The Epics · Purana

The Shiva Purana

The Stories of Lord Shiva, Told Simply

Om Namaḥ Śivāya — salutation to Shiva

The Shiva Purana is the great storybook of Lord Shiva — the ascetic on the mountain, the lord of dance, the family man with Parvati and his two boys, the slayer of vast demons, the one whose ash a devotee may wear without fear. This is the Purana retold as forty simple stories: how the world saw him for the first time, Sati and Parvati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, the great battles, the twelve sacred Jyotirlingas, and the devotees who reached him. Short chapters, plain English, the whole story told.

40 of 40 chapters available

Part One — How Shiva Began

The Beginning

  1. Why This Story is Told Suta the bard sits by a fire and tells the sages the stories of Shiva.
  2. The Pillar of Light Brahma and Vishnu argue who is greater, and a pillar appears with no end.
  3. Who Shiva Is The ascetic on the mountain, the dancer, the destroyer, the kind one.
  4. The Sound of Om Why three letters together became the syllable of the universe.
  5. The Five Faces of Shiva Each face does a different work; together they hold the world.

Part Two — Sati, the First Wife

Sati

  1. Daksha's Daughter, Sati A girl born in a palace who loves the ascetic on the mountain.
  2. Sati Wins Shiva Years of austerity, and a god who stops pretending he had not noticed.
  3. Daksha's Sacrifice A great rite, every god invited but one — and the daughter who walks in uninvited.
  4. Sati's Fire and Shiva's Grief What Sati does when her father insults her husband, and what Shiva does after.
  5. The Shakti Peethas The fifty-one places on earth where the goddess's body fell.

Part Three — Parvati, the Mountain's Daughter

Parvati

  1. The Mountain Princess Sati is reborn as the daughter of Himavat, the Himalaya.
  2. Parvati's Hard Penance She gives up everything to win him back — and the ascetic notices.
  3. The Burning of Kama The god of love shoots his arrow and is turned to ash by a glance.
  4. The Wedding on Kailash The strangest wedding the gods have ever attended.
  5. Ardhanarishvara — Half and Half The form that is half Shiva, half Parvati, in one body.

Part Four — The Sons

The Family

  1. The Birth of Ganesha A boy made of turmeric paste, a door he would not open, and the head of an elephant.
  2. The Race Around the World Ganesha and Kartikeya race for a fruit — and one of them wins without moving.
  3. The Birth of Kartikeya A spark too hot for the gods to hold, and the six mothers who nursed him.
  4. Kartikeya and Tarakasura The demon who could only be killed by a son of Shiva — meets that son.

Part Five — The Great Battles

The Battles

  1. The Three Flying Cities Three impregnable cities aligned once in a thousand years — and one arrow.
  2. Andhakasura, the Blind Demon The demon who would not stop, until even his own father had to end him.
  3. The Poison of the Ocean When the gods and demons churn the sea, the first thing that comes up is poison.
  4. Bhasmasura and the Trick A demon with a boon to burn anything he touched — and Mohini, who out-danced him.
  5. Markandeya and the Lord of Death A boy who would die at sixteen, embraces a linga, and is saved by what comes out of it.

Part Six — The Twelve Jyotirlingas

The Pillars of Light

  1. Somnath — the First Where the moon was cursed and freed, on the western shore.
  2. Mallikarjuna — the Hill of Stones Where Parvati went looking for her son and found Shiva.
  3. Mahakaleshwar — Lord of Time In Ujjain, the city that meets time face to face.
  4. Omkareshwar — the Island of Om An island in the Narmada shaped like the syllable itself.
  5. Kedarnath — High in the Snow Where Shiva hid from the Pandavas as a bull, and they followed him into the snow.
  6. Bhimashankar — the Forest Linga Where Shiva ended the demon Bhima after a long, sweating fight.
  7. Vishweshwar — Kashi The city Shiva chose for himself — and never left.
  8. Trimbakeshwar — at the Godavari's Source Where Gautama brought down a river to wash a sin away.
  9. Vaidyanath — the Healer Where Ravana could not carry the linga any further, and where it stayed.
  10. Nageshwar — Among the Snakes Where a devoted couple were freed from a demon's hold.
  11. Rameshwar — Set by Rama Where Rama, before crossing to Lanka, made a linga out of sand.
  12. Grishneshwar — the Last of the Twelve Where a quiet woman's faith brought the Lord into her household.

Part Seven — Devotees and Festivals

Reaching Him

  1. The First Mahashivaratri The night a hunter, trying to stay awake in a tree, was made the Lord's beloved.
  2. Nandi — the Bull at the Door How the white bull came to sit forever at Shiva's threshold.
  3. Ravana and the Lifting of Kailash The lord of Lanka tried to carry the mountain home — and was taught a lesson he kept.
  4. Bhagiratha and the Ganga The river too fierce for the earth, caught in Shiva's hair.