About Shiv Puran

What this site is for

Shiv Puran is a free reading guide to the Shiv Puran and to Lord Shiva's teachings in English. It aims to be calm to read, clear about where everything comes from, and honest about what the text does and does not say.

The Shiv Puran is a long Sanskrit text, and many English pages that retell it do not say which part they draw on. Here, each page tells you where its content comes from, so that you can read the original yourself.

This is an independent project, not affiliated with any temple, organisation, or publisher, and not an official edition of anything. It is not a complete translation of the Shiv Puran either. It covers selected stories, mantras, and teachings, and will grow.

Offered as seva

The site is offered as seva, a service to readers, and it is free to read. There is no sign-up and no paywall. Please read the privacy page for how visits are measured, and the terms for how the pages may be used.

How the content is written

These rules apply to every page.

• Retold in our own words. Stories are faithful retellings. They follow the order of events in the text and keep its names and details. They are not translations, and they do not add scenes, dialogue, or morals that the text does not contain.
• A citation on every page. Each page names its source. For the Shiv Puran, that is the Samhita (a major division), the chapter, and where possible the verses. Chapter numbers follow the English translation of the Shiv Puran edited by J.L. Shastri (Motilal Banarsidass, 1970; translated by a board of scholars), because chapter numbering differs between editions. Other editions may number differently.
• Short quotations only. We use brief quoted lines, never long passages of any translation. We read the Shastri translation as a reference for chapter numbers and events, and we do not copy its wording.
• Sanskrit from ancient texts. Where a page shows Sanskrit, it comes from the Sanskrit text on Sanskrit Wikisource. These texts are ancient and in the public domain. Where a mantra or hymn is not from the Shiv Puran, the page says plainly where it does come from. The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, for example, is a Rig Veda verse (7.59.12), and its page also shows where the Shiv Puran teaches it.
• Differences are stated. When sources tell a story differently, or when something is a later tradition rather than part of the Shiv Puran, the page says so.
• Interpretation is labelled. Where a page explains what a passage means, it marks the explanation as a reading, with its source where there is one.

How pages are checked

Every page is checked against its cited chapters before it is published. The checker compares the page with the source, looks at names, speakers, and chapter numbers, and confirms that the page does not copy a translation. A page that fails goes back for correction. Drafting and checking both use AI assistance, and the fact-check against the cited text is the step that decides whether a page goes live. No page can be promised free of error, so please tell us if you find one.

Sources and editions

The main sources behind the current pages are:

• Shiva Purana, English translation, edited by J.L. Shastri, Motilal Banarsidass, 1970; translated by a board of scholars (read on wisdomlib.org). This is the reference for chapter numbers and for what happens in each chapter.
• The Sanskrit text of the Shiv Puran, as given on Sanskrit Wikisource (an ancient text in the public domain), for checking the original wording of passages.
• The Rig Veda, in Sanskrit with the commentary of Sayana, and the translation by R.T.H. Griffith (nineteenth century), both public domain. These are used for Vedic mantras.
• The Mahabharata, translated by K.M. Ganguli (1883-96), the Vishnu Purana, translated by H.H. Wilson (1840), and the Bhagavata Purana (read in a modern copyrighted translation, for facts only), used for comparison where another text tells the same episode.

The list will grow as the site does.

Art and images

The paintings and prints on this site are classical Indian art in the public domain or released under CC0, such as work by Raja Ravi Varma and anonymous paintings and prints that are well over a century old. We do not crop, tint, or add text to them. Each image is credited on this page, with its artist or origin, licence, and source link.

The video reading

The Videos page collects a 64-part reading of the Shiv Puran. The reading is the work of the YouTube channel Ekta Kes (opens in a new tab), which made and published it. We do not own these videos and have no connection with the channel. They are shown here through YouTube's embedded player, and all credit belongs to their creator.

Where to begin

You can start with the stories, the mantras and stotras, or the teachings.

Corrections and contact

If you think something on this site is wrong, a chapter number, a name, or a line that does not match the text, please tell us. Say which page it is on and, if you can, which passage you checked. Use the contact page. Each correction is checked against the source text before a page is changed.