Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 37
देवस्तुतिः (Devastuti) — Hymn/Praise of the Devas
वर्णानां ब्राह्मणोऽसि त्वं नृणां राजासि शंकर । मुक्तिक्षेत्रेषु काशी त्वं तीर्थानां तीर्थराड् भवान्
varṇānāṃ brāhmaṇo'si tvaṃ nṛṇāṃ rājāsi śaṃkara | muktikṣetreṣu kāśī tvaṃ tīrthānāṃ tīrtharāḍ bhavān
噢，商羯罗！在诸种姓之中，汝为婆罗门——圣智之最上；在人类之中，汝为王者。在解脱之圣域中，汝即迦尸本身；在一切渡口圣地（tīrtha）之中，汝为“圣地之王”（Tīrtharāja）。
Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating the Purāṇic dialogue; the verse itself praises Lord Śiva as Śaṅkara)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī is proclaimed the foremost muktikṣetra where Śiva grants tāraka-upadeśa at the time of death; Viśveśvara/Viśvanātha is revered as the lord who bestows liberation in the city of light.
Significance: Darśana of Viśvanātha and death/antyeṣṭi in Kāśī are traditionally held to confer mokṣa through Śiva’s grace (anugraha).
Type: stotra
Role: liberating
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
It declares Śiva as the supreme source of both dharma and mokṣa—He is the highest sanctity (brahmin-principle), the sovereign protector (king), and the very power that makes liberation-places like Kāśī liberating.
By praising Śaṅkara as the ‘king of tīrthas,’ it implies that all sanctity culminates in Him; thus, worship of Saguna Śiva—especially in the Śiva-liṅga—connects the devotee to the same liberating presence attributed to Kāśī and all tīrthas.
A direct takeaway is tīrtha-smaraṇa and Śiva-stuti: recite the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with devotion, viewing Śiva as the inner Kāśī (mukti-kṣetra), and offer simple liṅga-pūjā (water, bilva) as a liberation-oriented practice.