Gandharva-Rāja Tumburu

Cañculā who had turned to prostitution for her loathsome husband Binduga got salvation after hearing the Śiva purāṇa. On her prayer, Pārvatī ordered Tumburu, the Gandharva-raja to relieve Binduga who had taken rebirth as a piśāca after suffering many hells for his sins. Tumburu easily captured the piśāca and tied him up. Thereafter he decided to perform the pārāyana of the Śiva purāṇa which envisages complete recital from beginning to end including the introduction and the seven saṁhitā. By doing so he was sure to relieve the piśāca of its ghastly form. He started playing his vīṇā and the gods assembled to witness the occasion. When the recitation finished the piśāca dropped his body and taking a divine form with white garments, started singing praises to Lord Śiva. With the grace of the purāṇa, his sins were destroyed and he ascended to the abode of the Lord.

The greatest power of the Śiva Mahāpurāṇa is to deal with sins associated with sexuality – the 7^th bhāva. The 7^th bhāva is the asta lagna and only vāyu planets are really strong over here. Even Venus causes high sexual desire crossing boundaries of decency while the Moon can lead to kidnapping and pregnancy of married women by lovers instead of their spouses. Jupiter is extremely malefic and shows the guru turning his face away. This is surely a māraka bhāva. Parāśara teaches that any planet associated with the 7^th bhāva can only be remedied with the mṛtyuṅjaya mantra of Vasiṣṭha ~

No doubt then that listening to the Śiva Mahāpurāṇa removes many sins of many lives associated with sexual desires.