Shiva's Devotees

The rishis said

Suta, very fortunate, excellent in vows and possessed of knowledge, tell us again in detail about Shiva's account. Ancient kings, rishis and gods worshipped him, the supreme among gods.

Suta replied

Best of rishis, you have asked a virtuous question. I will tell what I have heard of Shankara's beautiful account, which gives pleasure and liberation to those who hear it. In ancient times Narada asked this of the grandfather, who answered him gladly.

Brahma said

Narada, listen happily to Shankara's supreme account. Out of affection I will tell it. It destroys major sins. Vishnu, with Rama, worshipped Shiva and by Paramesha's favour gained all he wished. I, the grandfather, worship Shiva, and by his favour I always create the universe. My sons the supreme rishis always worship Shiva, and the other rishis too. Narada, you in particular worship Shiva. Vasishtha and the other saptarshis worship him. The virtuous Arundhati, Lopamudra and Goutama's wife Ahalya worship Shiva. Durvasa, Koushika, Shakti, Dadhichi, Goutama, Kanada, Bhargava, Jiva and Vaishampayana are all said to be Shiva's worshippers. Parashara and Vyasa constantly worship him, and Upamanyu is a great devotee of Shiva, the paramatman. Yajnavalkya is a great devotee, and so are Jaimini and Garga. Shuka, Shounaka and others worship Shankara, and there are many more such sages. Aditi, mother of the gods, with her loving daughters-in-law, constantly worships Shiva's earthen lingam. Shakra and the guardians of the worlds, the Maharajika gods and the Sadhyas are Shiva's worshippers. Gandharvas, kinnaras and minor gods worship Shiva. Great-souled asuras are held to be worshippers too. The daitya Hiranyakashipu, his younger brother and his sons constantly worshipped Shiva, as did Virochana and Bali. Bana, Hiranyaksha's son, is remembered as a great devotee. Danu, Vrishaparva and the danavas worshipped Shiva. Shesha, Vasuki, Takshaka and other great nagas were devotees, and so were Garuda and other birds.

Sage, the two gods Surya and Chandra began lineages on earth, and both lineages served Shiva constantly. The Manus, led by Svayambhuva, worshipped Shiva especially and wore his attire. Priyavrata, his son Uttanapada and other kings of that line worshipped Shiva. Dhruva, Rishabha, Bharata and his brothers, the nine yogis, worshipped Shiva. Vaivasvata's sons were kings, with Tarkshya and Ikshvaku foremost, and all devoted themselves to worshipping Shiva and enjoyed constant happiness. Kakutstha, Mandhata, Sagara, Muchukunda, Harishchandra and Kalmashanghri were excellent devotees. So were Bhagiratha and other kings, who arranged for the wearing of Shiva's attire. The great king Khatvanga helped the gods and decreed that Shiva should always be worshipped through an earthen lingam. His son Dilipa always worshipped Shiva, and Dilipa's son Raghu, a devotee, did so cheerfully. Raghu's son Aja worshipped Shiva and fought a battle for dharma. His son Dasharatha, an especially great king, was Shiva's devotee. For the sake of a son he followed the sage Vasishtha's instructions and worshipped Shiva's earthen lingam, and with the permission of the sage Rishyashringa he performed a sacrifice for a son and devoutly worshipped Bhava's earthen lingam. Instructed by Rishyashringa, his beloved Kousalya gladly worshipped Shankara's earthen lingam and obtained a son, and Sumitra and Kaikeyi, the king's beloved wives, worshipped Shiva gladly and gained virtuous sons. Sage, by Shiva's favour these were auspicious sons, very powerful and valiant and walking the virtuous path. At Shiva's command Hari himself took four forms through those queens and was born as the king's sons. Kousalya's son was Rama and Sumitra's Lakshmana, and Kaikeyi's sons were Shatrughna and Bharata, excellent in vows. With his brothers Rama constantly worshipped an earthen lingam, wore ash and rudraksha, and followed the virajagama. The kings born in his line followed him, and all worshipped Shiva's earthen lingam.

Sage, the great king Sudyumna, son of a sage, was Shiva's devotee. For the sake of his beloved Shiva cursed him and his followers to become women. By worshipping Isha in an earthen lingam he became an excellent man again. He alternated a month as a man with a month as a woman, and eventually ceased to be a woman. He gave up his kingdom and followed Shiva's dharma, took Shiva's attire, and through devotion gained the very hard liberation. His son Pururava was a great king who worshipped Shiva, lord of the gods. His son Bharata always did a great worship of Shiva. Nahusha was a great devotee and worshipped constantly. Yayati, by worshipping Shiva, gained all he wished. He had five sons devoted to Shiva's dharma, with Yadu foremost, and by the power of worshipping Shiva they gained all they desired. Other very fortunate ones in his line worshipped Shiva too, and others gained pleasure and liberation. For seven months Krishna himself worshipped Shiva constantly on the excellent mountain of Badari. Pleased, Bhagavan gave him many divine boons, and having received them from Shankara he brought the whole world under his control. His son Pradyumna always worshipped Shiva, and so did Krishna's other supreme sons, Samba and the rest. Jarasandha was a great devotee, and so were other kings of his line. Nimi and his son Janaka worshipped Shiva. So did Nala, Virasena's son. In his earlier life he had been a bhilla who protected travellers in the forest. In those earlier times, in Hara's presence, he had protected a mendicant, and in the night he was himself devoured by tigers and other enemies. By the power of that good deed the bhilla became Nala, a great king and chakravarti, and Damayanti's beloved. My son, unblemished one, I have told you what you asked of Shankara's divine account. What else do you wish to ask?