Śiva Sahasranāma (Liṅga Purāṇa)
This is the Śiva Sahasranāma of the Liṅga Purāṇa: a stotra of 1,008 divine names of Parameśvara. The ṛshi Ṭaṇḍi taught it to Tridhanu, a king of the Sūrya line (Sūryavaṃśa). It is told in the Pūrvārdha of the Liṅga Purāṇa, chapter 65.
The Liṅga Purāṇa says that reciting it removes the ten great pāpas (mahāpātaka, great sins) and all the pāpa of past and present lives. Tridhanu himself is the proof. By reciting it he gained the fruit of a thousand Aśvamedha yajñas and the place of leader of the gaṇas (Gaṇādhipatya) that does not end.
Origin and teaching
Ṭaṇḍi Maharshi is a mānasaputra (mind-born son) of Brahmādeva. Tridhanu, the king of the Sūrya line, wished to perform an Aśvamedha yajña but did not have the means. He took refuge with Ṭaṇḍi. The ṛshi gave him the Śiva Sahasranāma as the highest way in its place.
By the power of reciting it, Tridhanu received the grace of Bhagavān Śiva (Śivānugraha). Maheśvara gave him both the fruit of a thousand Aśvamedha yajñas and the Gaṇādhipatya from which there is no return. All the devas saluted him.
The Liṅga Purāṇa opens the stotra with these lines:
Sarva bhūtātma bhūtasya harasyāmita tejasaḥ
Ashṭottara sahasraṃ tu nāmnāṃ śṛṇuta supratāḥ
“O people of good vows, now hear the 1,008 names of Hara, the ātmā of all beings, who has limitless tejas (brilliance).”
The 1,008 names
The stotra gives 1,008 names of Parameśvara, drawn from his endless qualities, his work in the worlds and his forms. They cover the whole range of Śiva’s nature.
- Names of his five Brahma forms (Pañcabrahma): Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, Īśāna.
- Names of his work in the worlds: Brahmā (among the immortals), Nīlalohita (among the Rudras), Jīvātmā (in all creatures), Mahāmeru (among mountains), Candra (among stars), Siṃha (among the animals of the forest) and Vṛshabha (among the animals of the village).
- Names about his life in the cremation ground (śmaśāna): Ulmukhadhārin (the carrier of the burning firebrand), Śmaśānaratinityā (one who always delights in the śmaśāna) and Citābhasmāṃgadhārin (wearing the ash of the funeral pyre).
- Names of creation and destruction: Pralayakartā, Sādāśiva, Sṛshṭikartā, Lokapāla.
- Names of yoga and moksha: Mahāyogi, Yogeśvara, Mukti-pradā, Muktānāṃ paramāgati.
- Names of the elements as his forms: Vāyu, Tejas, Jala, Pṛthivī and Ākāśa (the five bhūtas).
- Names about the Vedas: Vedagarbha, Viśvagarbha, and the forms Ṛk-Yajus-Sāma-Atharvaśīrsha.
The text also explains many names. Three examples:
- kalaṃkaṭa means “the one who lovingly tends the head of Gaṇapati with affection”;
- nīlakaṇṭha means “the blue-throated one, whose throat shines with the beauty that came from drinking hālāhala“;
- vāmapriyā means “the one with Pārvatī on his left side”.
What Tridhanu gained
The Liṅga Purāṇa tells the result of Tridhanu’s recitation:
“He recited these 1,008 names, keeping the supreme name of Śiva fixed in his manas (mind), and he worshipped the great, all-pervading Parameśvara with the leave of Brahmādeva. Through this stotra the world-famous Tridhanu gained the fruit of a thousand Aśvamedha yajñas. By the kindness of Ṭaṇḍi Maharshi he received the grace of Bhagavān Śiva. He reached the Gaṇādhipatya and was saluted by all the devas.”
The phalaśruti
The Liṅga Purāṇa gives the full fruit of this stotra.
Freedom from the ten great pāpas
“Those who recite this stotra, those who hear it, and those who have brāhmaṇas hear it, can clean themselves of these ten kinds of great pāpa:”
- Brahmahatyā: killing a brāhmaṇa.
- Surāpāna: drinking liquor.
- Svarṇacaurya: stealing gold.
- Gurudārāgamana: going to the wife of one’s guru.
- Śaraṇāgata-pīḍana: harming those who have taken refuge.
- Mitraviśvāsaghāta: betraying the trust of a friend.
- Mātṛhatyā: killing one’s mother.
- Pitṛhatyā: killing one’s father.
- Vīrahatyā: killing a hero in battle.
- Bhrūṇahatyā: killing a child in the womb.
Recitation at three times of the day
“One who is pure, and worships Śiva at the Śivālaya (temple of Śiva) in the morning, at midday and in the evening (prātar, madhyāhna, sāyam), and recites this stotra with bhakti, will be freed from all the pāpa done in past lives (pūrvajanmakṛta) and the pāpa being done in this life (etatjanmakriyāmāṇa).”
Sources
- Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, chapter 65