The Shiv Puran (or Shiva
Purana) available as PDF downloads in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Telugu and
Kannada.
PDF Downloads
Sanskrit
Hindi
Telugu
Kannada (You will need djvu reader to read this file. It's free and available here.
English Part 1 & Part 2 (Only the first two volumes can be read online).
Hindi
Telugu
Kannada (You will need djvu reader to read this file. It's free and available here.
English Part 1 & Part 2 (Only the first two volumes can be read online).
More Shiva Resources
Book Details
English
The Shiva Purana
by J.L.Shastri Ed.
Motilal Banarasi Das, 1970
The Shiva Purana
by J.L.Shastri Ed.
Motilal Banarasi Das, 1970
Kannada
Sri Siva Purana
by Manohara Deekshitaru
Sri Siva Purana
by Manohara Deekshitaru
Telugu
Shiva Puranamu
Veera Raju
1929
Shiva Puranamu
Veera Raju
1929
About the Shiv Puran
A purana is a story about
the deeds and life of a deity. They are part of the mythic literature of
Hinduism, together with the epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Traditionally, there are 18 Puranas, and a few lesser Puranas or Upapuranas.
The 18 major Puranas include the Skanda Purana
Padma Purana, Naradiya Purana, Shiv Puran, Varaha Purana, Vishnu Purana, Garuda Purana,
Bhavishya Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Kurma Purana, Agni Purana, Matsya Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana, Linga Purana, and Markandeya Purana.
Bhavishya Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Kurma Purana, Agni Purana, Matsya Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana, Linga Purana, and Markandeya Purana.
The Shiva Purana as it
exists now consists of around 24,000 slokas or verses, and is said to have been
composed by sage Vyasa himself. According to the lore, the Shiva Purana
originally consisted of 12 Samhitas or chapters, and 100,000 verses. However,
only seven remain now, namely the Vidyesvara, Rudra, Satarudra, Kotirudra, Uma,
Kailasa and Vayaviya Samhitas. Of these the Rudra Samhita is the largest and
consists of five parts dealing with creation of the existence, the story of
Sati and Shiva, the story of Parvati and Shiva, the birth and battles of Kumara
or Skanda, and the battles of Shiva.
The seventh samhita is
the Vayaviya. It has been suggested that this samhita included what has now
become the Agni Purana, which was split of at some time in the past to form a
separate purana.
The Shiva Purana has all
the characteristics of a Mahapurana. According to the ancients, a Mahapurana
contained five main characteristics that concerned either early religion or
traditional history. Of these the origin of the universe (Sarga) is an
important feature of every religion. As a Mahapurana and a sacred work of the
Shiva cult, The Shiva Purana possesses this important trait. It discusses the
origin of the universe which it traces to Shiva, the eternal god who though
devoid of attributes, still has an inherent Energy which manifests itself in
the form of three principles - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas personified as the three
deities Vishnu, Brahma and Rudra. The three have their respective energies
called Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali, in collaboration with whom they create,
maintain and dissolve the universe. According to this account, the work of
creation is entrusted to Brahma who creates the cosmic egg consisting of 24
principles. The cosmic egg is insentient at first but when Vishnu pervades it,
it goes in motion. Then different kinds of creation are evolved out of it.
The above analysis
clearly demonstrates that the Shiva purana possesses the conventional
characteristics of a Mahapurana in common with its other colleagues. These
entitle it to the status of a great purana. But its real greatness lies in
expounding the philosophical background of Shiva ritual. The Purana conceives
Shiva as the eternal principle, the supreme god, the cosmic soul, the support
of all existence. But the ignorant aspirant bound in the meshes of illusion
goes in quest for knowledge and imagines that his lord has a personal form
possessed of attributes distinct from his self, who in moments of distress
responds to his prayers and bestows grace. The devotee, then aspires for
spiritual enlightenment and takes to ritual for self-purification. Shiva Purana
enjoins several rites of worship and acts of homage, comprising a series of
physical and spiritual practices in accompaniment with the Tantra, Yantra and
Mantra appliances. He starts with the threefold devotion - hearing, glorifying
and deliberating the attributes of God - a process that requires, according to
the Shiva Purana, the same steady attention as in the sexual intercourse. In
this connection the Rudrasamhita mentions eight means for attaining mental
concentration and spiritual enlightenment. Further the aspirant is asked to
control the six chakras located in the spinal canal called sushumna that lies
between the Ida and Pingala nadis. That is possible only by taking recourse to
the means of knowledge, by the purification of six pathways, the performance of
traditional rites and yogic practices. The aspirant has to pass through this
series of activities before he reaches another state of experience wherein he
finds a perfect accord between his own self and his personal deity, yet there is
an awareness of separateness from his deity till he reaches the last state of
experience wherein all distinctions are obliterated and his self unites with
his godhead.
Lord Shiva is one of the major gods of Hinduism. He is often
regarded as the First Yogi and Guru, and sometimes as the Destroyer in the
Trinity (Trimurti) with Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver. Many
scholars believe that there may be multiple streams of tradition in the worship
of Shiva, including the Vedic god Rudra and perhaps one or more other gods of
Indus Valley Civilization, Dravidian, or tribal origin. The striking figure on
several seals from the Indus Valley Civilization that is seated cross-legged,
surrounded by wild animals, is often regarded as a representation of a deity
with Shiva-like qualities.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें