Listen, O seekers, to the wondrous glory of the Shiva Purana as revealed in ancient times. Even if one merely listens to its sacred words recited by another, in an ordinary place, Shiva himself proclaims that such a listener is freed from sin. And whoever bows in reverence to the Shiva Purana from afar gains, without doubt, the merit of having worshipped all the gods. Now, hear of an even higher merit: if a person himself writes out the Shiva Purana as a book and presents it to devotees of Shiva, he obtains the rarest fruit in this world—the same fruit that comes from the study and exposition of all the scriptures and the Vedas. And he who, having fasted on the holy fourteenth day, explains the Shiva Purana before an assembly of Shiva’s devotees, is considered the highest among men. For every syllable of the Purana thus explained, the fruit of a full Gayatri purashcharana is attained. Such a person enjoys all his desires in this world and ultimately attains liberation. I declare further: whoever, after fasting on the fourteenth day and keeping vigil through the night, recites or hears this Purana, gains a merit greater than giving away wealth equal to oneself in all directions at the most sacred places, such as Kurukshetra, and at the time of a solar eclipse. Indeed, by offering such a gift to Brahmins—especially to Vyasa and others—one enjoys the full reward, which is assured and beyond doubt. Whoever sings the Shiva Purana day and night, the gods themselves, led by Indra, await his command. And one who recites or hears this Purana daily finds that every good deed he performs multiplies a crore-fold. Within the Purana lies the Shri Rudra Samhita. Whoever recites it with concentration, even if burdened by the gravest sin such as Brahmin-killing, becomes purified in just three days. One who, maintaining silence, recites this Rudra Samhita three times daily before the image of Bhairava attains all desires, without exception. If this Rudra Samhita is recited while circumambulating a sacred banyan or bilva tree, the sin of Brahmin-killing is washed away. Yet higher still is the Kailasa Samhita, which is considered the very form of Brahman and reveals directly the meaning of the sacred syllable Om. Of its greatness, only Shankara knows it in full; Vyasa knows half, and I, O twice-born ones, know but half of that. I shall declare only a little, for it is not possible to reveal all its greatness, but even this much brings immediate purity of mind. O revered ones, I have searched everywhere and found no sin in this world that the fierce Kailasa Samhita cannot destroy. Joyfully produced by Shiva from the ocean of the Upanishads and offered to Kumara, whoever partakes of this nectar truly becomes immortal. Even one who has committed the most terrible sins, like Brahmin-killing, is freed by reciting this Samhita for just a month. The sins of accepting improper gifts, eating impure food, or speaking evil are destroyed by a single recitation of this Samhita. Whoever recites it in a temple of Shiva or in a grove of bilva trees attains a result beyond words. If, with devotion, one recites it and feeds Brahmins at a shraddha ceremony, all his ancestors attain the supreme abode of Shambhu. And whoever, fasting on the fourteenth day, recites this Samhita at the root of a bilva tree is directly worshipped by Shiva himself, together with all the gods. There are other Samhitas as well, each bestowing every desired fruit, all excellent and filled with the play of knowledge. Thus, the Shaiva Purana, equal to the Veda, has been declared—first composed by Shiva himself in accord with Brahman. The Purana is known by many names: the Vidyesha, the Tara-Raudra, the Vainayaka, the Aumika, the Matri, the Rudra in eleven parts, the Kailasa, and the Shatarudra; also the Kotirudra, beginning with a thousand Kotirudras, and the Vayaviya, known as Dharma. These are the Purana’s distinguished forms. There are twelve Samhitas, each supremely meritorious. Listen, O Brahmins, to their number: the Vidyesha contains ten thousand verses; likewise, the Rudra, the Vainayaka, the Aumika, and the Matri each have eight thousand verses. The Eleven Rudras collection has thirteen thousand; Kailasa has six thousand; Shatarudra is half that. Kotirudra has thirty-three thousand; the Sahasrakotirudra is said to be a thousand times ten million Rudras in length. The Vayaviya is a hundred times the ocean; Gharma, a thousand times the sun; thus, by Shaiva reckoning, their number reaches one hundred thousand. But Vyasa condensed the Purana to twenty-four thousand verses. Among these, the Shaiva Purana is the fourth, consisting of seven Samhitas. In the beginning, this Purana was conceived by Shiva and was originally a hundred times ten million verses, but much was forgotten at the dawn of creation. Later, divided into eighteen, the Puranas in the Dvapara and other ages were condensed to four hundred thousand verses by Dvaipayana and others. The Shiva Purana, now consisting of twenty-four thousand verses, is declared to have seven Samhitas and is esteemed as equal to the Veda. Of these, the first is called Vidyeshvara, the second Raudri, the third Shatarudra, the fourth Kotirudra, the fifth Uma, the sixth Kailasa, and the seventh Vayaviya—thus are the seven Samhitas recognized. This divine Purana, called Shiva, with its seven Samhitas, is most excellent, equal to Brahman, and grants the highest goal above all.