Shloka 44
शिवपुराण-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Śiva Purāṇa) / Śivapurāṇa Māhātmya
शिवालये बिल्ववने संहितां तां पठेत्तु यः । स तत्फलमवाप्नोति यद्वाचोऽपि न गोचरे
śivālaye bilvavane saṃhitāṃ tāṃ paṭhettu yaḥ | sa tatphalamavāpnoti yadvāco'pi na gocare
جو شِو مندر میں، بیل کے بن میں، اُس سنہِتا کا پاٹھ کرتا ہے، وہ ایسا عظیم پھل پاتا ہے جو بیان کی دسترس سے بھی باہر ہے۔
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Not a specific jyotirliṅga; it prescribes an auspicious locus: śivālaya and bilva-vana, both classic Śaiva sacred spaces where merit is said to become ineffable.
Significance: Temple-recitation in bilva-grove intensifies puṇya and bhakti; ‘beyond speech’ signals transcendent fruit (mokṣa/anugraha) rather than merely worldly gain.
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It extols śravaṇa–pāṭha (hearing/recitation) of Śaiva scripture in a consecrated Śiva-space—especially a bilva-grove—as an act of intense bhakti that yields an inexpressibly vast spiritual merit and grace.
A Śiva-temple and bilva-offering culture are centered on Saguna Śiva worship through the Liṅga; reciting the Saṃhitā there is treated as direct upāsanā (devotional service) to the manifest form of Śiva while pointing to a fruit that transcends ordinary description.
Recite/read the Shiva Purana (this Saṃhitā) in a Śiva-mandira or bilva-vana, ideally alongside Liṅga-upacāra such as offering bilva leaves and mentally repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”