Purāṇa Reading

Besides the daily reading process summarised earlier where specific time period has been advised, the sixth chapter deals with the elaborate complete recital (pārāyana) which extends into the seventh chapter dealing with worship.

1. The auspicious time for the start of the Śiva purāṇa recital should be obtained from a daivajña (very qualified senior Vedic astrologer) who should be offered gifts by every member of the family that is conducting the recital. (appendix-1)
2. Everyone in the community is to be invited including those who do not like to listen to Hari-kathā as well as those who avoid Śiva saṅkīrtana. Devotees of Lord Śiva would be anxious to attend and should be invited with due respect. Ascetics should be personally requested to attend and the detailed programme should be informed. The invitation has also been specified –

Translation:

3. A pavilion should be prepared for the recital of the purāṇa in a Śiva temple, a sacred place or even at home. The land is to be purified (with mantra and sacred water), and decorated with red ochre paste. Pavilion should be raised and decorated with banana trees, flowers and fruits besides flags with the markings of Śiva like trident, bull, svāstika etc.
4. The central divine seat is left for Lord Śiva where the holy purāṇa is worshipped with the Śiva Liñga. The orator should face north while the listeners should face east. The orator can also face the listeners (i.e. west). The orator can be of any age – a boy, adult or old and can be poor or rich, nothing matters except his ability and saṅkalpa to complete the pārāyana. He is to be worshipped and respected like the personification of Śrī Vedavyāsa as through his lips the words of Śrī Vedavyāsa shall flow. He should be quite pure, intelligent, peaceful, free from jealousy, of noble heart, compassionate and a good orator.
5. The daily reading should start from the morning till the end of 3½ prahara (about 4.30 pm) with a break at noon for one muhurta. To avoid obstacles, Gaṇeśa should be worshipped alone with the navagraha and the devatā in the Sarvatobhadra chakra. Thereafter Lord Śiva be worshipped in the Śiva Liñga at the centre of the chakra and in the purāṇa and then make a specific prayer (refer appendix-2)
6. Five brāhmaṇa are chosen to perform continuous recitations of the five Śiva mantras for the tattva mūrti – Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva, Tatpuruṣa, Aghora and Iśāna.
7. Listeners have to purify their minds and refrain from blemishes like kāma, krodha, and forget their worldly worries, wealth, property and concentrate on the teachings of the purāṇa.

Advise to listeners and students

1. 1. None should be seated at a height above the Vyāsa pīṭha (seat of the orator), else they shall be reborn as crows (agni doṣa). If seated at the same level as the orator, they shall cheat their teacher. [Upadeśa: Always choose a seat below that of the teacher]
   2. If they wear turbans and other head gear, their sons will become sinful and suffer. [Upadeśa: Never wear anything over the head]
   3. If instead of being seated and listening, they roam about, their spouse and children go away in addition to loss of wealth. [Upadeśa: Practise to sit for long periods of 3-4 hours]
   4. If they chew betel nuts then Yama makes them eat their excreta [Upadeśa: chewing gum, nuts, smoking and every kind of food or beverage consumption other than water is prohibited]
   5. If they are seated in virāsana (or vajrāsana etc which are aggressive postures), then suffering various pains they are born as poisonous trees! [Upadeśa: Never take an aggressive posture towards the orator. Be seated in sukhāsana, siddhāsana and such amicable postures]
   6. If instead they lie down on the floor or on a cot, then in the next life they are born as snakes! [Upadeśa: Do not lie down while learning]
   7. If they do not offer respects to Śrī Vedavyāsa then they are born as trees. [Upadeśa: Disrespect of the parātpara guru is a sign of durgatī (bad path that the soul will have to take)].
   8. If they do not come with gifts and dakṣiṇā for the orator, then poverty is sure to be the consequence [Upadeśa: What one offers to the guru is an offering to Śiva and this comes back like a convex mirror reflecting karma]
   9. If one denounces or jokes about the orator or the purāṇa, then they are reborn as dogs {to learn the value of faith}. [Upadeśa: If one does not understand, then keep the questions for the last part of the day and never obstruct the teaching or laugh at the orator. It is like laughing at Śrī Vyāsa].
   10. Those who never listen to the Śiva purāṇa, even on being invited, are reborn as wild boars. [Upadeśa: Rāhu the planet indicating adharma also shows the boar and pigs. In every action we are only making choices and Śiva grants whatever choice we made – good or bad].
   11. During the period one should eat sparsely and avoid brinjal, water melon, snake gourd, radish, pumpkin, coconut and particularly non-vegetarian food, onion, garlic, asafoetida, carrots and intoxications of all kinds.
   12. Avoid the six failings (ṣaḍripu) – passion (jealousy), anger, greed, delusion (confusion), arrogance (laziness) and cheating (hate). Bracketed words show the manifestation of the ṣaḍripu.
   13. Those desirous of welfare of children, removal of diseases, burning sin, overcoming misfortune must listen to the Śiva purāṇa attentively with devotion.
   14. After the pārāyana, udyāpana (closing ceremony) is to be performed which is like that of the Caturdasī vrata. The udyāpana includes special readings done by the people attending the recitation. Ascetics read the Śiva Gītā which was spoken first by Śiva to Rama; householders perform yajña using pure ghee (cow milk) while reciting the mantra of the Rudra saṁhitā (or gāyatrī) while others may prefer the pañcākṣarī mantra ‘oṁ namaḥ śivāya’. The recitation of the Śiva sahasranāma in the end of the udyāpana removes all blemishes and flaws. Eleven brāhmaṇa are to be served honey and rice pudding (pāyasaṁ). Wealthy people should consider having a lion statue of gold with the best śloka of the Śiva purāṇa engraved on it.

Some of these indications do not have to wait till the next life to fulfil and it is imperative that the blessings of listening to these teachings be imbibed by obeying these instructions meticulously. Both the orator and listeners should recite the purāṇa with the listeners repeating the śloka twice.

1. 1. 1. The following items should be provided by the listeners (students) for the purāṇa –
         (1) āsana (cloth seat)
         (2) red silk cloth to tie the books
         (3) holy Śiva purāṇa book for worship
         (4) wooden pedestal for keeping Purāṇa
      2. Śrī Vyāsa should be worshipped after the Śiva purāṇa and then the orator.
      3. The Vidyeśvara saṁhitā is very informative. The Rudra saṁhitā is considered very auspicious and reciting it while sitting under a vaṭa vṛkṣa (banyan tree) or bilva vṛkṣa (wood-apple tree) near an image of Bhairava for three days (or three times in a day) removes all sins and gives complete protection. The nectar of the churning of the ocean of upaniṣad was given to Kārtikeya in the form of the Śiva purāṇa, drinking which he became immortal. Sins of killing of beings (including non-vegetarian food), wrong gratification including illegal means of income are all removed by reading the Rudra saṁhitā on caturdasī.
      4. The Kailāśa saṁhitā is even more powerful as it contains the complete meaning of the praṇava (oṁ).

śrī śivāya namaḥ