Shloka 23
उपमन्युकुमारस्य क्षीरार्थ-प्रार्थना तथा शिवप्रसाद-निबन्धनम् | Upamanyu’s Longing for Milk and the Doctrine of Shiva’s Grace
सुरेश्वर उवाच । तुष्टोऽस्मि ते वरं ब्रूहि तपसानेन सुव्रत । ददामि चेच्छितान्कामान्सर्वान्नात्रास्ति संशयः
sureśvara uvāca | tuṣṭo'smi te varaṃ brūhi tapasānena suvrata | dadāmi cecchitānkāmānsarvānnātrāsti saṃśayaḥ
Sureśvara nói: “Ta hài lòng về con nhờ khổ hạnh này, hỡi người giữ lời nguyện cao quý. Hãy thưa điều con xin. Ta sẽ ban trọn mọi điều con mong cầu—về điều ấy không hề nghi ngờ.”
Sureśvara (Lord of the Devas, commonly Indra)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Role: liberating
FAQs
The verse highlights that disciplined tapas (austerity) and steadfast vrata (vow) attract divine grace; yet in a Shaiva Siddhanta reading, worldly boons are secondary to inner purification that ultimately supports devotion to Pati (Shiva) and liberation.
Although a deva offers boons here, the Shiva Purana repeatedly teaches that all divine powers operate under Shiva’s lordship; thus the devotee’s tapas is best oriented toward Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-seva, mantra-japa, and bhakti—so that gifts become supports for dharma rather than bindings of desire.
The verse implies vrata with tapas: regular mantra-japa (especially Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), simple living, and focused worship; if undertaken for Shiva, it is traditionally paired with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha as aids to steadiness and remembrance.