Shri Shaunaka says, "O wise Suta Muni, blessed are you who knows the supreme principles. Out of love for us, you have shown mercy and told us a wonderful and divine story." Listening to this Shiva-related story will destroy the accumulation of sins and purify the mind. Listening to this Shiva Purana will make Shiva happy. Such a wonderful story has never been heard by us before. There is nothing on earth like this story, the best of the best. It was through Your mercy that this story was made known to us. O Suta, in this Kali Yuga, what kind of sinners will become purified by hearing this story? Please be gracious to us regarding this matter. Make this world a place of gratitude.
The Suta said that by listening to this Purana, sinful humans, those who have bad conduct, those who are wicked, and those who are interested in lust will become pure. This Purana states that the yagyna of knowledge, that is, the attainment of divine knowledge, is supreme. It gives devotion in this world and liberation in the hereafter. It purifies all sins and pleases Shiva. . By this yagna of knowledge, that is, by the idea of the Supreme Being, even those who tell lies, those who curse their father and mother, those who are arrogant, and those who perpetrate violence, attain purification.
Those who have abandoned their caste and caste system, those who are envious, and those who are unrighteous in this Kali Yuga, will be purified by the yagna of knowledge. Those who are stubborn, deceitful, cruel, and merciless will also be purified by the yagna of knowledge in this Kali Yuga. Those who always enjoy the Brahman, that is, the property of a Brahmin by deceiving him, and those who are always interested in adultery, are also purified by the yagna of knowledge known as Shivajnana. Those who are always interested in sinful deeds, those who are greedy and greedy, are also purified by the yagna of knowledge known as the recitation of Shiva Purana.Even those who are dirty, have bad minds, and have gluttons of divine wealth, fearless, become purified by this yagna of knowledge. Moreover, by listening to and reciting this Shiva Purana, one gets rid of all great sins and attains liberation from suffering. Similarly, listening to and reciting this Shiva Purana brings joy to Shiva. In this regard, I will explain a story that happened in the past. By listening to this story, sins are forgiven. In the city of Kirata, there was a Brahmin who was foolish, poor, and a seller of spices, jaggery, etc., and who did not perform the daily rituals prescribed by the Brahmins, such as bathing, evening prayers, and worshipping the gods. That Brahmin's name was Devaraja, and he abandoned his daily rituals like bathing and became engaged in the business of the Vaishya profession, deceiving the faithful.
The Brahmin, endowed with such qualities, would kill Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras and others for various reasons and steal their money. Thus he acquired a great deal of wealth through unrighteousness. Even though he acquired wealth in this way, the sinner did not use this money at all for religious purposes. The Brahmin, who went there, saw a prostitute named Shobhavati and became very infatuated with her. Then the beautiful prostitute, knowing that the Brahmin under her control had wealth, looked at him and spoke to him with love, captivated his mind and made him fall in love with her. Then they both agreed to live together as husband and wife, and accordingly, they played lustfully for a long time. They both behaved like husband and wife, loving each other, even in sitting, sleeping, drinking, eating, and playing. In this state, both of them were behaving like husband and wife. In spite of this, the wife of devaraja and his parents tried to dissuade the Brahmin from the company of the prostitute, and even though they told him to leave her company, the Brahmin, who was absorbed in sinful deeds, did not listen to their words. Once, out of jealousy, that sinner killed his father, mother, and wife while they were sleeping at night and stole their money. Then, he stole everything he had and had brought before and gave all the money to his beloved prostitute. Thus, that Brahmin, a drunkard, ate all kinds of things he should not eat and even shared food with that prostitute from the same bowl, and spent his time in vain.Thus, that Brahmin once, by divine grace, went to the temple of Shiva, where he found a place called Pratishthana. He saw that all the saints had gathered there. He was suffering from a high fever and sat in that Shiva temple and by chance heard the story of Shiva being told by the Brahmins. After hearing the story of Shiva in this way, the Devarahja died of fever after a month. Then the messengers of Yama tied him up with ropes and took him to the city of Yama. At that very moment, the messengers of Lord Shiva, who were clean, holding tridents in their hands, wearing Rudraksha beads and adorned with Vibhuti on all their limbs, arrived from Shivaloka to the city of Yama. The Shiva messengers who had arrived were angrily hitting the Yama messengers and scolding them again and again. Then, after freeing the devaraja from them, they boarded a magnificent and beautiful Vimana and set off for Kailash. Then there was a great commotion in the city of Yama. Hearing such commotion, Yamadharma came out of his abode. The one who came saw the messengers of Shiva, who were truly like God, and since Yamadharma was righteous, he worshipped them with the aghopadyadis, as prescribed in the scriptures. Then, knowing all the events that had happened in the past through his wisdom, he did not inquire about the great Shiva messengers out of fear of Shiva.
Thus worshipped and honored, the Shiva messengers accompanied devaraja to Kailash. Then they offered devaraja to the merciful Shiva, who was accompanied by Parvati. In this way, devaraja was happy in the presence of Shiva. Even the sinful Devaraja attained the presence of Shiva by listening to the story of Shiva. Therefore, the story of Shiva Purana is a blessing. It is also very sacred. Scholars who know the Vedas say that Kailash, the abode of Shiva, is the most sacred place, and they also say that Mount Kailash is above all other worlds. By some sinful king of gods, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and even other animals were tortured for the desire for money. Similarly, the king of gods, who was a Brahmin who killed not only his mother and father but also his wife and went to a prostitute, and was addicted to alcohol and drugs, reached Kailash after listening to the Shiva story for a short time and instantly attained the liberation of being in the presence of the Supreme Lord. In this case, what is said about those who listen to the Shiva Purana with devotion, that they attain the Shiva world?Here ends the second chapter of the Shiva Purana Mahatmi of the Skanda Purana, entitled Devaraja Mukti Varnana. The sage Shaunaka questions the Suta O great sage Suta, you are all-knowing and extremely intelligent. I will be grateful again and again for your grace. My heart was filled with joy after hearing the story you told me this morning. Tell me another story that will especially develop love for the Lord. No one in the world attains liberation without drinking the nectar. Everyone attains it on their own. But the nectar drink of Shivakatha directly grants liberation. The story of Shiva is very blessed. You who tell such a divine story of relationship with God are also blessed. Because just by listening to any story of Shiva, a person attains the world of Shiva. The Suta says, "O Shaunaka Muni, I will tell you a most secret matter. Listen, for you are a connoisseur of the Vedas, and are the foremost among the devotees of Shiva."
There was a village called Bhaskala on the seashore. In that village lived sinful people who had abandoned the Vedic religion. They were wicked, evil-minded, disbelievers in the gods, pervert in their minds, farmers, bearers of weapons, and lovers of strange women. They did not know knowledge, detachment, and righteousness. They did not know get any noble thoughts. They were only those who listened to bad stories and were interested in them, and lived like animals without the power of thought.The rest of the Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras were also of bad intellect, abandoned by the religion according to their caste, and became wicked, engaged only in evil deeds, always occupied with material pleasures, women's pleasures, etc. Even the women who lived there were doing whatever they wanted, being addicted to sinful activities, having evil minds, and abandoning all good deeds. Thus, in the village of Bhaskala, inhabited by wicked people, there lived a wicked Brahmin named Binduga. That soul, the great sinner Bindu, despite having a beautiful wife, was walking on a bad path. Thus, he became a lustful man and used to visit prostitute’s houses. Leaving his wife chanchula even though she was good, the wicked man, overcome with lust, was uniting with that prostitute. This went on for a long time. However, despite the many desires and aspirations of her youth, she remained silent out of fear.
