Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 3
श्रद्धामाहात्म्यं तथा देवीप्रश्नः
The Greatness of Śraddhā and Devī’s Question to Śiva
अन्यथा हि जगत्यस्मिन् देवो वा दानवो ऽपि वा । त्वत्तोन्यः परमं भावं को जानीयाच्छिवात्मकम् । तस्मात्तव मुखोद्गीर्णं साक्षादिव पिनाकिनः । शिवज्ञानामृतं पीत्वा न मे तृप्तमभून्मनः
anyathā hi jagatyasmin devo vā dānavo 'pi vā | tvattonyaḥ paramaṃ bhāvaṃ ko jānīyācchivātmakam | tasmāttava mukhodgīrṇaṃ sākṣādiva pinākinaḥ | śivajñānāmṛtaṃ pītvā na me tṛptamabhūnmanaḥ
Иначе в этом мире — будь то бог или демон — кто, кроме тебя, мог бы поистине познать высшую Реальность, чья сущность есть Шива? Потому, хотя я и испил нектар шива-ведения, изречённый твоими устами — словно он исходил прямо от Пинакина (Господа Шивы, носящего лук), — мой ум всё ещё не насытился.
A devotee-disciple in the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā addressing the revered teacher/narrator (contextually within Sūta’s Vāyu-Saṃhitā discourse)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Positions Śiva-jñāna as the highest ‘nectar’ accessible through the guru’s mouth—pilgrimage culminates in śravaṇa of liberating doctrine and assimilation into practice.
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It declares that the supreme Reality is Shivātman (of the nature of Śiva) and cannot be known by mere status—god or demon—without the grace of the true revealer; even after tasting Śiva-jñāna, the seeker’s longing deepens, showing bhakti ripening into jñāna.
The verse points to Śiva as the supreme tattva (nirguṇa in essence) revealed through instruction and direct experience; in practice, devotees approach this through saguna upāsanā—Śiva-kathā, mantra, and Liṅga worship—until knowledge of Shivātman dawns.
Śravaṇa (listening) and manana (contemplation) of Śiva-jñāna as taught by the guru, supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and meditation on Śiva as Pinākin, letting devotion become steady insight.