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This is the Fifth
Purana. Preaching about the greatness of Lord Shiva and propagation of
Ling-puja (worship of Shiva-Ling) are the main objectives of this Purana.
This Purana has five parts:
1)
Description of the creation. Origin of Ling and its worship.
Yagya by Daksha. Immolation of Madan (Kamadev). Wedding of Lord Shiva.
Tale of Varaha. Tale of Narasimha. Description of Surya and Soma vansh.
2)
Greatness of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma becomes the
creator,Incarnations Of Shiva During Various Dwapar Yugas ,Dadhichi
Subjugates The Sages and Shilad's Impossible Demand.
3)
Manifestation Of Lord Nandishwar ,Kaliyuga ,The Seven Island ,The
Meru Mountain,The Prominent Mountains ,Lord Brahma Assigns Lordships To
The Deities and The Radiance Of Surya.
4)
Dhruva - The Supreme Devotee ,The Origin Of Deities,The Lineage
Of Aaditya,Yadu Dynasty, Appointment Of Andhak As The Lord Of Ganas,The
Liberation Of Earth ,Killing Of Jalandhar and The Origin Of Lord Ganesh.
5)
Story Of Upamanyu, Greatness Of Dwadakshar Mantra ,Greatness Of
Shadakshar Mantra, The Majestic Lord Maheshwar,The Sun Manifestation Of
Shiva's Power, Importance Of Guru ,Installation Of Shiva Linga ,Vajreshwari
Vidya And Different Types Of Yoga is covered in Fifth Part.
As per the Purana,
a fiery Shivaling appeared after the Pralaya. From this Shivaling,
emerged all the Vedas and other scriptures, even Brahma, Vishnu and all
other deities. Current prevalence of worship of Shivaling and idols
seems to be an outcome of this Purana.
This section
contains 14 sub-sections (to follow):
Once, sage, Narad
arrived at Naimisharanya where he found many sages engaged in
austerities. All the sages were delighted to see him. They eulogized him
in reverence and offered him seat. Sage Narad narrated some amazing
tales describing about the greatness of Linga Puran. This made the sages
even more curious about Linga Puran. Right then, Sutji also arrived
there and the sages requested him to narrate the tales of Linga Puran.
After making salutations to lord Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh and Sage Krishna
Dwaipayan, Sutji said--- Sound is the medium through which the almighty
Brahma manifests himself. Brahma manifests himself in the sacrosanct
OMKAR mantra. Rigveda is his mouth, Samaveda his tongue, Yajurveda his
neck and Atharvaveda is his heart. He is the Supreme Being and is beyond
the reach of creation or deluge. He is one but manifests himself as
three distinct deities---Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. These three deities
are the expression of the three natural qualities respectively-Rajas,
Satva and Tamas. He manifests himself as Mahesh in his formless
(Nirguna) identity. He manifests himself in all the living creatures as
well as imperceptible things in the form of seven natural
elements-Mahattatva (5 basic elements) Ahankara (ego), Shabda (Sound)
Sparsh (touch), Roop (appearance), Rasa (taste) and Gandha (smell).
Lord Brahma compiled the divine tales of Linga Puran. It covers wide
range of subjects like the beginning of creation, the origin of
universe, description of the time, tales of different Kalpas, the
greatness of Linga and its worship, tales related with Lord Shiva,
characteristics of Shiva temple etc. It specially elaborates upon the
greatness of Shiva linga and its worship.
FIRST CANTO PRATHAM SARG
Shiva is both invisible as well
as the root cause of all the delusions of the world. This is why Shiva
is also known as Alinga (unknowable). Linga is nothing but the
non-manifested (Auyakta) form of Shiva. This implies that the visible
world is the medium through which Shiva manifests himself. Nature
(Prakriti) in itself is devoid of qualities like smell, taste, touch
etc. But, all these qualities become apparent in it only because of
Shiva, who is imperishable and whose characteristics are the natural
qualities like taste, smell, touch and sound.
The whole world along with the gross and subtle has originated from
Alinga Shiva. The whole world comes into being with the help of eleven
components-10 sense organs and mind. It is pervaded by the delusions of
'Alinga Shiva'. The three prominent deities---Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh
are the manifestations of Shiva. He is the creator in the form of
Brahma, the nurturer in the form of Vishnu and the annihilator in the
form of Mahesh.
Nature is pervaded by the delusion of Shiva, which is also known as Ajaa
(unborn). The three basic colour -red, white and black are the symbolic
expressions of the three qualities Raja, Sat and Tamo respectively.
Majorities of people fall prey to the delusions of this world and get
entangled in its illusionary appearances, but there are few that
understand the futility of this illusionary world.
With the desire of beginning
creation, the supreme Almighty manifest himself in the imperceptible
which results into the creation of the Mahattatva (five basic elements).
From Mahattatva manifests the ego or 'ahankara which comprises of three
gunas. From Ego manifests the Tanmantras or subtle forms of
matter-sound, form, taste smell and touch. Among these subtle forms of
matter, Sound came into being first of all and space originated from it.
The second tanmantra, touch originated from the space. Air manifested
from touch or sparsh. The third tanmantra, form or roopa originated from
air or Yayu. Fire or Agni manifested from roopa. The fourth tanmantra,
taste or rasa manifested from Agni.
Similarly, water or Jal manifested from Rasa, smell or Gandha from Jal
and Earth manifested from Gandha respectively.
All the five organs of action (Karmendriya) sense organs and mind
originated from pure Ego (Satva ahankara). In course of time all these
elements got transformed into a mammoth egg (Anda), inside which Lord
Brahma manifested himself. The whole universe is said to be established
inside the above mentioned egg.
The egg is covered by seven layers and Lord Brahma dwells inside it,
seated on a lotus flower. The mammoth egg contains crores of universes
inside its fold.
The whole creation
lasts for the total period equivalent to Brahma's day. The almighty God
created during daytime and annihilated during night. One day of Lord
Brahma is equivalent to one Kalpa of this world. The cycle of four Yugas
occur periodically for 1000 times, during which period altogether
fourteen Manus take incarnation, one after another. Satyuga consists of
4000 years.
Fifteen Nimesha make one Kashtha (unit of time measurement) Thirty Kalas
make a Muhurta, fifteen Muhurta a day and night each.The dark lunar
phase is said to be the day, while bright lunar phase is said to be the
night of the manes. One year of this world consists of 360 days.The
deities' day lasts for the full period, when the sun is positioned
towards the north of equator. Similarly, the deities' night lasts for
the total period when the sun is positioned towards the south of
equator. One year of the deities is equivalent to thirty years of this
world. Similarly three months of the deities are equivalent to one
hundred months of this world.
Each of the four Yugas is measured on the basis of divine years. Satya
Yuga is equivalent to 40,000 divine years, while Treta Yuga is
equivalent to 80,000 divine years. Dwarpar Yuga is equivalent to 20,000
years of the deities, while Kali Yuga is equivalent to 60,000 years of
the deities. The period of each Yuga given here is exclusive of the
periods of Sandhya (evening) and Sandhyansh (part of evening.)
Lord Brahma commences creation at the fag end of night and all his
creations exist for the whole day. When the night descends, everything
is annihilated. This is the time when Kalpa ends.
In the initial phase of his creation, Lord Brahma created immovable
natural things like trees, mountains etc-then birds and animals. In the
process of creation, he created various things and human being was his
seventh creation.
First of all Lord Brahma created his Manasputras-Sanak, Sanandan etc,
who had no worldly desires. He then created the nine supreme
sages---Marichi, Bhrigu, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Daksha, Atri
and Vashishth by the help of his yogic powers. After that, it was the
turn of the twelve Prajapatis-Ribhu, Sanatkumar, Sanatan etc. All of
them were divine, extremely virtuous and had realized the supreme -
self, Brahma.Shatarupa had begotten four children from Swayambhuva
Manu-Priyavrata, Uttanpad, Aakuti and Prasuti.
Aakuti was married
to a Prajapati named Ruchi, while Prasuti married Daksha. Aakuti gave
birth to two children-Dakshina and Yagya. Dakshina had twelve
sons.Prasuti-the youngest daughter of Shatarupa had begotten twenty four
daughters from Yaksha-Shraddha, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Tushti, Pushti, Megha,
Kriya, Buddhi, Lajja, Vapu, Siddhi, Keerti, Khyati, Sambhuti, Smriti,
Preeti, Kshama, Sannati, Anusuya, Urja, Swaha, Sura Arani and Swadha.
Thirteen of them were married to Dharma-a Prajapati. Khyati was married
to sage Bhrigu while Arani married sage Bhargava. Similarly various
sages like Marichi, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Ritu, Atri and Vashishth
got married with Sambhuti, Smriti, Preeti, Kshama, Sannati Anusuya and
Urjaa respectively. Swaha was married to Vibhavasu while Swadha married
the Pitrishwaras.
Dharma had begotten all together 15 sons from his thirteen wives-Kaam,
Darp, Niyam, Santosh, Alobha, Shrut, Dand, Samay, Body, Mahadyuti,
Apramadd, Vinay, Vyavasay, Kshem, Sukh and Yash. Khyati-wife of sage
Bhrigu gave birth to Shri who later became the consort of lord Vishnu.
She also had two sons named Dhata and Vidhata.
Prabhuti-wife of sage Marichi gave birth to two sons-Puranama and
Maarich. She also had four daughters-Tushti, Drishti, Krishi and
Apachi.Kshama-wife of Sage Pulaha had many offspring among whom Kardam &
Sahishnu were prominent. Preeti, wife of Sage Pulastya had two sons
named Dattarnavr and Dahvahu. She also had a daughter named Dwashdwati.
Kratu's wife-Sannati had six thousand offspring who became famous as
Baalkhilyas.
Smriti-Wife of Sage
Angiras had given birth to five daughters--- Sini, Vali, Kuhu, Raka and
Anumati. Anusuya, wife of Sage Atri had six children-five sons and one
daughter. The names of the sons were - Satyanetra, Bhavyamuni, Murtiray,
Shanaishchar and Somatha.Urjaa, wife of sage Vashishth gave birth to
seven sons-Jyayji, Pundarikaaksh, Raj, Suhotra, Bahu, Nishpaap, Shravan,
Tapasvi and Shukra. Agni's consort Swaha gave birth to three
sons-Pavamaan, Paavak and Shuchi.
Sati- daughter of
Daksha had married lord Shiva much against the wish of her father. Once,
Daksha organized a grand yagya in which he did not invite his
son-in-law. Sati went to attend the yagya ceremony inspite of Shiva's
forbiddance. After seeing her, Daksha calumniated Lord Shiva and made
fun of him. This infuriated her to such an extent that she gave up her
life by jumping into the sacrificial fire. She was born as Parvati in
her next birth and once again got Shiva as her husband.
Once, Lord Brahma requested Shiva to create a world, which was free from
death. Lord Shiva refused apprehending its disastrous consequences. Lord
Brahma was left with no other option than to commence creation on his
own. Meanwhile, Shiva became immovable just like the trunk of a tree
(sthanu). Lord Shiva, who is capable of attaining any form. He showers
benediction on mankind. He is engrossed in the supreme state of Yoga
with effortless case. Nobody can attain liberation without his grace. He
is the bestower of religiousness (Dharma), knowledge (Gyan), asceticism
(Vairagya) and splendour (Aishwarya). Sinners who do not take refuge in
Shiva have to experiences the unbearable tortures of countless hells.
On being asked about the incarnation of Sage Vyas during various eras
and Manvantars, Sutji replied-O Brahmin! Now I am going to mention the
names of all the incarnations of Vyas who existed during Vaivasvat
manvantar of Varah kalp. The names are as follows-Ritu, Satya, Bhargava,
Angira, Savita, Mrityu, Shatakratu, Vashishth, Saraswat, Tridhatma,
Trivrit, Swayam, Dharm, Narayan, Tarakshu, Aaruni, Kritanjay, Trina,
Bindu, Ruksha, Muni, Shakti, Parashar, Jatukarnya and Sri Krishna
Dwaipayan.
The names of Manu's belonging to different manvantars of Varah kalp
are-Swayambhu, Swarochi's, Uttam, Tamas, Raivat, Chakchhus, Vaivaswat,
Savarni, Dharmasavarni, Vishang, Avishang, Shabal and Varnak. All of
these Manu's were named according to their appearances and complexions.
For example vaivaswat Manu was of dark complexion.
Yoga means union with God. The state of yoga is impossible to attain
without the blessings of Lord Shiva. It needs a concentrated and
focussed mind. There are some specific spots in the human body
concentrating upon which, enables a man to attain the state of yoga-spot
between the eyebrows, lower part of the throat, Navel and six inches
above it etc.
The state of yoga
can never be attained until and unless a person has fully controlled the
tendencies of sense organs. It can be achieved with the help of eight
means-Yama (Penance), Niyam (discipline), Aasan (Posture), Pranayam
(Breath-control), Pratyahar (restraint of passion), Dharan (retention),
Dhyan (concentration) and Samadhi (deep meditation). Each of them holds
an important position in the path of yoga.
Describing about the methods of performing yoga, Sutji says--- A person
should sit with his legs crossed in Padmasan and try to concentrate his
mind by fixing his gaze between his eyebrows. He should keep his spine
erect. He should meditate either on the form of Omkar or on the form of
lord Shiva. Breath control is an important aspect of yogic exercise. A
man should exhale deeply for 32 times and then breathe in deeply. He
should then retain his breath as long as possible and visualize lord
Shiva within his body. By constant practice he will achieve mastery over
this art and a time will come when he will experience divine bliss. This
divine bliss can not be experienced unless one has attained a deep state
of meditation (Samadhi).
A man experiences
numerous obstacles in the path of Yoga-laziness, restlessness confusion,
a diseased body etc. The main reason for being lazy is a bulky physique
and one's inability to concentrate his mind. Lack of concentration
results in restlessness, which is a major obstacle in the path of yoga.
If a person in unsure about the results he becomes confused. It is
impossible for a person suffering from any disease to concentrate his
mind.
All the above
mentioned hurdles can be overcome by firm resolution. A man who has
successfully overcome all these obstacles might experience other
obstacles in the form of siddhis (divine powers). There is a real danger
of getting lured by these divine powers. As a result his mind may get
distracted from his original goal and he may deviate from his path. The
names of these siddhis or divine powers are-Pratibha (having knowledge
of past present & future incident), Shravan (being capable of listening
to abnormal sounds), Varta (whatever is said becomes true), Darshana
(capable of seeing things which can mot be seen by the mortal eyes),
Aaswada (being capable of experiencing divine (tastes), Vedana (being
capable of relieving other's pain by a mere touch). If a person
successfully overcomes all these allurements then he becomes a siddha-
or man of accomplishment and divine powers.
Lord Shiva showers
his blessing on one and all without any discrimination, but virtuous
people have special privilege in the sense that it is easier for them to
realize Lord Shiva.Once, Parvati asked Lord Shiva as to how a devotee
could realize him. Lord Shiva recalled an incident when Lord Brahma had
asked the same question. Lord Shiva had told lord Brahma-"Anybody can
realize me by having deep devotion towards me. A devotee can meditate
upon me in the form of Linga with total devotion. It is only by deep
devotion that a man can achieve true knowledge as well as salvation."
The sages asked
Sutji as to how was lord Brahma able to have a divine glimpse of
Sadyojaat. Sutji replied-During the Kalpa named Shwetalohit, once lord
Brahma witnessed the manifestation of a divine child who was of mixed
(red & white) complexion. The child had a Shikha (topknot) on his head.
Considering him to be an embodiment of almighty God, Lord Brahma
eulogized that child. Suddenly four children appeared and formed a
protective ring around Sadyojaat. The names of these children
were-Sunand, Nandan, Vishwanand, and Upanand. All of them were of fair
complexion and very handsome.Anybody who is desirous of attaining to
Rudraloka must take refuge in Sadyojaat.
Once, during
thirtieth kalpa named Rakta, Lord Brahma was meditating on Parameshthi
Shiva. Suddenly a divine child appeared before him who was of red
complexion and who had put on red apparels. He was none other than Lord
Vaamdev. Lord Brahma immediately realized the divinity of that child and
was convinced that he was the embodiment of Almighty God.
Lord Brahma eulogized Vaamdev who was pleased by his devotions. Four
divine entities-Virija, Vivahu, Vishoka and Vishwabhavana manifested
from the body of Vaamdev. All of them had great resemblance to Lord
Vaamdev. Vaamdev preached them on the finer points of religiousness so
that mankind could be benefited by this knowledge.
The thirty-first
kalpa was known as Peet Kalpa. The term 'Peet' means yellow and this
Kalpa was named Peet because Lord Brahma had put on yellow apparels
during this Kalpa. Once, while he was meditating on the form of Lord
Shiva, a divine child manifested before him. The child had a halo of
light all around him and had put on yellow coloured clothes. Even his
turban, sacred-thread and garland were yellow in colour. His arms were
abnormally long.
Lord Brahma immediately realized that the child was none other than Lord
Maheshwar himself. Suddenly a divine cow appeared from the mouth of
Maheshwar, who had four faces and possessed all the thirty-two
qualities. The divine cow was none other than Goddess Gayatri
herself.Lord Brahma eulogized her and Maheshwar was very pleased by his
deep devotion. Maheshwar also blessed him with divine knowledge and
unrevealed the secret of yoga to him. Right then, many divine children
appeared from the body of lord Maheshwar. Each of them had put on yellow
apparels and had great resemblance to lord Maheshwar. They were
extremely virtuous and served the mankind by giving sermons. After
having completed their mission of spreading the message of virtuosity to
the mankind, all of them got united with Lord Maheshwar ultimately.
A person, who is desirous of getting liberated from all his sin, must
seek the blessings of Lord Maheshwar who is also known as Tatpurush.
Peet kalpa was
followed by Pradhritta kalpa. Black was the predominant colour of this
kalpa. Initially, the whole earth was submerged in the water and Lord
Brahma desirous of commencing his creations wished for a son. As a
result, a divine child manifested whose complexion was dark. Not only
that he had put on black apparels and a black crown on his head. A black
sacred thread was hanging across his shoulder.
Lord Brahma immediately recognized Aghoresh and eulogized him. Lord
Aghoresh became pleased by his devotion and blessed him. Just like the
preceding Kalpas, four divine children manifested from lord Aghoresh's
body. All of them had great resemblance with Aghoresh in every respect.
In course of time, they did tremendous penance and preached the virtue
of religiousness to the mankind. A person who worships Lord Aghoresh and
has deep devotion in him becomes liberated from gravest of sins like
Brahmhatya (sin acquired due to killing a Brahmin) etc.
In the beginning of
Vishwaroopa kalpa, lord Brahma, desirous of commencing creation was
engrossed in deep meditation. This resulted into the manifestation of a
divine cow, which puzzled lord Brahma very much. Actually, this divine
cow was none other then Vishwaroopa Saraswati, but lord Brahma failed to
recognize her. Lord Brahma decided to take the help of Lord Ishaan and
started meditating on him.
When Lord Ishaan
appeared before him, he was requested by Lord Brahma to shed light on
the identity of that divine cow. Lord Ishaan replied by saying-"The
present kalpa is called Vishwaroopa kalpa. It has originated from the
left side of my body and is the thirty-third kalpa. This divine cow has
also originated from me. She is goddess Gauri-the source of all
creation. After saying like this, Lord Ishaan created four divine
entities from the body of the cow-Jati, Mundi, Shikhandi and Ardhamund.
All of them were very luminous and virtuous. After preaching the world
for thousands of divine year. They got reunited with lord Rudra.
The sages asked
Sutji--- Lord Shiva is formless then how come Shiva Linga is worshipped?
What is the significance of Shiva Linga? What is the proper method of
worshipping a Shiva Linga ?
Sutji replied--- Once, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu developed serious
different on the matter of superiority. A tremendous duel broke out
between them. As they were fighting a mammoth Linga appeared on the
scence, the effulgence of which made efforts both of them amazed.Both of
them decided to find out the origin of that divine Linga. Lord Brahma
transformed his appearance into that of a swan and flew up in the sky to
determine the height of that Linga. Lord Vishnu transformed himself into
a roar and entered the depth of earth to find the source of that Shiva
Linga. But both of them failed in their objectives and returned to the
same place exhausted.
Suddenly, they heard
a loud sound of AUM emanating from the Shiva Linga. Very soon, the whole
form of OM, consisting of all the three letters A, U and M became
visible. (The letters A, U and M symbolize Lord Brahma, Vishnu and
Mahesh respectively).
At last, both of them realized their mistake and stopped quarrelling.
This way, Lord Shiva was successful in subduing their arrogance.Lord
Rudra is beyond sensual perception. He is the supreme Almighty and the
bestowers of divine bliss. The mystical form of Shivalinga is a
symbolical expression of sacred mantra-AUM. The letter A symbolizes
Beeja (Seed), M the creator himself and U is the symbolical expression
of Yoni (Vagina).
Lord Rudra is beyond sensual perception. He is the supreme Almighty and
the bestowers of divine bliss. The mystical form of Shivalinga is a
symbolical expression of sacred mantra-AUM. The letter A symbolizes
Beeja (Seed), M the creator himself and U is the symbolical expression
of Yoni (Vagina).
This section
contains 13 sub-sections (to follow):
At the time, when
this incident of mystical Shiva linga had occurred and after which Lord
Brahmaand Vishnu had stopped quarelling, Lord Shiva appeared before them
and said---
"I am very pleased with both of you, Both of -
" O Vishnu! You are the creator, Lord Shiva. This made Lord Shiva
extremely pleased and he the preserver as well as the destroyer of this
world. I am the supreme you, though having distinct identities have
actually manifested from my body-Brahma from my left side and Vishnu
from my right." almighty and distinct from all three of you-Brahma,
Vishnu and Mahesh.Lord Vishnu expressed his undiluted devotion towards
Lord Shiva. This made Lord Shiva extremely pleased and he said.
"O Vishnu! You are the creator, the preserver as well as the destroyer
of this world. I am the supreme almighty and distinct from all three of
you-Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh."
Linga is the personification of the Almighty God. The term Linga means
fusion and the Shivalinga are said to be the symbolical expression of
all the deities.
The Sages requested
Sutji to elucidate how Lord Brahma emerged from the navel of Vishnu
seated on a lotus flower.
Sutji replied--- At the time of deluge Lord Vishnu went in his yoganidra
lying on the back of Sheshnag. As the result of his divine play, a huge
lotus flower along with a long tubular stalk emerged from his navel.
Lord Brahma was seated on the Lotus flower.When Lord Brahma saw Lord
Vishnu, he asked-"Who are you sleeping in this ocean?'' Lord Vishnu also
asked the same question as to whom was he and from where had he
manifested. Very soon, a quarrel ensures between them.Desirous of
knowing the identity of the stranger, Lord Vishnu entered Brahma's
abdomen through his mouth. He was amazed to find the existence of whole
universe inside Brahma's abdomen. He remained there for thousands of
year but could not find the end. Being exhausted, he came out and told
Lord Brahma that even his abdomen had the same unlimited expanse.
Lord Brahma decided to check the authenticity of Vishnu's statement and
entered into his abdomen through the mouth. Lord Brahma wandered inside
the abdomen for thousands of year but could not find the end. Mean
while, Lord Vishnu has shut each and every opening of his body which
made it impossible for Lord Brahma to come out. Ultimately he was
successful in coming out through the tubular stalk of the lotus.As Lord
Brahma was not amused by Vishnu's behaviour, he started fighting with
him. Right at that moment, Lord Mahadev arrived there. His moments
created high tide and strong mind, which vigorously shook the lotus
flower.
Lord Vishnu immediately realized that these signs forebode the arrival
of Mahadev. He revealed this fact to Brahma and about Manadev's
greatness. But Lord Brahma was not impressed. Lord Vishnu then said ---
"Shiva is the
almighty God. He is the one, whom, enlightened people are always in
search for. He manifests himself in the form of an egg on account of the
union of his formless and with form appearances. In course of time the
egg gets divided into two halves, from which are created the different
Lokas (world). The egg is the very place from where originates the whole
creation. Even you (Brahma) own your existence to that egg. Your
arrogance might invite the wrath of Shiva. So, come let both of us
eulogize and praise the holy name of Mahadev.
At last, Lord Vishnu
was successful in convincing Brahma of Shiva's supreme status. Both of
them eulogized and sang hymns in the praise of Lord Shiva.Lord Shiva
became very pleased by their devotion. He requested Lord Vishnu wanted
nothing else but undiluted devotion in him. Lord Shiva agreed and said
"So be it".
Lord Shiva then blessed Brahma and made him the creator. Lord Brahma did
a tremendous penance, which continued for a very long period. The severe
penance strained his eyes as a result of which tears started rolling
down his cheeks. Poisonous snakes manifested from those teardrops. Lord
Brahma became disillusioned by his maiden creation and gave up his life.
Eleven Rudras emerged from his body and started wailing. They then
brought Lord Brahma back to life.After becoming alive, Lord Brahma
eulogized Vishveshwar and goddess Gayatri. He was amazed to see the
existence of whole universe inside the body of Lord Vishveshwar all the
kalpas including the different incarnations of lord Shiva about origin
of these kalpas and various incarnations like sadya, etc.
Lord Shiva revealed
to Brahma that the Shwet-kalpa derived its name from his complexion. "I
took incarnation attired in white apparels. My complexion was fair. You
being self-begotten were able to recognize me. Goddess Gayatri had also
manifested from my body and later on became famous as
'Shwet-Lohit-Brahm'."
"The next kalpa was known as Lohit kalpa because of my red complexion,
Goddess Gayatri had also incarnated in the form of divine cow. I became
famous as Vaamdev during this kalpa."
Lord Shiva then went on to describe about the rest of the kalpas which
had been named after his complexion. He also gave in-depth description
of various subjects like, the different worlds, the vedas the four major
castes etc.
On being enquired by
Lord Brahma about his various incarnations, Lord Shiva said ---
"I shall incarnate as Shwet-Mahamuni during 1st Dwapar yuga of Vaivaswat
manvantar. My abode shell is at Chhogal peak of Himalaya mountain. I
shall have four disciples who will be proficient in the Vedas."
"I will incarnate as Sutar during second dwapar. At that time,
Saddyojaat Prajapati will be holding he post of Vyas.I will have four
sons-Dundubhi, Shataroopa, Richika and Keluma."
"During third dwapar and at the time when Sage Bhargav will be acting as
a Vyas, I will take incarnation as Daman. I will have four sons-Vikrosh,
Vikesh, Vipash and Paapnashak."
"During fourth dwapar and at the time when Sage Angira will be acting as
a Vyas, I will take incarnation as Suhotra. I will have four
sons-Sumukh, Durmukh, Durdhar and Duratikram."
"I will take incarnation as Kank during fifth dwapar and at the time
when Sage Savita will be fulfilling the obligations of Vyas; I will have
four sons-Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan and Sanatkumar."
"During Sixth dwapar, I will take incarnation as Laugakshi. At that time
Sage Mrityu will be holding the post of Vyas. My sons will be Sudhama,
Viraja, Shankh and Padraj."
"Sage Shataritu will
act as Vyas during Seventh dwapar. I will have four sons-Saraswat, Megh,
Meghvah and Suvahan."
"Sage Vashishth will be the vyas during eighth dwapar. I will take
incarnation as Dadhivahan. My sons will be-Kapil, Aasuri, Panch,
Shikhomuni and Vashkal."
"Sage Saraswat will act as Vyas during nineth dwapar. I will take
incarnation as Rishabh. I will have four sons-Parashar, Garg, Bhargav
and Aangiras."
"The tenth dwapar will see Tripad fulfilling the duties of Vyas. I will
incarnate as Bhavita Muni. I will have four sons-Bala, Bandhu, Niramitra
and Ketu."
"Sage Trivat will be the Vyas during eleventh dwapar. I will take
incarnation as Ugra. My sons will be-Lambodar, Lambaksha & Lambakesh."
"Sage Shatateja will perform the duties of Vyas during twelfth dwapar. I
will have four sons-Sarvagya, Sambuddhi, Saadhya and Sarva."
"Dharma will be the Vyas during thirteenth dwapar. I will take
incarnation as Bali and live at the hermitage of the Baalkhilya. I will
have four sons-Sudhama, Kashyap, Vashishth and Viraja."
This way, Lord Shiva
elaborated upon his various incarnations till the period of twenty-eight
dwapar, which went as follows.
|
DWAPAR |
VYAS |
SHIVA |
SHIVA'S SONS |
|
14th |
Tarakshu |
Gautam |
Atri, Devarudra, Shravan & Shrivishthak |
|
15th |
Traiyyaruni |
Vedshira |
Kuni, Kunibahu, Kusharir & Kunetrak |
|
16th |
Deva |
Gokarn |
Kashyao, Shukracharya, Chyavn &
Vrihaspati |
|
17th |
Kritanjay |
Guhavasi |
Utathya, Vamadev, Mahayoga & Mahabal |
|
18th |
Ritanjay |
Shikhani |
Vachashrava,Richik,Shyavashva &
Yateeshwar |
|
19th |
Bhardwaj |
Jatamali |
Hiranyabh, Kaushal, Laungakshi &
Kuthumi |
|
20th |
Gautam |
Attahaas |
Sumantu, Varvari, Kavandh & Kushi
Kandhar |
|
21st |
Vachashrava |
Daruko |
Rampkshoda, Bhayani, Ketuman & Gautam. |
|
22nd |
Shushmayan |
Langli Bheem |
Dharmik, Mahayotri, Bhallavi,
Madhupinga,Shwetu, Ketu & Kush |
|
23rd |
Trinabindu |
Kalanjar |
Ushik, Vrihadashva, Deval & Kavirevach |
|
24th |
Riksha |
Shooli |
Shalihotra, Agnivesh, Unashva &
Sharadvasu. |
|
25th |
Shakti |
Dandi-Mundishvar |
Chhagal, Kundak, Kumbhand & Prawahaj |
|
26th |
Parashar |
Sahishnu |
Ulook, Viddyut, Shambuk & Aashwalayan. |
|
27th |
Jatuk Karnya |
Somsharma |
Akshapad, Kumar, Ulook & Vatsa. |
|
28th |
Dwaipayan |
Lakuli |
Kushik, Garg, Mitra & Kaurushya |
Once, Goddess Parvati asked Lord Shiva about the proper methods of
worshipping Shiva-linga. While Shiva was elucidating upon the rituals,
Nandi who was present there too got enlightened on this sacred topic. In
course of time, this knowledge was passed on to Sanat Kumar, who in turn
revealed it to Sage Vyas. Sutji came to know about it from Shailadi.Lord
Shiva had described the following three methods, by the help of which a
devotee should become pure before commencing his worship.
- Varun Snan
(Taking bath in open)
- Bhashma Snan
(Smearing ashes on the body)
- Mantra Snan
(Chanting of mantra)
Lord Shiva had
stressed upon the importance of taking bath in a river or a pond.
According to him a man's mind, which is like a lotus, could never
blossom unless it received the radiance of the sun. Describing about the
methods of taking Bhasmsnan, he said-After washing his hands and feet, a
devotee should smear any of the following things on his body to make it
pure-mud, cowdung ashes etc. While smearing mud on his body, he should
chant the mantra -Uddhatashivarahen. After becoming pure according to
the methods mentioned above, he should then worship Lord Varun. Having
done, this, he should take a dip in the river after purifying the water
by chanting the sacred 'Adhamarshan' mantra. He should then worship all
the deities by sprinkling water from the Shankh (Conch) and amidst the
chanting of mantras like 'Rudren Pavamanen' etc. He should then
concentrate upon the form of a Shivalinga. He should drink some water
holding some Kusha grass in his right hand simultaneously.
A devotee should
commence his worship only after becoming pure. In the beginning he
should perform Pranayam for three times so that his lungs are filled up
with fresh air. After this, he should concentrate his mind on the form
of Lord Trayambak in all his glory. He should purify all the articles
required for the worship by performing ablution and by chanting OM NAMAH
SHIVAY. He should also make offerings of flowers, rice grains, barley
etc. to the deity. Worship of Lord Shiva is believed to be incomplete
without the worship of his family-Nandi, Kartikeya, Vinayak and Goddess
Parvati. So, the devotee must not forget to worship them.
Once upon a time,
the sages were busy doing their penance to please Lord Mahadev. Lord
Shiva decided to test patience and visited daruk forest in naked
position. By the virtue of his divine power, he was successful in
corrupting the conduct of the sage's wives. Those women became so
infatuated by his divine appearance that they lost control omen
themselves. They were desirous of satiating their lust but Shiva
maintained silence and did not oblige them.
When the sages saw the womenfolk in such a pitiable condition, they
started abusing Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva did not respond and disappeared
from the scene. Now, the sages became very frightened. All of them went
to Lord Brahma and narrated the whole incident. Lord Brahma reprimanded
them by saying that how unfortunate they had been in not recognizing
Lord Shiva- the Almighty. Lord Brahma said-"You have committed a grace
sir by showing disrespect to your guest. Your conduct was unlike
Sudarshan-a Brahmin who by his hospitality was able to win the lord of
death."
Lord Brahma narrated the following tale to them ---
"Once there lived a kind hearted Brahmin named Sudarshan. He was very
hospitable and considered his guests, as Lord Shiva himself. He had
given strict instructions to his wife that under no circumstance should
a guest return unsatisfied from his home."
"Dharmaraj wanted to
test Sudarshan firmness in his belief. One day he arrived at Sudarshan's
hermitage disguised as a Brahmin. At that time he was not present in his
hermitage. Dharmaraj refused to accept anything in donation except
Sudarshan's wife herself.
"Sudarshan's wife offered herself without any hesitation. When he
returned, not finding her wife started calling her name. At that time he
heard a voice saying that his wife was satisfying the lust of a guest.
Sudarshan remained unperturbed and requested his guest to carry on till
he is satisfied."
"Dharmaraj became pleased. He appeared before Sudarshan and gave
blessings. He appreciated his hospitable nature by saying that by the
virtue of his undiluted hospitality he had even vanquished him
(Dharmaraj)."
The sages were very ashamed of their conduct and returned Lord Brahma to
explain as to how they could have devotion in Lord Shiva. Lord Brahma
elucidated on the virtue of devotion and narrated the tale of sage Shwet
who had subjugated even death by his devotion.
The sages were very
curious to know about sage Shwet. Lord Brahma narrated the following
tale ---
"Once, there lived a sage named Shwet. He was a great devotee of Lord
Shiva. He lived in a cave and engaged himself in severe penance,
continuously chanting the holy name of Shiva. When the time of his death
approached, 'Kaal arrived there to take his life. Sage Shwet started
eulogizing Lord Shiva. He challenged 'Kaal' that being a devotee of
Shiva he was beyond the reach of death. But, Kaal made fun of him and
told him that nobody could escape death. Sage Shwet had unshakable faith
in Lord Shiva. Pointing towards the Shiva Linga, he told Kaal that he
would remain unharmed because of Lord Shiva who was present in that
Shivalinga.
Suddenly, Kaal tied him with his noose and said---See, Now you are
absolutely under my control and even your deity seems to be helpless. To
protect his devotee, Lord Shiva arrived on the scene accomplished by
Goddess Amba, Ganapati and Nandi. 'Kaal' got scared to such an extent
that he fainted and died."
The sages curiously asked Lord Brahma about the means with which Shiva
could be pleased. Lord Brahma told them that only deep devotion and
nothing else could please Lord Shiva.
Having realized
their mistake, the sages returned to Daruk forest and engaged themselves
in austere penance to please Shiva. They did a tremendous penance, which
lasted for a year. Ultimately their wished were fulfilled as Lord Shiva
appeared with ashes smeared all over his body. He had a begging-bowl in
his hands and exhibited strange mannerism. But this time the sages did
not fail in recognizing him. They begged for his forgiveness and sought
his blessings.
Lord Shiva became pleased and blessed them divine sight, which made them
enable to see his form of Trayambak. The illumines appearance of Lord
Trayambak cast a spellbound over them. They eulogized Lord Shiva by
singing praise in his name. This way, their deep devotion in Lord Shiva
had exploited them from their sin.
Lord Shiva revealed
to the sages that a female sex organ was nothing but a symbolic
expression of goddess Parvati where as a male sex organ symbolized his
own self. He also cautioned them against making fun of hermit's
appearance. He said-"These hermits who appear absured by their looks are
my great devotees. They don't care about their physical appearance
because I predominantly occupy their thoughts. Anybody making fun of
these 'naked' hermits, whose bodies are smeared with ashes is in fact
making fun of me."
Lord Shiva then went on to describe the purity of ash and said--- Ash is
extremely pure, as it is the residual element of matter, which is left
after burning. It is sacred and indestructible. This is why, I smear it
on my body. A person who smears ash on his body becomes liberated from
all his sins. It is the destroyer of sin. It is the symbolic expression
of my 'Veerya' (Semen).
This way, Lord Shiva enlightened them on various spiritual topics.
There ruled a king
named Kshoopa whose friend was Sage Dadhichi. Once they got into
argument over the superiority of their respective castes. King Kshoopa
was of the opinion that a Kshetriya was superior to Brahmin. Very soon,
the dispute took an ugly turn and a duel broke out between them.
Dadhich punched Kshoopa on his head. Kshoopa retaliated by attacking
Dadhichi with his weapon named Vajra. The assault proved to be for
Dadhichi and he fell down, Before his death he prayed to his
guru-Shukracharya and sought his help. Realizing that his disciple was
in danger, Shukracharya rushed to the spot, but Dadhichi had already
died before he could arrive there.
Shukracharya knew the secret learning-Mritasanjivani Vidya. He brought
back Dadhichi alive and advised him to please Lord Shiva to attain
invincibility. He also taught Dadhichi the proper methods of worshipping
Shiva. Dadhichi did an austere penance and pleased Lord Shiva. Lord
Shiva appeared and blessed him with invincibility and also made his
bones as hard as Indra's thunderbolt (Vajra).
Dadhichi then went to fight Kshoopa. He kicked Kshoopa on his chest.
Kshoopa retaliated by attacking Dadhichi with his Vajra. But this time
Dadhichi remained unharmed. Kshoopa was surprised to see his assault
going in vain. He decided to take the help of Lord Vishnu and engaged
himself in austere penance.
When Lord Vishnu
appeared before Kshoopa, he sought his help in defeating Dadhichi. Lord
Vishnu expressed his inability by saying--- I don't punish a Brahmin,
especially if he is a devotee of Rudra. Dadhichi is both, so forget
about defeating him. Anyhow, I will try me best to make Dadhichi devoid
of his power.
Lord Vishnu then went to Dadhichi's hermitage disguised as a Brahmin.
Dadhichi recognized him and came to know about his intentions. He
requested Lord Vishnu to go ahead with his demand. "I have conquered
fear on account of my total devotion in Lord Shiva" said Dadhichi.
Lord Vishnu did not like his arrogant behaviour. He said-"I know you
have conquered fear. But, just for once, say that you are fearful of me,
as I am Vishnu."
But, Dadhichi refused to obey his commands. This infuriated Lord Vishnu
and he tried to kill Dadhichi with his Chakra. Dadhichi remained
unharmed and said-How can this Chakra harm me? Lord Shiva has given
whose devotee I am it to you whose devotee I am.
Lord Vishnu tried to use his other weapons but failed to cause any harm
to Dadhichi. All the deities came to his help but still their efforts of
defeating Dadhichi went futile.Lord Vishnu then tried to impress
Dadhichi by his divine powers and showed his divine appearance in which
the whole world was visible. Dadhichi gave a befitting reply by showing
the whole universe including Lord Vishnu within his body. Lord Vishnu
was amazed by his divine powers. Ultimately, Lord Brahma persuaded Lord
Vishnu to discontinue the fight. Seeing his lord in such a helpless
condition, Kshoopa had no other option but to accept defeat. He tried to
pacify Dadhichi anger by asking cursed him as well as all the deities by
saying--- All of you including the deities and Vishnu will be destroyed
in Daksha's yagya as the consequence of Rudra's wrath.
The place where
Dadhichi's hermitage was situated later on became famously known as
Sthaneshwar. It is considered to be the most sacred place of pilgrimage.
Once, Shilad did an
austere penance to please Indra. He was desirous of begetting a son.
When Indra appeared he requested him to bless him with a son who was
self-born as well as deathless. Indra expressed his helplessness in
fulfilling impossible demand. Even Lord Brahma meets his end after the
passage of crores of Kalpas"-said Indra. Shilad tried to convince the
validity of his demand by citing the example of Daksha's son who
according to his best of knowledge were self-born as well as deathless.
Indra told him that it was not true. To prove his point Indra said-"Even
Vishnu and Brahma are not self born. Lord Vishnu created Brahma during
Meghavahan Kalpa. Some are of the view that Vishnu and Brahma manifested
from the left and right sides of Shiva respectively. So, your demand is
unsubstantial and without any base."
According to a mythological tale Lord Vishnu manifested from in between
the eyebrow of Lord Brahma. At that time Lord Shiva had arrived there to
bless both of them.After the departure of Lord Shiva, Vishnu took the
incarnation of Varah (Boar) and reestablished the earth in it's original
position. Lord Brahma then commenced his creation and in course of time
the earth came to be inhabitated by all kind of living creatures.
This section
contains 13 sub-sections (to follow):
Shilad requested
Indra to shed light on the special characteristics of each of the four
eras.
Indra replied---Lord Brahma created the four eras (yugas)--Satya, Treta,
Dwapar and Kali. There eras keep on occuring in a cyclic order where the
former is followed by the latter.Saoguna (Pure) prevails during
Satyayuga. Rajoguna is the dominant quality prevailing during tretayuga.
During Dwapar yuga both Rajoguna and tamoguna are present. Tamoguna
(Dark) is the dominant quality prevailing during Kaliyuga. During Satya
yuga, meditation was the means by the help of which a man could achieve
salvation while oblation, devotion and donation were said to be the
means capable of giving salvation during Treta, Dwapar and Kaliyuga
respectively.
The inhabitants of Satyayuga were virtuous and free from sorrow. But,
the vice of desire started to raise it's head during Treta and people
started being troubled by it. Lord Brahma created the warrior caste
Kshatriya for the protection of virtuosity.Lord Brahma propogated the
rituals of oblation during Tretayuga. Everything was fine till Tretayuga
but there was a drastic change in the human behaviour during Dwapar
Yuga. All the vices surfaced and people were troubled by them. Some
extraordinary lietarary feats were accomplished during dwapar--Sage Vyas
categorized the veda into four sections, all the major puranas were
compiled and smritis were written.
Kaliyuga saw the devline of virtuosity and religiousness. Ignorance and
false knowledge prevailed everywhere during this era.
Describing about the
decline in moral values during Kaliyuga, Indra told Shilad-- In
Kaliyuga, people will be under the total influence of the worldly
illusions. Ignorance diseases, fear and hunger will be prevalent
everywhere. Famine and drought would occur quite frequently as the fall
out of inadequate rain. Sinners would outnumber the virtuous people
would deviate from the path of religiousness. Brahmins would lose their
superiority and Shudras would become the rulers. Brahmins will not be
respected and will be forced to serve the lowlye people. Majority of
women would be immoral and progenies would not obey the commands of
their parents.
Predicting a grim scenario, Indra stressed great importance of
religiousness during Kaliyuga and said-- A virtuous deed accomplished in
Kaliyuga gives fruits in aday as compared to Treta and Dwapar, which
take one year and one month respectively.
Once, Lord Brahma
did an austere penance to please Lord Shiva. Shiva manifestated as
Ardhnarishwar (Partly male partly female) from his forehead and said--'I
am your son'. But, the unberabale heat emanating from the effulgence of
Ardhanarishwar burnt the whole world including Lord Brahma.
Lord Shiva then separated the feminine part of his body (Goddess
Parmeshwari) and instructed her to begin creation.Both Brahma and Vishnu
manifested from the body of goddess Parmeshwari.
Lord Vishnu divided his body into two halves and created the world. Lord
Brahma once again did a tremendous penance which lasted for ten thousand
years. Once again Shiva manifested from his forehead, but this time as
Neelalohit. Lord NeelaLohit became pleased by Brahma's eulogy and
blessed him.
Shilad did a
tremendous penance to please Lord Shiva. His penance continued for
thousands of year. At last, Lord Shiva appeared before him and said--"I
am extremely pleased by you devotion. I shall bless you with a son who
will become famous for his knowledge and learning." But, Shilad was
desirous of a self-born and immortal son. Lord Shiva said--'Your desire
will be fulfilled. Even Lord Brahma had requested me to take an
incarnation. I will take birth as your son and my name will be Nandi."
In course of time, Shiva manifested from the oblation site. The deities
became pleased after seeing Nandi, who possessed three eyes, four arms
and a crown on his head.
Lord Shiva is the
source from where all the different worlds originate. People in their
ignorance are unware of the fact that the whole universe is nothing but
a medium through which Shiva manifests himself.The various worlds like
Maha, Jana, Tapa, Satya etc. and all the natural e;ements like earth,
Sky ocean etc, owe their origin to Shiva. Underneath the earth lies the
netherworlds which are all together seven in number-- Tala, Vitalo,
Sutala etc. The netherworld named Mahatala is the dwelling place of Lord
Muchkand and king Bali. Sutala is yellow in colour while Vitalo shines
brightly like a coral. Atala is of white colour and Tala has a shade of
white.
All these netherworld have the same expanse as the earth. Rasatal is the
place where Vasuki resides. Talatal is the dwelling place of mighty
demons like Virochan and Hiranyaksha. It is also the place where hell is
situated. The netherworld named Sutal is the dwelling place where Tarka,
Agnimukh and Prahlada live. Tala is the dwelling place of mighty
warriors like Mahakumbh, Hayagreeva etc.
The earth consists
of seven islands, many rivers, mountains and seven oceans. The Plaksha,
Shaalmali, Kush, Kraunch, Shaak and Pushkar. Lord Shiva alongwith
goddess Ambika and his ganas dwell in all these seven islands in one
form or the other.
The name of the seven oceans are Ksharod, Rasod, Surod, Ghatodakshi,
Dadhyarnav, Kshirod and Swadood. LOrd SHiva manifests himself in all of
them. Lord Shiva dwells in the ocean named Kshirarnav. King Priyavrata
was the grandson of Manu, who ruled during Swayambhuva manvantar. He had
ten sons-- Agnighra, Agnibahu, Meghatithi, Vasu, Vayushmaan.
Jyotishmaan, Dyutimaan, Havya, Savan etc. Priyavrata had made Aghnighra
the king of Jambudweepa. Similarly the islands of Plakshadweepa,
Shaalmali, Kushadweepa, Kraunchdweepa, Shaalvadweepa and Pushkar were
given to Medhatithi, Vayushmaan, Jyotishmaan, Dyutimaan Havya and Savan
respectively. Havya had seven sons who became rulers and the different
territories they ruled desired their names from them.
Agnighra--the ruler
of Jambudweepa was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He had nine
sons--Nabhi, Kimpurush, Harivarsha, Ilavrata, Ramya, Hiranyamaan, Kuru,
Bhadrashva and Ketumaal. Agnighra appointed Nabhi the king of Hemakhya.
Similarly, Kimpurush, Harivarsha, Ilavrata, Ramya, Hiranyaman, Kuru,
Bhadrashva and Ketumaal were given the kingdoms of Hemakoot, Naishadh,
Meru, Neelachal, Shwet, Shringavarsh, Maalvan and Gandhamoodan
respectively. After this, Agnighra renounced everything and went to do
penance.
Merudevi was Nabhi's wife and the mother of Rishabh. After growing up
Rishabh got married and became the father of no less than one hundred
sons. Among them Bharat was the eldest. When Bharat grow up, Rishabh
appointed him as his successor and after renouncing everything went to
the forest.
Bharat went on to become a great king and ruled over the whole territory
southwards of Himalaya. Our country derives it's name from him. Bharat
had a son named Sumati who succeeded his father as a king.
Meru mountain is
situated in the heart of Jambudweepa. The Meru range is spread in the
area of 16 thousand yojan. It's towering peak is 84 thousand in height
from the ground level and had even penetrated the depth of earth to the
measurement of 16 thousand yojan. Meru mountain is considered to be very
sacred and is believed to be the dwelling place of the deities.
Yamraj's abode--Vaivaswatipuri is situated in the souther part of Meru
mountain. SOme other holy places like Shuddhavati, Gandhavati and
Yashomati are also situated on this mountain where Lord Brahma, Lord
Vishnu and Lord Shiva are believed to have their respective abodes.The
sun continuously shines over Meru mountain. A river named Jambu flows
down this mountain. There is also a tree by the same name which is
eternally ladden with fruits. The Meru mountain is surrounded on all its
sides by a country Ilavrita. The residents of Ilavrita relish the fruits
of Jambu tree.
Describing about the
physical characteristics os all tje seven islands, Sutji says ---
"Seven mountains are situated in Plaksha dweepa-Gobhedak, Chaandra,
Narad, Dundubhi, Soyak, Sumana and Vaibhraj. Similarly, the prominent
mountain ranges situated in Shaalmali dweepa are Kumud, Uttam, Balahak,
Drona, Karkamahish Kumudman etc. Kushadweepa also has seven mountains
among which Vidhrabh and Hem are the prominent ones. All these seven
islands are surrounded by seven oceans. The mountain named Lokalok is so
gigantic in size that half of its part is always covered in darkness.
The omnipresent Lord Shiva pervades the whole universe. Once, being
confronted by the effulgence of Lord Shiva, who had disguised himself as
a Yaksha, all the deities became devoid of their power. Indra was amazed
and asked the Yaksha as to who he was. Lord Shiva disappeared without
giving any answer and goddess Ambika appeared before the deities. Indra
asked her the same question to which goddess Ambika replied--- He was
none other than the almighty Shiva. I being the Prakriti (nature) do
creation following his instructions. He is the embodiment of Purush
(Supreme almighty).
The movement of Sun
is rapid when it is positioned south of equator (Dakshinayan), on the
other hand its movement is slow when positioned north os equator
(Uttarayan).The time is indicated by the various positions of Sun while
it is on its course of movement in the horizon. While the sun is
situated in the South-East direction it is believed to be the morning
time. Similarlt, when the Sun has positioned itself in the south-west,
North-west or South-East direction, it is said to be the 'before-noon',
'after-noon' and Night respectively.
The Sun is believed to be mounted on a chariot while on its course of
movement in the Horizon. All the deities, apsaras and gandharvas are
believed to follow its movement.The periods of day and night consist of
30 ghadi each. The Sun causes rainfall due to the process of
evaporation. Water is the source of life and is the manifestation of
Lord Shiva himself.
The Sages requested
Sutji to describe how Lord Brahma assigned Lordships to all the deities
and the demons.
Sutji replied--- The Sun was made the lord of all the planets. Soma was
made the lord of all the constellations and medicinal herbs. Similarly,
Vaun was made the Lord of water, while Kuber was assigned the Lordship
of wealth. Lord Vishnu attained the Lordship of Aadityas, Pawak of
Vasus, Daksha of Prajapatis, Indra of deities, and Prahlad attained the
Lordship of all the demons. Some other prominent species and the
assigned Lordships are as follows---
|
SPECIES |
LORD |
|
Animals |
Rudra |
|
Women |
Uma |
|
Rudras |
Neelalohit |
|
Obstacles |
Gajanan |
|
Power of Speech |
Saraswati |
|
Mountains |
Himalaya |
|
Rivers |
Ganga |
|
Oceans |
Ksheersagar |
|
Trees |
Peepal (Holy Fig) |
|
Gandharvas |
Chitrarathi |
|
Serpents |
Takshak |
|
Birds |
Garuda |
Prithu was made the
lord of Earth and Lord Shiva the lord of whole universe.
The chariot of Surya
is believed to have been created by Lord Brahma. It is made up of gold
and its wheels have five spokeseach. The chariot is very huge in size
and its expanse covers the area of nine thousand yojan. It is pulled by
seven horses which are of green complexion. The movement of Sun results
into the occurence of day and night. The moon's chariot consists of
three wheela and is pulled by ten white horses. Each wheel is supported
by one hundred spokes.The chariots of Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are
believed to be pulled by eight horses each. The chariot of Saturn is
believed to be pulled by ten black horses.
The Surya is the
source to which all the living beings owe their existence. All the
deities derive their effulgence from Surya, who in turn derives its own
radiance from Lord Mahadev.Time is determined with the help of Surya's
movement. One can not even imagine the various units of time, like
Kshana, muhurta day, night, fortnight, month, season etc. without the
existence of Surya.
The Sun, which illuminates the whole world is nothing but the medium
through which the almighty Rudra manifests himself. The Sun sheds
thousands of rays among which seven are prominent-Sushumna, Rishikesh,
Vishwakarma, Vishwatyacha, Annadh, Sarvavasu and Swarah.
This section
contains 12 sub-sections (to follow):
The Sages asked
Sutji as to how Dhruva became successful in attaining immortality and
supreme status among all the stars.
Sutji narrated the following tale---
There lived a king named Uttanpad, who had two queens--Suniti and
Suruchi. The eldest queen Suniti had a son named Dhruva. One day while
Dhruva was sitting in his father's lap, Suruchi--his step mother,
contemptuously pulled him from Uttanpad's lap and made her own son sit
in his place. Dhruva went to Suniti and complained about his steps
mother's behaviour.
Suniti advised Dhruva that he should seek for the supreme status, which
is permanent. Following his mother's advice, Dhruva went to the forest
in search of that supreme status. In the forest, he met Sage Vishwamitra
who advised him to seek the blessings of Lord Keshav by chanting the
sacred mantra 'Om Namo Vasudevay'.
Dhruva did an austere penance for thousands of year. At last, lord
Vishnu became pleased and appeared before him mounted on Garuda. Lord
Vishnu touched Dhruva's face with his conch as a result of which he
attained Self knowledge. Lord Vishnu blessed Dhruva by saying ---
I give you the supreme place, which even the deities and the sages long
for.
This way, Dhruva attained a supreme status among all the stars with the
blessings of Lord Vishnu.
On being enquired by
the sages about the origin of deities, demons and other celestial
entities, Sutji said-- Daksha being desirous of enhancing the
population, created ten-thousand sons merely by his wish and instructed
them to contribute in the propagation of population. His objective
remained unfulfilled as Narad was successful in preaching them towards
the path of devotion. As a result all of them went to do meditation
after renouncing the world.
Seeing his efforts go in vain, Daksha created ten thousand more sons who
were convinced by Narad to the path of renunciation once again.Daksha
then begot sixty daughters from his wife named Vairini. When these girls
grew up, Daksha married to different sages--ten of them were married to
Dharma, thirteen to Kashyap, twenty-seven to Soma, four to Arishtanemi,
two to Bhrigu's son, two to Krishashwa and the remaining two were
married to Angira.
The named of Dharma's wives were Marutivati, Vasu, Aryama, Lamba, Bhanu,
Arundhati, Sankalpa, Muhurta, Sadhya and Vishwabhamini.Vishwabhamini was
the mother of Vishvedeva, while Sadhya gave birth to Sadhva. Similarly,
Marutvati, Bhanu, Muhurta, Lamba and Sankalpa gave birth to Varutwan,
Bhanav, Mahurtik Ghosh and Sankalp respectively. Vasu became the mother
of eight Vasus.
Among the twenty seven wives of Kashyap the names of some prominent ones
were--Aditi, Diti, Arishta, Surasa, Muni, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra,
Krodha, Vasha, Ila, Kadru, Twishad, Anga etc.Kashyap had two sons from
Diti, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Danu gave birth to one hundred
sons among whom Viprachit was very prominent. Tamra gave birth to six
daughters---Shuki, Sweni, Sugreevi, Gridhika, Bhasi and Shuni.
Kashyap did an
austere penance and was blessed with two sons--Vatsar & Asit, Vatsar had
two sons--Naibudh and Raimbh. Asit married Ekparna and had one son from
her--Brahmanishth.Vashishth was married to Arundhati and had one hundred
sons from her among whom Shakti was the eldest. Shakti was married to
Adrishyanti and Parashar was his son. Dwaipayan was the son of Parashar
and Shukra was Dwaipayan's son.
The Sages asked
Sutji how Shakti had been devoured by a demon named Rudhir.
Sutiji replied--- Once, Sage Vashishth was presiding over a grand Yagya
being organized by a king named Kalmashpad. Vashishth had a rivalry with
Vishwamitra. On seeing Vashishth busy in that Yagya, Vishwamitra
instigated Rudhir-- a demon, to kill his sons. Rudhir followed the
instructions and devoured Vashishth's sons including Shakti.
When Vashishth learnt about his sons death his heart was filled with
grief. He desired to give up his life but was prevented from doing so by
his daughter-in-law. She informed him about her pregnancy and said--
Very soon you will see your grandson. So, quit the idea of giving up
your life.Vashishth, though still mournful of his son's death, postponed
the idea of giving up his life for the time being. One day while he was
engrossed in the thoughts of his departed son, he was amazed to listen
the recital of a vedic hymn. He looked all around but found nobody.
Suddenly he heard a heavenly voice that revealed by his grandson who was
still inside the womb of his mother. In course of time, Arundhati gave
birth to a son who was named Parashar. One day young Parashar curiously
enquired from his mother as to why she did not put on ornaments like
other women of her age do. Arundhati kept quite but when Parashar kept
on insisting she revealed to him that it was not proper for a mournful
women to adorn herself. She also told him how his father--Shakti had
been killed by Rudhir, the demon.
Parashar consoled
Arundhati by saying that he would avenge his father's lord Shiva. He
then made an earthen Shivalinga and started worshipping it by chanting
the scared mantras of Shiva-Sukta and trayambak Sukta. Lord Shiva became
pleased by his devotion and blessed him with a divine vision which
enabled him to see his dead father. Parashar then commenced a yagya with
the purpose of annihilating the demons. All the demons started being
tormented by the extreme heat generated by that oblation. Vashishth
prevented by that oblation. Vashishth prevented Parashar from contiuing
with that Yagya as many innocent demons had suffered. Parashar stopped
performing the rituals at his father's request.
Sage Pulastya had also been invited in that yagya. He was very pleased
by his devotion toward his father and blessed him with the knowledge of
all the scriptures. In course of time, Parashar became famous for his
treatise--Vishnu Puran.
On being enquired by
the Sages about the respective lineage of Aaditya (Sun) and Soma (moon)
Sutji replied---
Sage Kashyap had a son--Aaditya, from Aditi. Aadity had four
wives--Sangya, Rajyi, Prabha and Chhaya. Sangya gave birth to Manu
whereas Ragyi was the mother of Yama, Yamuna and Raivat. Prabha gave
birth to Prabhat while chhaya was the mother of three children--Savarni,
Shani, Tapti and Vrishti.
Chhaya was extremely affectionate towards her step son-- Yama. One day
Yama kicked her in anger as a result of which his leg became inflicted
with incurable disease. He became cured of his disease only after doing
penance for thousands of years at as place called Gokarna.
Manu had nine sons--- Ikshavaku, Nabhag, Dhrishnu, Sharyati, Narishyant,
Naabhaag, Arisht, Karush and Prishaghna. He also had three
daughters--Ila, Jyeshtha and Varishtha who coincidentally attained male
physique later on in their life.Ila became famous as Sudyumna and had
three sons-- Utkal, Gopa and Vinitashva. Harishwa was the descendant of
Ikshavaku and had a son named Vasumana. Tridhanva was Vasumana's son. He
had attained the designation of 'Ganapatya' by virtue of accomplishing
one thousand Ashwamedha Yaga. Tridhanva had a son named Trayyarun and
the name of his son was Satyavrata. The same Satyavrata became famous as
Trishanku, who was the only person to attain to heaven with his mortal
body.
The most truthful
king Harish Chandra was the son if Trishanku. Harish chandra had a son
named Rohit. Sagar belonged to the lineage of Harish chandra. He had two
wives-- Prabha had given birth to sixty thousand sons but Bhanumati had
only one son named Asamanjas.Anshuman was the son on Asamanjas.
Anshuman's son was Dilip. Sage Bhagirath was the son of Dilip.
Some prominent personality who belonged to the lineage of Ikshavaku were
Shrut, Naabhaag, Ambarish, Dirghabahu, Dilip (Dirghabahu's son), Raghu,
Aja, Dasharath, Ram, Laxman, Bharat, Shatrughna, Lav and Kush. The
famous king Pururava also cause from the same lineage. He was a great
devotee of Lord Shiva. His son was Nahush. Nahush had six sons among
whom Yayati was the eldest. Yayati had two wives--- Devayani and
Sharmishtha. Yayati ruled over the whole earth. He had conquered the
whole earth with the help of divine weapons and chariot which he had
received from his father in law--Shukracharya (Devayani's father).
Yayati had two sons from Devayani-- Yadu and Turvasu. He also had three
sons from his second wife--Sharmishtha whose names were Drushya, Anu and
Puru.Yayati appointed his youngest son Puru as his successor because of
his total devotion towards his parent. Yadu was made the ruler of
Southern province.
Yadu had five sons
among whom Sahastrajeet was the eldest. Shatarjay was the oson of
Sahastrajeet and himself had three sons--Haihya, Haya and Venu. Dharma
was Haihya's son. Dharmanetra was the son of Dharma and himself had two
sons--Kirti and Sanjay.Sanjay's son was Mahishman and Bhadrashrenya was
Mahishman's son. Durdam was the son of Bhadrashrenya and Durdam's son
was Dhanak.
Dhanak had four sons among whom the youngest --Kartaveerya Arjuna was
very mighty. He was killed by Parashuran. Kartaveerya Arjuna had many
sons among whom Shoor, Shoorsen, Dhrishta, Krishna and Jayadhuraja were
prominent. Jayadhwaja had a very mighty son named Talajangha. Talajangha
too had many mighty and brave sons like Veetihotra, Vrisha eetc. Vrisha
had a son-- Madhu. Madhu's son was Vrishni.
Some other prominent kings of Yadu dynasty were--Praghrajit, Jyamagh,
Shrut, Vidarbh, Subhag, Vayu, Kratha, Kaushik, Romapad, Vabhru,
Sughriti, Kunta, Ranadhrista, Bheemarath, Navarath, Dhridharath,
Karambha, Devaratha, Devakshatrak and Madhu.The famous Kaurava dynasty
came from the lineage of Madhu.
Aahuka came from the
lineage of Yadu. He had two sons-- Devak andUgrasen. The eldest son,
Devak had eleven children--four sons and seven daughters. The names of
his sons were-- Devavaan, Upadeva, Sudeva and Devarakshit. All his seven
daughters, which also included Devaki were married to Vasudeva. Aahuk's
youngest son, Ugrasen had nice sons among Kansa was the eldest.
Vasudeva had a son named Balaram from Rohini. Devaki, one of his wives
gave birth of lord Sri Krishna. Vasudeva had exchanged Sri Krishna with
the daughter of Yashoda as Sri Krishna's life was under threat from
Kansa. When Kansa tried to kill her, She slipped away from her hand and
ascended towards the sky. She then thundered. ''There is no use killing
me. The person who is supposed to kill you has already taken birth'. Her
prophesy came to be truth and Kansa was ultimately killed by Sri
Krishna.
Sri Krishna had 16108 Queens among whom Rukmini was dearest. He did an
austere penance to please Lord Shiva as the result of which He was
blessed with many sons like Charudeshna, Sucharu, Pradyumna etc. He also
had a son named Saamb from Jaambawati. Lord Krishna left for heavenly
abode after enjoying a long life of 120 years. He had destroyed His
whole clan before leaving His mortal body. A hunter named Jara who
mistook him to be a deer killed him. Due to the curse of Ashtavakra, Sri
Krishna's wives had been abducted by the dacoits.
The Sages asked
Sutji as to how did Maya--The demon acquire three well fortified forts
from Lord Brahma and how was lord Shiva finally successful in destroying
them.
Sutji replied-- After Tarakasur's death his three sons, Vidyunmali,
Kamlaksha and Tarakaksha did tremendous penance to please Lord Brahma.
When Lord Brahma appeared. They expressed their desire of attaining
immortality. Lord Brahma refused to oblige them. The demons after
consulting each other demanded three invincible forts from him and said
'Only such a person should be able to kill us, who is capable of
destroying all the three forts with a single shot of an arrow.'
Lord Brahma blessed them and disappeared. Maya, then did an austere
penance and with the help of divine powers attained from it, constructed
three forts at three different places. The fort made of gold was
situated in the heaven, while the silver-fort was situated in the space.
The third fort, which was made of iron, was situated on the earth. The
gold-fort was given to Tarakaksha, the silver-fort to Kamalaksha and the
iron-fort was given to Vidyunmali. After acquiring these invincible
forts all the demons had become extremely arrogant. They started
tormenting the deities.
The deities went to Lord Vishnu and requested help. Lord Vishnu created
thousands of spirits (Bhootganas) and instructed them to destroy those
three forts. But, the Bhootganas were unsuccessful in their attempt and
were charred to death. Lamenting their death the deities went to Lord
Vishnu and sought help once again. Lord Vishnu was aware that the demons
derived their power from Lord Shiva. So, He decided to deviate them from
the path of Shiva's devotion. He then created an illusionary entity. The
illusionary entity went to the place where demons lived and was
successful in influencing them by his illusionary tactics.
All the demons
became so impressed by him that they stopped worshipping Lord Shiva and
became His disciples. This resulted into a total degradation of moral
values among the demons. Finding the time opportune, Lord Vishnu
eulogized Shiva who appeared and agreed to destroy those three
forts.Vishwakarma made a divine chariot for Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma
became the charioteer. Mounted on that chariot, Lord Shiva proceeded
towards the demon. All the deities followed him.
Lord Brahma said---'Right now it is Pushya yoga and it is very
auspicious for launching and it is very auspicious for launching an
attack on the demon's forts.'Lord Shiva then released his arrow, which
after destroying all the three forts returned to his quiver. The deities
became pleased and eulogized lord Shiva.
On being asked by
the Sages how Andhak--the demon was appointed as the lord of Ganas by
Lord Shiva, Sutji narrated the following tale to them.--The mighty
demon, Andhak was Hiranyaksh's son. By the virtue of his austere penance
he had received a boon of immortality from Lord Brahma. In course of
time he conquered all the three worlds. He started tormenting the
deities and as a result of which they had to take refuge in the causes
of Mandarachal mountain.
The deities went to Lord Shiva and narrated their woeful tale to him.
They also requested him to kill Andhak so that they could live in
peace.Lord Shiva went to the place where Andhak lived accompanied by all
the deities. When Andhak saw them coming, he attacked menacingly with
his various weapons. The deities became scared and started running
helter-skelter. Lord Shiva then killed Andhak with his trident. He then
lifted the corpse with the help of his trident and kept in that position
for a very long period.
The divine sight of Lord Shiva had liberated Andhak from all his
sins.Finding himself in a helpless position, Andhak eulogized Shiva and
begged for forgiveness. At last, Lord Shiva became pleased and brought
Andhak down after lowering his trident. He gave him the designation of a
Ganapati and made him the lord of his ganas.
The Sages were
curious to know how Lord Vishnu in his incarnation of Varah (Boar), had
liberated the earth from the captivity of Hiranyaksha. They also wanted
to know why Lord Shiva adorned himself with the horn of that boar.
Sutji narrated the following tale--- Hiranyaksha--Andhak's father was a
tyrant. After Vanquishing the deities, he had taken the earth to
'Rasatala'. The deities sought the help of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu then
took the incarnation of Varaha (boar) and killed Hiranyaksha with his
sharp horns. He then brought the earth from Rasatala and kept it in its
original position.
The deities eulogized both Lord Vishnu and mother earth. Lord Shiva
adorned and himself with the ornament carved out from the horn of that
boar. This is the reason why he is also called 'Danshtri' (wild boar).
The Sages requested
Sutji to reveal how Lord Shiva had killed the notorious demon--
Jalandhar. Sutji narrated the following tale---
There was a demon named Jalandhar. He had manifested from the ocean. He
had acquired divine power by the virtue of his austere penance.Jalandhar
had defeated the deities and conquered the heaven. He even defeated Lord
Vishnu and boasted---'I have conquered everybody. Now! Only Shiva is
lift to be conquered.'
Jalandhar went to fight a battle with Lord Shiva accompanied by a huge
army. Lord Shiva was aware of the boon, which Lord Brahma had given to
Andhak and which had made him invincible. Jalandhar derived his power
from his wife- Vrinda who was an extremely chaste woman.As per the plans
of the deities, Lord Vishnu disguised as Jalandhar and went to breach
the modesty of Vrinda. Vrinda could not recognize Lord Vishnu and
mistook him to be her husband--Jalandhar. Ultimately, Lord Vishnu was
successful in his motives.
Meanwhile, the battle had commenced between Jalandhar and Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva destroyed the whole army of Jalandhar by the sight of his
third eye. Jalandhar became furious and tried to kill Lord Shiva with
the Sudarshan Chakra, which he had snatched from Vishnu. Butas soon as
he lifted the Sudarshan chakra, his body got cut into two parts. The
death of Jalandhar brought immense joy to the deities.
Once, the deities
requested Lord Shiva to device some means so that they no longer had to
live under the threat of the demons.The most merciful Lord Pinaki Shiva
then took the incarnation of Ganeshwar. He had a human body but his
heard resembled like an elephant. He held a trident in his hand. All the
deities eulogized Lord Ganesh--the Lord of wisdom and the remover of all
obstacles. Lord Ganesh is the first deity to be worshipped in any ritual
as he is believed to remove all the obstacles. A devotee of Lord Ganesh
is free from the fear of failures and achieves success in any endeavour
he undertakes.
The deities were
curious to know the story behind 'Tandav'- the famous dance of Lord
Shiva. So, they asked Sutji how it started and what made Shiva to
perform Tandav.
Sutji replied--- There lived a demon named Daruk. He had acquired divine
powers by the virtue of his austere penance. He started tormenting te
deities, sages and all the virtuous people.All the deities went to Lord
Shiva and requested him to give protection from the tyrany of Daruk.
Lord Shiva then requested Parvati to help the deities. One part of
Parvati's consciousness entered into the body of Lord Shiva. But, the
deities were not aware of this happening. Goddess Parvati then attained
her physical form with the help of poison stored in the throat of Lord
Shiva. The effet of poison had made her complexion dark. Lord Shiva then
brought her out from within his body through his third eye.
The deities became frightened after seeing her terrific appearance. She
was none other than Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali then killed Daruk with
the permission of Parvati.But, even after the death of Daruk, her anger
did not subside and the whole world was ablaze due to her anger. Lord
Shiva then incarnated as a small child and started crying as if he was
hungry. Goddess Kali could not decipher the illusions of Shiva and
thought that the child was crying because of hunger. She started feeding
the child her breast-milk. In the process of sucking milk, Shiva also
sucked out her anger.
The extreme anger of Kali had resulted into the manifestation of eight
divine entities who became famous as 'Kshetrapaal. After her anger had
subsided Goddess Kali became unconscious. Lord Shiva then performed his
famous dance--Tandav for the first time to bring Kali back to
consciousness. He was accompanied by all the Ghosts and spirits in his
terrific dance. When Kali regained her consciousness she found Shiva
dancing. She too started dancing and this is the reason why she is also
called Yogini.
This section
contains 13 sub-sections (to follow):
The sages were
curious to know how Lord Shiva had bestowed the designation of Gaanpatya
and an ocean of milk to Upamanyu. They requested Sutji to shed light on
the two incidents.
Sutji narrated the following tale ---
Upamanyu was a brilliant child. There is an interesting story how he
became the supreme devotee of Lord Shiva. Once, during his childhood he
had gone to his maternal-uncle's place. One day, while he was hungry he
tried to drink some milk. But his cousin did not allow him to drink milk
and after snatching the bowl of milk drank himself.
Upamanyu started crying. He went to his mother who tried to console him
by giving a solution of powdered grains. But, Upamanyu did not want
anything less than milk. His mother said--'You should be satisfied with
whatever you get. Perhaps we did not worship Lord Shiva in our past
lives. Our hardships are the fallouts of those unpardonable sins. Only a
devotee of Shiva is entitled to all kinds of comfort and pleasure.'
Upamanyu decided then and there to please Shiva by his penance and
attain an ocean of milk from him. He went to Himalaya mountain and
started doing an austere penance. His penance had resulted into the
generation of unbearable heat. The deities became terrified and went to
seek the help of Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu along with the deities went to Lord Shiva and sought his
help. Lord Shiva decided to test the devotion of Upamanyu. He disguised
himself as Indra and went to the place where Upamanyu was doing penance.
He started abusing Shiva which made Upamanyu so angry that he tried to
kill him. When Upamanyu failed in his attempt to kill Shiva, he tried to
kill himself by chanting 'Aagneya mantra'.
Lord Shiva was very
pleased by his total devotion and revealed his identity. He blessed
Upamanyu and after accepting him as his son granted the designation of
Ganpatya. He also provided oceans of milk and curd to Upamanyu.
On being asked by
the sages about the sacred mantra-- the chanting of which enabled a man
to attain salvation Sutji replied ---
Lord Vishnu gives salvation to those people who endeavour to seek
Brahm-- the Almighty God. A man whose mind is preoccupied with the
thought of Lord Vishnu and nothing else is entitled to attain Salvation.
Such a man is also blessed by goddess Laxmi."
Describing about the greatness of Dwadakshar mantra, Sutji said --
''The sacrosanct Dwadakshar mantra consists of twelve letters
(as written in devanagri script--'OM NAMO BHAGAWATE VASUDEVAY' ).
This powerful mantra helps a man to achieve proximity with Lord Vishnu.
'Once there lived a
brahmin who used to stammer while talking. All his efforts of making him
speak distinctly went in vain as the child continued to lisp. When the
brahmin tried to teach his son. the dwadakshar mantra, he incorrectly
pronounced 'Vasudev as 'Etareva'. So the child was given the name
'Etareva'.The brahmin became disgusted and married for the second time.
He had many sons from his second wife, all of whom were very studious.
Etareva's mother used to curse her fate because of his habit of
stammering. One day she said--'Look! I am no more able to tolerate the
humiliation of being a mother of a dull child--Look at your
step-brothers, who have achieved fame and respect on account of their
learning. I have decided to give up my life.' Etareva became very sad.
He started chanting the dwadashakshar mantra regularly and as a result a
day came, when he could pronounce it correctly and without stammering.
One day Etareva happened to pass by a place where a yagya was being
performed. As soon as he reached that place, the priests found to their
surprise that they had become dumb. All the priests became restless, as
the rituals were still incomplete.Looking at their pitiable condition,
Etareva chanted the dwadakshar mantra-- OM NAMO BHAGAWATE VASUDEVAY.
The priest regained their power of speech by the virtue of the flawless
pronunciation of the mantra.
Such is the greatness of dwadakshar mantra. Later on, Etareva went on to
become a renowned scholar. A person who chants this sacred mantra
regularly become liberated from all his sins and attains to Vishnu Lok.
Describing about the
greatness of Shadakshar mantra that consists of six letters, Sutji said
--
The sacred mantra -- OM NAMAH SHIVAY holds a supreme place among
all the mantras. During the Meghavahan kalp of the first Treta yuga,
there lived a brahmin named Dhoondhmook. He became a licentious person
due to the curse of a sage. As a result he became a man of loose moral
conduct. His wife gave birth to a child on the inauspicious day of
Amavasya. The astrologers predicted a very bleak future for that new
born child.
When the child grew up he became notorious for his sinful conduct.
Dhoondhmook married his son in a respectable family but his son being a
man of loose character, developed intimacy with a woman belonging to a
low caste. One day, Dhoondhmook that son developed sharp differences
with that woman on some matter and in a fit of range killed her.When the
family members of that woman came to know about her death, they
retaliated by killing Dhoondhmook his wife and his daughter-in-law.
Sinec, Dhoondhmook's son was not present in the house at that time he
survived. He avenged the death of his family members by killing the
assasins.
New Dhoondhmook's son had become disillusioned with life. He started
wandering aimlessly and reached a hermitage. The sage who lived in that
hermitage was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and taught him the rituals
of Pashupat Vrata as well as the sacred Shodakshar mantra.Dhoondhmook's
son performed the rituals of Pashupat Vrat for twelve months. All the
while he kept on chanting the Shadakshar mantra. As the result of his
devotion towards Lord Shiva and by the virtue of chanting Sadakshar
mantra he as well as all his ancestors attained salvation.
The sages were
curious to know why Lord Shiva was also known as Pashupati-- The lord of
all animals. Sutji retold the same tale which sage Shiladi had once
narrated to Sanatkumar ---
Once, Sanatkumar went to the hermitage of Sage Shiladi and asked him as
to why was Lord Shankar also known as Pashupati. He also inquired about
the reason of man's ondages and how could he be liberated from them.
Sage Shiladi replied---All the living beings including Lord Brahma have
been referred to animals because of their attachment to worldly desires
and ignorance. Lord Shiva being the lord of them is also known as
Pashupati. It is none other than Lord Vishnu whose illusionary and
divine powers keep them in bondages. It is also only lord Vishnu who
liberates them by bestowing the knowledge of Gyan-Yoga.
Nobody can attain salvation without the blessings of Lord Shiva. The
nothing but the 24 elements--10 sense organs, 4 type of consciousness, 5
basic elements from which matter is made and 5 subtle forms of matter.A
person who worships Lord Shiva with total devotion becomes liberated
because devotion is capable of destroying all types of sins.
Lord Maheshwar is
beyond the reach if any kind of bondage. He is totally liberated entity.
It is only by his blessings that the Nature-Prakriti, creates
intelligence--buddhi. Similarly, intelligence creates ego-ahamkara and
subtle forms of matter--tanmatra creates the greatest of matter by the
blessings of Lord Shiva. No word can describe the greatness of Lord
Shiva.It is only with the permission of Lord Maheshwar that our sense
organs function the fire burns and all the living beings fulfill their
respective duties. Lord Shiva is the Almighty God and goddess Parvati is
also called Shivaa. He is the Purusha and she is the nature or Prakriti.
The matter derives it's power from goddess Gauri. Everything that is
capable of creating is nothing but the form of Uma. The whole universe
is established in the form of Shiva Linga and hence everybody must
worship Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva manifests himself in the form of Sun. The Sun radiates twelve
different types of rays which have specific impacts and influences on
the world.
- The first ray
is called Amrit and the deities derive their power from it.
- The second ray
is called Chandra and it helps in the preservation of medicinal
herbs.
- The third ray
is called Shukla and it helps in the propagation of religiousness in
the world. It also helps the food crops to become ripe.
- The name of the
fourth ray is Harikesha and all the constellations get their
nourishment from it.
- The fifth ray
is called Vishwakarma and it gives the planet mercury.
- The sixth ray
is called Sanyadwasu and it nurtures the planet--Mars.
- The seventh ray
is called Arvavasu and it nurtures the planet Jupiter.
- The eighth ray
is called Surat and it nurtures the planet --Saturn.
- The nineth ray
is called Susumana and it nutures the moon, etc.
The learned and
sages call Shiva by many names ---
Kshetragya, Prakriti Vyakta, Kalatma etc. The synonyms of Kshetragya and
Prakriti are Purush and Pradhan respectively.The delusionary net of the
Prakriti is known as Vyakta (apparent). Kala (time) is the resultant by
product of Pradhan and Vyakta.
Some sages call Hiranyagarbha (Brahma) as the Purush and Shiva as
Pradhan. They consider Hiranyagarbha to be the creator and Purush to be
the enjoyer. Even these sages are of the opinion that Hiranyagarbho,
Pradhan, Purush and enjoyer are the manifestations of Shiva.
The almighty Shiva
manifested in the form of Sthanu (Pillar) from his imperceptible form
and looked at Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma then commenced his creation and
established the norms of Vannashram. He also created 'Soma' which is
required for the performance of 'Yagya'. This world, including all the
deities are the embodiments of Soma. The deities eulogize Lord Shiva by
chanting the mantras of 'Rudrashtadhyay'.
Once, Lord Shiva was sitting surrounded by all the deities. On being
requested by the deities to shed light on his mysterious self, Lord
Shiva said---
"I was present before the beginning of time and I will be present
forever. Everything originate from me and get submerged in me
ultimately. I am the Lord of Brahma. I am the truth itself. I manifest
myself in the forms of Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. I
am the light as well as the darkness. I am Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.
One who is aware of my omnipresence is the only person who is worthy of
being called an enlightened one."
This way, after enlightening the deities on his myssterious self Lord
Shiva disappeared.
A devotee should
commence the worship of Lord Shiva only after taking permission from his
Guru, Only such a person is worthy of being called a Guru who is
virtuous and well versed in the scripture.
A disciple should unwavering by be in the service of his Guru and should
try to please him by his devotion because only he (Guru) is capable of
liberating him from the miseries of world. A guru should try to test the
worthiness of his disciple by employing different means for three
years.Once, the Guru has accepted a person as his disciple, he should
try to impart all the knowledge to him. He should never discriminate on
the basic of caste or creed of a disciple. It is the duty of a Guru to
make his disciple destitute of flaws and shortcomings.
Before commencing
the rituals of initiation, the Guru should purify the place where the
rites are supposed to be performed. He should make an attar and draw an
eight-petalled lotus at its centre. He should then establish the various
embodiments of Shiva like Aghor, Pranav, Vamadeva, on each of the eight
petals.
The Guru should then purify all the directions by chanting different
mantras. He should then meditate on the form of Lord Shiva. After that
he should make offerings in the sacrificial fire and purify himself by
doing aachaman. He should then have Panchagavya as prasadam and smear
ashes on his body.
The Guru should instructed his old disciples to sit towards the south of
altar. He should make offerings of ghee into the sacrificial fire for
108 times amidst the chanting of Aghor mantra.The new disciple then
arrive blindfolded and circumambulate the sacrificial altar for three
times. While circumambulating everybody should chant either the mantras
of Rudrashtadhyay or Omkar mantra. The new disciple then smear ashes on
their bodies amidst the chanting of Aghor mantra. The Guru then
sprinkles holy water on the new disciples. In the end the disciple takes
a religious vow.
"I shall never have food without worshipping Shiva".
This way the ritual of initiation comes to an end.
Describing about the
methods of installing a Shiva Linga Sutji says-- A devotee should
install a Shivalinga made of either gold, silver or copper. The
shivalinga should be installed along with the altar. The altar of the
Shivalinga symbolizes goddess Uma. Lord Brahma is said to manifest at
the base of Shivalinga while Lord Vishnu at its centre. After the
installment of Shivalinga it should be worshipped with appropriate
rituals. The Shiva linga should be adorned with clothes and its ablution
should be performed.
A devotee should chant the Brahma vigyan mantras for the consecration of
Lord Brahma who is supported to manifest at the base of Shivalinga.
Similarly, for the consecration of Lord Vishnu dwelling at the centre of
Shiva linga, Gayatri at the centre of Lord Shiva is consecrated by the
chanting of any of the following mantras---
OM NAMAH SHIVAY; NAMO HANSA SHIVAY CHA
A devotee should then worship the Shivalinga and make offerings in the
sacrificial fire.
The sages requested
Sutji to elaborate upon the rituals of Vajravahanika Vidya or
Vajreshwari Vidya.
Sutji replied--- Anybody who is desirous of Vanquishing his enemy must
perform the rituals of Vajreshwari Vidya. The devotee should worship
Vajra (a spear) and make offerings in the sacrificial fire holding it (Vajra)
in his hand. The following mantra should be chanted while making
offerings.
OM BHURBHUVAH SWAH TATSAVITURVARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHIMAHI DHIYO YONAH PRACHODAYAT; OM PHAT JAHI HOOM PHAT
CHHINDHI MINDHIJAHI HAN HAN SWAHA.
In the past Lord Brahma had taught this secret Vidya to Indra with
the help of which he had killed the ferocious demon vritrasur.A man can
acquire all the types of supernatural powers with the help of
Vajreshwari Vidya. Describing about the rituals of Mrityunjay Jap,
Sutji said-- A person who chants Mrityunjay mantra with appropriate
rituals becomes free from the fear of death. A devotee is required to
make offerings of ghee in the sacrificial fire for one lakh times.
Instead of ghee he can also make offerings of ghee and sesame seeds OR
dhoob grass, ghee, milk and honey.
The sages asked Sutji as to how should a
devotee meditate on Lord Triyambak following the path of Yoga. Sutji
then retold the tale which Mandishwar had once narrated to Sanatkumar--
1.
The first type of Yoga is called Mantra Yoga. In this type of
yoga a devotee tries to attain deep state of meditation by chanting
mantras. The chanting of mantras helps a man to concentrate his mind.
2.
The second type of Yoga is known as Sparsh Yoga. In this type of
yoga, a man acquires perfection in breath-control by constantly
practicing various exercises like Rechak (Exhalation), Kumbhak
(retention), etc. These exercises helps to purify the nerves and blood
vessels.
3.
The third type of yoga is known as Bhava Yoga. This is the state
in which a person's mind is totally engrossed in the thoughts of Lord
Mahadev. This state of mind can not be attained unless the two former
types of yoga have been mastered.
4.
The fourth type of Yoga is called Abhava-yoga. When a man has
mastered this particular yoga his ego is subdued in totality.
5.
The fifth type of yoga is called Maha yoga. It helps a man to
understand his real self and get united with the supreme Almighty.
The secret of Yoga
should be revealed to worthy disciples--who are virtuous and religious."
This way, Sutji described the divine tales of Linga Puran and blessed
the sages.The Linga Puran contains eleven thousand shlokas in it. The
study of Linga Puran fulfills all the four worldly aspirations of a
man-Dharma, Artha, Kaam and Moksha.It also helps a man to attain
salvation.
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