Greatness of Shiva Purana

Once, there was a Brahmin called Devaraj. He was born in a place where many hunters lived. Even though he was born a Brahmin, instead of studying Vedas and Shastras, he became a trader. In that too, he began cheating people. He grabbed others' land and properties. He got into all kinds of vices. Every conceivable papa, he did. Wherever he could do wrong, he did.

Once, while traveling, he happened to hear Shiva Purana being narrated in a Shiva temple. Many people had assembled there. He started spending time there. He wouldn’t move away. He listened to every incident, every tatwa, with interest and absorption. After a few days, he developed an intense fever and died. Yama dootas came, tied him up with Yama pasha, the dreadful rope, and took him to Yamaloka.

Suddenly, in Yamaloka, a Vimana appeared. There were Shiva gana in that Vimana. They all looked like Bhagwan Shiva himself. A fight broke out between the Shiva gana and soldiers of Yamaloka. Dharma Raja came. When he saw the Shiva gana, he paid respects to them and allowed them to take Devaraj away to Shiva Loka.

There is another incident.
There was a village called Vashkala. It was mostly inhabited by wicked people and criminals, fighting with each other, stealing from each other, and always looking for ways to cause harm to each other. In that village lived someone called Binduga, a very evil-minded person like others. His wife was Chanchula. She used to be good initially, but eventually, the company of her husband and others in the village turned her into an evil person as well.

Binduga died a painful death. His soul did not get mukti, and he started wandering about as a pishacha. Chanchula continued living with her sons.
Once, by the grace of God, Chanchula and her family reached Gokarna. They took bath in the teertha and were roaming about here and there, primarily because there was a mela assembled there. During that time, Chanchula happened to hear Shiva Purana being told by a mahatma in a temple. He was narrating the sufferings that wicked people have to endure in Naraka.
She became scared.
She went to that mahatma and said, 'I was not aware of all this. I never knew what I have been doing is all evil. I thought they were all natural to human beings. Now I realize that I am an evil person. I am scared. I don’t want to suffer in hell. Please help me. There is no one else to help me. Please show me the path.'

The mahatma said, 'You are fortunate. By the grace of Mahadeva, paschattapa (repentance) has come to you. This is the most difficult thing to happen. People don’t realize their wrongdoings. They don’t know whether what they are doing is right or wrong.
For this to happen, you first need to understand what is right and wrong. Who will tell you that? Not everyone is surrounded by noble souls who can point out if they are doing wrong. It may sound very strange, but how many people know what is right and what is wrong?
Repentance can come only after you realize that you have committed something wrong, a papa. Where will that knowledge come from?
Repentance can come only after you know that you have committed a papa. You should not have done that—that is repentance. For that, knowledge of punya and papa is essential.
That is what scriptures give.
They are not individual perceptions. They are not even collective perceptions.
Dharma is Sanatana; it doesn’t change.
Perceptions can change from time to time. Perceptions of society can change. Call it progressive. Call dharma regressive if you want. It doesn’t matter.
Perceptions change, and when they change, dharma may look like it is regressive. But perceptions change again.
Perception is a matter of convenience and comfort.

For example, competition today is a standard; competitiveness is a virtue and quality today. It is said that competitive spirit improves quality.
But dharma says matsaraya is a vice.
Time will prove which is right.
So, two things: knowledge of what is right and wrong, and then repentance if wrong has been committed.
So here, the mahatma says, 'Chanchula is fortunate. By listening to Shiva Purana, she got the opportunity to learn what is right and what is wrong.'
She realized that she had been living an evil, wicked life and started repenting for it.

Even in the first incident, that of Devaraj, the same thing happened. He had the opportunity to listen to Shiva Purana.
And repentance must have come to him.
And the coming of paschattapa (repentance) is a great blessing because paschattapa is the biggest prayaschitta. It is the biggest cleansing.

पश्चात्तापः पापकृतां पापानां निष्कृतिः परा
सर्वेषां वर्णितं सद्भिः सर्वपापविशोधनम्।
पश्चात्तापेनैव शुद्धिः प्रायश्चित्तं करोति सः
यथोपदिष्टं सद्भिर्हि सर्वपापविशोधनम्॥

What is paschattapa?
पश्चात् अग्रतोऽकार्य्ये कृते चरमे तापः
Grief that, 'Oh, I should not have done this'—it is a kind of tapa (heat), and that heat burns you from inside.
It is not just admission.
It should create heat from inside.
And that heat would burn away the papa.
It should keep on burning you from inside.
'Oh, what I have done is bad, wrong'—it should generate heat. That heat will not allow you to sit or sleep.
That fire will purify.
That fire has to come inside; mere knowledge that you have done wrong is not sufficient.
That heat of grief has to come inside. It should burn you; then you are purified.

See what simple listening to stories can do!
There is no greater remedy than paschattapa. So when you say that you take shelter in Mahadeva, he will absolve you of your sins and give you sadgati. This is how he does it.
Do as many rituals as you want. Someone doesn’t have a child, and he is told to do this shanti, this daana, and this puja. But if he doesn’t realize that his childlessness is due to his own bad karma, try to understand what that bad karma could be, and then grieve for it, burn within himself for it, which is paschattapa, there is no sense. He may not get any result at all.
Prayaschittas such as shantis, pujas, daana, and upavasa are all complementary to paschattapa. Paschattapa is primary. If paschattapa is not there, prayaschitta won’t help.
They will all be hollow exercises, a waste of time, money, and effort.
By listening to Shiva Purana, or any scripture for that matter, first comes knowledge of what is right and wrong. Then paschattapa comes, which itself becomes prayaschitta. Then chitta shuddhi comes. You are purified. Then mukti comes.
When Shiva gana came and took Devaraj to Kailasa, what happened? He attained mukti.
Worship Samba Parameshwara with a pure heart and mind, and mukti can be attained in this janma itself.

As advised, Chanchula started worshipping Parameshwara. Her chitta became pure. The magnificent form of Mahadeva became firm in her mind. Her mind remained filled with his form.
She died a peaceful death.
This is another indication: if death is peaceful, it means papa is minimal or gone.
Suffering during old age is an indication of a lot of accumulated papa. Such people should put in extra effort to reduce the load of such bad karma.
First, paschattapa, then prayaschitta.

As soon as Chanchula died, a Vimana came for her from Kailasa. She received a warm welcome in Shiva Loka. There she had darshan of Parameshwara, Devi Parvathi, Ganesha, and Kartikeya.
Her husband Binduga was still roaming around as a pisacha on earth due to kukarma.
Chanchula prayed to Parvathi Devi.
Upon reaching Vindhya Parvata, Tumburu first tied up the pisacha with a rope and made him listen to the glory of Mahadeva, the Shiva Purana.
Binduga also thus attained mukti.

Knowledge Bank

What is the difference between History and Itihasa?

History is a chronological narration of the incidents of the past of a nation, etc. Itihasas are also narrations of the incidents of the past but essentially contain moral advice based on them.

How many chapters are there in Yoga Vasishta?

1. Vairagya prakarana. 2. Mumukshu vyavahara prakarana. 3. Utpatti prakarana. 4. Sthiti prakarana 5. Upashama prakarana. 6. Nirvana prakarana.