Shiva Purana · शिवपुराण

The Shiva Purana gathers the stories every Shiva devotee knows: the endless pillar of fire, Sati's sacrifice, Parvati's penance, the birth of Ganesha and Kartikeya, and the twelve Jyotirlingas where Shiva appeared as light.

The Shiva Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas (some lists place the Vayu Purana in its slot). Its surviving versions are divided into samhitas — Vidyeshvara, Rudra, Shatarudra, Kotirudra, Uma, Kailasa and Vayaviya. It teaches Shiva as the supreme reality and gives the practices of Shaiva devotion: the linga, rudraksha, vibhuti and the Panchakshari.

The Kotirudra Samhita describes the twelve Jyotirlingas — places where Shiva manifested as a column of light — from Somnath on the western sea to Kedarnath in the Himalaya. Each has its own story, and pilgrims have walked between them for centuries…

• The twelve Jyotirlingas
• Rudra Samhita: a love story
• About the text

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• Shiva Purana — Vidyeshvara, Rudra and Kotirudra Samhitas