Within the sacred Śiva Purāṇa, the supreme glory of Śiva ever expands, dissolving the impurities and darkness of the Kali age. It is a source of profound blessing, granting the fruits of the four aims of life—dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—to Brāhmaṇas. O best of the twice-born, simply by studying this most excellent Śaiva Purāṇa, one attains the highest and most auspicious state. Alas, as long as the Śiva Purāṇa is not proclaimed in the world, sin—led by the terrible act of killing a Brāhmaṇa—will flourish. Great calamities of the Kali age will roam fearlessly, unchecked, until this Purāṇa is revealed. The scriptures themselves will dispute endlessly, each vying for supremacy, while the true nature of Śiva remains elusive even to the great. Cruel messengers of Yama, the lord of death, will wander about unrestrained. All other Purāṇas will thunder forth on earth, sacred places will quarrel among themselves, and mantras, holy fields, and seats will contend, unable to find harmony. Even acts of charity, the gods themselves, and all doctrines will continue their disputes upon the earth until the Śiva Purāṇa is proclaimed. O twice-born, I am unable to fully describe the immeasurable fruit gained from reciting and hearing this Śiva Purāṇa, O best of sages. Yet, I will declare a little of its greatness; focus your minds and listen to what Vyāsa once spoke to me. Whoever recites this Śiva Purāṇa, even a single verse or half a verse, with devotion, is freed from sins in an instant. Whoever, without negligence, recites it daily with devotion, to the best of their ability, is called liberated while living. One who worships this Purāṇa with devotion day by day attains the fruit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice. Even one who listens to it from another, in an ordinary place, is freed from sin by me. Whoever bows to this Purāṇa from afar attains the fruit of worshipping all the gods, without doubt. Hear further the merit gained by one who writes out this Śiva Purāṇa as a book and gives it to devotees of Śiva: the rare fruits obtained from studying scriptures and the Vedas, and from their exposition, are attained by him. He who, having fasted on the fourteenth day, explains this Purāṇa in an assembly of Śiva devotees is the highest. For each syllable recited, one attains the fruit of the Gayatri purashcharana; enjoying all desires here, one ultimately attains liberation. I declare the merit of one who, having fasted on the fourteenth day and kept vigil at night, recites or hears this Purāṇa. In all the holy places like Kurukshetra, and at the time of a solar eclipse, giving wealth equal to oneself in all directions—by giving it to Brāhmaṇas, especially to Vyāsa and others, one enjoys that fruit; that fruit surely accrues to him, truly, without doubt. Whoever sings this Śiva Purāṇa day and night, the gods led by Indra await his command. Whoever recites or hears this Purāṇa daily, whatever good deed he performs becomes multiplied a crore-fold. Whoever recites the Śrī Rudra Saṃhitā therein with concentration, even if he has killed a Brāhmaṇa, becomes purified in just three days. Whoever, observing silence, recites this Rudra-saṃhitā three times daily before an image of Bhairava attains all desires without exception. Whoever recites this Rudra-saṃhitā while circumambulating a banyan or bilva tree is freed from the sin of killing a Brāhmaṇa. Within the Purāṇa, the Kailāsa-saṃhitā is considered even higher, embodying the very form of Brahman and directly revealing the meaning of the sacred syllable Oṃ. Of its greatness, Śaṅkara knows it completely, Vyāsa knows half, and I, O twice-born ones, know half of that. I shall declare a little; it is not possible to tell all. By knowing even this, a person attains purity of mind at once. O twice-born ones, I do not see in the world, even after searching everywhere, any sin that this fierce Saṃhitā does not destroy. Joyfully produced by Śiva from the ocean of the Upaniṣads and offered to Kumāra, whoever drinks that nectar truly becomes immortal. One who undertakes to atone for sins such as Brahmin-killing, by reciting that Saṃhitā for just a month, is thereby freed. Such is the greatness of the Śiva Purāṇa, radiant with Śiva’s glory, a destroyer of impurity and a bestower of liberation and all auspicious fruits.