By listening to and reading this great Shiva Purana, after the destruction of the body, such humans who are devoted to Shiva will attain union with Shiva. Therefore, listening / chanting, which is the means to attain union with Shiva, should be done. Therefore, one should chant with all efforts. A person who recites this Purana with all efforts will attain all his desires. He who listens to the Purana with love will also attain all his desires.
By listening to the Shiva Purana, a person is freed from all sins, and also experiences great happiness and finally reaches the Shiva world. Just as great merit is obtained by performing the Rajasuya Yagava or the hundred Agnistoma Yagava, such great merit is obtained by listening to the Shiva Purana. Whoever in this world listens to this excellent Shiva Purana, which is related to Shiva, is not a human being. (It should be understood that) such people are truly the form of Shiva. O sage, do not doubt this matter. The sages have said that the dust of the lotus feet of those who listen to this Purana is the form of all the holy pilgrimages. Those who desire to attain salvation should always listen to this excellent Shiva Purana with devotion. There is no better means to attain salvation than this. Here 'mukti' means 'liberation'. It means being freed from birth and death and joining Shiva. Such happiness is described as salvation in all the scriptures.
Those who cannot always listen to this Shiva Purana, can listen to it every day, even at the right time, as a reward from the great sages. The right time is 48 minutes. If it is not possible to listen to it every day, such a person should listen to the Shiva Purana on auspicious months, dates and stars. The auspicious months are the month of Kartika, Ashtami, Chaturdashi, Sankramana, Purnima, such Shiva-loving dates and the days of the Aridra star. Listening to the Shiva Purana and serving Shiva is best. Whether it is for one Muhurta, half a Muhurta, quarter Muhurta or a moment, those who listen to this great Shiva Purana will not suffer any misfortune. Those who listen to this Shiva Purana, O sage, burn the great forest of karmas and cross the impassable ocean of samsara and attain liberation. Karma is of two types * 1. Nishkama '2. Sakama '1. Nishkama karma is the source of liberation '2. Sakama karma is the source of merit, and merit decreases, and so on. As long as there is merit, one enjoys the pleasures befitting that merit, and when the merit is exhausted, one attains the world again. This is how it revolves like a wheel. That is why it is described as the ocean of samsara and as 'Datalashakya'. Which means impossible to cross. Especially in this Kali Yuga, there is no other way to attain liberation except the Shiva Purana. There is no other religion that is useful for achieving liberation except the Shiva Purana. Listening to the Shiva Purana and chanting the Shiva Name are both things that should grant all human desires. There is no doubt about this. In this Kali Yuga, the dull-witted and the unethical can attain enlightenment with the nectar called Shiva Purana. 'Amrita' means immortality, meaning that there is no death. No death means no birth, meaning that it is full of salvation. Only the one who drinks the nectar will become old and deathless, but the one who drinks the nectar called Shiva Purana will make his own clan immortal. That is, he will make his entire clan attain enlightenment. All the stories of this supremely holy Shiva Purana are Mokshaprad. Therefore, it should always be consumed by everyone. Since Sadasevyam is said 3 times, it means that it should be consumed as a special task without being indifferent. Whatever the result of listening to this Shiva Purana, Shiva himself will truly reside in the mind of the one who listens to this Purana with the virtue of listening.
This book consists of twenty-four thousand verses and seven Samhitas. This Purana, which conveys devotion, knowledge, and renunciation, should be listened to with utmost devotion and devotion. In this Purana, the first is Vidyeshwara Samhita, the second is Rudra Samhita, the third is Shatarudra Samhita, the fourth is Koti Rudrasamhita, the fifth is Uma Samhita, the sixth is Kailasa Samhita, and the seventh is Vayuviya Samhita. This excellent Shiva Purana, which consists of these seven Samhitas, is the form of Parabrahma. It gives the best path in all respects. Whoever reads the Shiva Purana, which is composed of these seven great Samhitas, with devotion, is said to be free from life. As long as a person does not listen to such a good Shiva Purana, he will be wandering in samsara. When he listens to the Shiva Purana, he will immediately attain enlightenment. The special thing is that all human beings are bound by the smell of ignorance. Ignorance means being surrounded by Maya. Knowledge is the removal of Maya, which is also related to the wise. This is explained in the Makandeya Purana. It is believed that the Goddess forcibly attracts and attracts the mind of even the wise, making it subject to great Maya and making it join the Mohadis. The fact that the Shiva Purana helps one to attain the liberation by listening to the one and only Shiva. The house in which this glorious story of Shiva Purana is recited is filled with holy places of pilgrimage. The sins of all those who live in such a house are also destroyed. The fruit obtained by performing a thousand Ashvamedha yagas and a hundred Vajpaya yagas is equal to one sixteenth of the fruit of reciting Shiva Purana. As long as a person does not listen to Shiva Purana with devotion, he is said to be a sinner. Whoever recites a verse or half a verse of the Shiva Purana every day with devotion, as if it were a daily ritual, will attain a good fate and liberation. Whoever desires a good fate should recite in this way.
Whoever always interprets this holy Shiva Purana or reads it daily with love is a pious soul. There is no doubt about this. Antyakaleh means at the end of time, that is, at the time of death, whoever listens to this Shiva Purana with great devotion, God will be pleased and give him His word, which means attaining Kailash. All our scriptures have said that whatever one remembers at the end of time, he will attain in the future. The proof of this is the incident of Ajamila in the Bhagavatam. A Brahmin named Ajamila is a supreme sinner, abandoning his virtuous deeds and committing shameful deeds. On his deathbed, he sees his son Narayana and calls him 'Narayana' three times. Only then does he die. Because of this, he attains union with Vishnu. Whoever worships this Shiva Purana daily with devotion and faith, such a person will experience the happiness that is enjoyed in this world and will ultimately attain the union of Shiva.
Whoever worships this Shiva Purana with devotion and devotion, always wearing silk clothes, will always be happy. Here, one who desires happiness in both the worlds should diligently consume the enlightened Shiva Purana and all the thoughts related to Shiva. This great Purana, which gives the four purusharthas of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, should be listened to every day. If you read it with love, it will yield special results. This Purana is better than the Vedas, the Histories and all the Shastras. This Purana is great and beneficial for the Purusha. Those who seek Moksha should know and study this Shiva Purana as it is the greatest. This Shaiva Purana is the best for those who know the essence of the Self. It is always consumed by all the wise and is famous as the best. Those who read and listen to it will get rid of the austerities in the world of 1. spiritual, 2. primordial divine, 3. primordial material and will attain happiness. It is dearer than life to the gods Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara and others. I always bow down to this Shiva Purana, which is full of such great glories. May Shiva be pleased with me and grant me devotion to his feet. Here ends the first chapter of the Shiva Purana Mahatma and its* Mahima Varnana in the Sri Skanda Mahapurana.
