the purifying potency of Śiva-kathā/śravaṇa: even minimal contact (eka-vāra-śravaṇa) can burn pāpa, prefiguring pilgrimage logic where darśana/śravaṇa yields immediate merit.
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches the Shaiva principle that Śiva’s grace works through śravaṇa (devout hearing): even a single sincere hearing of Śiva’s teaching/glory can burn accumulated pāpa like bhasma, preparing the soul (paśu) for purification and liberation.
Hearing Śiva’s mahimā is itself a form of worship and a gateway to Saguna devotion—often leading one toward Linga-upāsanā, mantra, and ritual life; the verse highlights that contact with Śiva-kathā can awaken bhakti even where it was absent.
Śravaṇa: regularly listen to Śiva Purāṇa recitation or Śiva-stotra/kathā; in practice this is commonly paired with daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and simple Śiva-pūjā to stabilize the purification gained through hearing.