Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 1
शिवतेजसः समुद्रे बालरूपप्रादुर्भावः (Śiva’s Tejas Manifesting as a Child in the Ocean)
व्यास उवाच । सनत्कुमार सर्वज्ञ ब्रह्मपुत्र नमोस्तु ते । श्रुतेयमद्भुता मेऽद्य कथा शंभोर्महात्मनः
vyāsa uvāca | sanatkumāra sarvajña brahmaputra namostu te | śruteyamadbhutā me'dya kathā śaṃbhormahātmanaḥ
Vyāsa thưa: “Ôi Sanatkumāra, bậc toàn tri, con của Phạm Thiên (Brahmā), xin đảnh lễ Ngài. Hôm nay con đã được nghe câu chuyện kỳ diệu về đấng đại hồn Śaṃbhu (Śiva).”
Vyāsa
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Mantra: namo'stu te
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It models śraddhā (reverent receptivity): a realized listener (Vyāsa) honors the guru-like sage (Sanatkumāra) and recognizes Shiva-kathā as “adbhuta,” capable of turning the mind toward Śiva as the supreme Pati and bestower of grace.
By praising “Śaṃbhu” as the great-souled Lord, the verse frames the coming narrative as devotion to Saguna Śiva—approached through name, form, and sacred story—whose compassion is also expressed through Linga-worship and other Purāṇic modes of upāsanā.
The implied practice is attentive śravaṇa (listening) to Shiva-kathā with humility and salutations to the teacher; it naturally pairs with japa of the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” before or after recitation.