Lord Shiva - One of the Twelve Mahajanas

 

Lord Shiva is known as the greatest devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is known as the best of all types of Vaishnavas (vaishnavanam yatha shambhuh (Shrimad Bhagavatam 12.13.16)). Lord Shiva is a great devotee of Lord Sankarshana. This is the reason why Lord Shiva is often found in a chanting or meditating posture. He instructed the Prachetas about how to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. This appears as the celebrated Rudra-gita in the Shrimad-Bhagavatam canto 4, chapter 24. Shiva is one of the twelve great personalities called as mahajanas, authorities in preaching Krishna consciousness as stated in the Shrimad-Bhagavatam (6.3.20) by Yamaraja to the Yamadutas:

 

svayambhur naradah shambhuh   kumarah kapilo manuh

prahlado janako bhishmo    balir vaiyasakir vayam

 

"Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada, Lord Shiva, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila (the son of Devahuti), Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja. Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, Shukadeva Gosvami and L myself know the real reli­gious principles." In the Padrna Parana, Lord Shiva tells his wife Sati :

 

sri rama rama rameti rame rame manorame

 sahasra namah tat tulyarn   rama nama varanane

 

Thus Lord Shiva himself gladly proclaims that he constantly relishes chanting the holy name of Lord Rama.