Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 3
विष्णुचेष्टितवर्णनम् / Account of Viṣṇu’s Stratagem and Its Aftermath
सनत्कुमार उवाच । शृणु व्यास महाप्राज्ञ शैवप्रवर सत्तम । वैष्णवं चरितं शंभुचरिताढ्यं सुनिर्मलम्
sanatkumāra uvāca | śṛṇu vyāsa mahāprājña śaivapravara sattama | vaiṣṇavaṃ caritaṃ śaṃbhucaritāḍhyaṃ sunirmalam
Sanatkumāra thưa rằng: “Xin lắng nghe, hỡi Vyāsa đại trí, bậc tối thượng trong hàng tín đồ Śaiva, người hiền đức bậc nhất. Ta sẽ thuật chuyện Vaiṣṇava, thanh tịnh không vết nhơ, song chan chứa công hạnh và vinh quang của Śambhu (Đại Thần Śiva).”
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pati
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It affirms that even narratives framed as “Vaiṣṇava” can be spiritually purifying when they reveal Śambhu’s divine conduct and supremacy, encouraging śravaṇa (devotional listening) as a means to inner purification and bhakti.
By praising “Śambhu-carita” as stainless and worthy to hear, it supports Saguna upāsanā—devotion to Shiva’s manifest attributes and deeds—which in the Shiva Purana commonly culminates in reverence for the Śiva-tattva expressed through the Liṅga.
The implied practice is śravaṇa of Shiva-kathā with reverence—hearing sacred narration as a discipline—ideally accompanied by remembrance of Shiva (japa of Om Namaḥ Śivāya) to internalize the purifying meaning.