Śivapūjā-stuti: Deva-Ṛṣi-Paramparāyāṃ Śaṃkara-caritasya Prastāvaḥ
Prelude to Śaṃkara’s narrative and the lineage of Śiva-worship
प्रियव्रतश्च तत्पुत्रास्तथा चोत्तानपात्सुतः । तद्वंशाश्चैव राजानश्शिवपूजनकारकाः
priyavrataśca tatputrāstathā cottānapātsutaḥ | tadvaṃśāścaiva rājānaśśivapūjanakārakāḥ
پریہ ورت اور اس کے بیٹے، نیز اُتّانپاد کا بیٹا—اور ان کی نسلوں میں پیدا ہونے والے بادشاہ—سب کے سب بھگوان شِو کی پوجا کرنے والے تھے۔
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
It presents Śiva-bhakti as a dharmic ideal upheld even by great royal lineages—teaching that sincere pūjā to Pati (Śiva) purifies the pashu (individual) and supports both worldly order and liberation-oriented merit.
By praising kings as “śivapūjanakārakāḥ,” the verse points to regular, embodied worship of Saguna Śiva—classically expressed in Śiva-pūjā to the Liṅga in tīrthas and temples, the central devotional mode emphasized in the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā’s pilgrimage framework.
The takeaway is steadiness in daily Śiva-pūjā—offering water and bilva leaves to the Liṅga with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), supported by simple Shaiva marks such as bhasma (tripuṇḍra) where customary.