Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 64
मङ्गलाचरणम्, तीर्थ-परिसरः, सूतागमनम् — Invocation, Sacred Setting, and the Arrival of Sūta
चतुस्साहस्रसंख्याकमेवं संख्याविभेदतः । श्रुतम्परमपुण्यन्तु पुराणं शिवसंज्ञकम्
catussāhasrasaṃkhyākamevaṃ saṃkhyāvibhedataḥ | śrutamparamapuṇyantu purāṇaṃ śivasaṃjñakam
یوں شمار کے تقسیمات کے مطابق ‘شیو’ نام والا یہ پُران چار ہزار کی تعداد میں شمار ہوتا ہے؛ اور یہ نہایت پُنیہ بخش (ثواب آور) سنا گیا ہے۔
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Sthala Purana: Declares the Purāṇa named ‘Śiva’ as supremely meritorious (parama-puṇya) and gives an overall count by enumeration; it functions as a phala-śruti-like valuation of śravaṇa.
Significance: Hearing/reciting the Śiva Purāṇa is presented as a puṇya-generating act; in Siddhānta terms, śravaṇa supports purification and receptivity to Śiva’s grace (anugraha).
Role: liberating
FAQs
It declares that hearing the Śiva Purāṇa is “parama-puṇya” (supremely purifying merit), affirming śravaṇa (devout listening) as a direct means to inner purification and Shiva-oriented liberation in a Shaiva devotional framework.
By praising the Purāṇa named “Śiva,” it supports Saguna-upāsanā through sacred narrative and instruction: listening to Shiva’s glories and teachings naturally leads the devotee toward Linga-bhakti and disciplined worship described throughout the text.
The implied practice is śravaṇa: regularly hearing/reciting the Śiva Purāṇa with faith, ideally in a pure setting and with Shiva-smaraṇa (remembrance), as a foundational devotional discipline that complements mantra-japa and Linga-pūjā.