Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 75
पूजाविधिः
Pūjā-vidhiḥ) — The Supreme Procedure of Worship (Morning Observances
स्तोत्रैर्नानाविधैः प्रीत्या स्तुवीत वृषभध्वजम् । ततः प्रदक्षिणां कुर्याच्छिवस्य च शनैश्शनैः
stotrairnānāvidhaiḥ prītyā stuvīta vṛṣabhadhvajam | tataḥ pradakṣiṇāṃ kuryācchivasya ca śanaiśśanaiḥ
ด้วยความรักและภักดี พึงสรรเสริญพระศิวะผู้มีธงวัว ด้วยบทสวดนานาประการ แล้วจึงทำประทักษิณารอบพระศิวะอย่างช้า ๆ ด้วยความเคารพ
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya, within the Rudra Saṃhitā context)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Significance: Stotra and pradakṣiṇā are presented as bhakti-aṅgas that soften pāśa (bondage) and dispose the paśu toward Śiva’s anugraha (grace).
Type: stotra
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It teaches that liberation-oriented worship begins with prīti (loving devotion): praising Śiva with sincere hymns and then honoring Him through pradakṣiṇā, an embodied act of reverence that centers one’s mind on Pati (the Lord) rather than on worldly bonds (pāśa).
Stotra and pradakṣiṇā are classic upacāras of Saguna worship—often performed before the Śiva-liṅga—where the devotee approaches the Lord in a form accessible to devotion, using sound (hymn) and movement (circumambulation) to steady attention and surrender.
Chant Śiva-stotras with devotion and then do slow, mindful pradakṣiṇā around Śiva (especially the liṅga), keeping Him to the right, moving steadily as a form of walking meditation and prayer.