Divodāsa and Ḍhuṇḍhirāja

Divodāsa was a king of the solar dynasty to whom Brahmā himself gave the rule of Kāśī. He ruled so justly that Śiva had no lawful reason to come back to his own city. Śiva asked Ḍhuṇḍhi for help. Ḍhuṇḍhi, together with Bhagavān Vishṇu who came as the Buddha, brought about the king’s renunciation. Divodāsa received moksha (liberation) and Śiva returned to Kāśī. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells this in Chapters 44–48 of the Krīḍā Khaṇḍa.

Divodāsa’s dynasty and his rule of Kāśī

In the course of the events of the Kṛta yuga, the account turns to the human rule of Kāśī. Divodāsa was a king of the Sūryavaṃśa (the solar dynasty). Brahmā himself gave him the rule of Kāśī. This was no ordinary royal appointment. It was a gift from the devas, in recognition of his rare virtue and his power to rule justly. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 44)

Under Divodāsa, Kāśī became a city of such perfect dharma that all the devas, who had held places and shrines in the city, were in effect driven out. His justice was so complete, and his rule so righteous in itself, that the supernatural was not needed. The city ran without any divine help. The devas found themselves with no foothold in a city that should have been their natural home.

Śiva’s absence and the ones he sent

Śiva himself had left Kāśī, his eternal city, at the start of Divodāsa’s rule, and went to live on Mount Mandara. With Śiva gone, all the other devas were also pushed out of Kāśī. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 44)

Śiva wished to go back to Kāśī. Avimukta, the city that is never forsaken, was his lasting home, and he could not be truly happy anywhere else. But to return with no cause while Divodāsa ruled would break the order of dharma. A king of such perfect virtue could not simply be pushed aside. Śiva needed a lawful reason to enter his own city.

Śiva sent one group after another to find a fault in Divodāsa’s rule:

  • The 8 Bhairavas: these strong attendant forms of Śiva were sent to find any lapse in the king’s rule. They found none, and they settled in Kāśī themselves, won over by the holiness of the city.
  • The 12 Ādityas: the twelve forms of Sūrya were sent. They too found no fault and stayed in Kāśī.
  • The 64 Yoginīs: these strong tantric devī forms were sent. They too settled there.
  • Durgā, the Dikpālas and all the ṛshis: each in turn found no fault and stayed. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 45)

Śiva’s search for a reason to return only filled Kāśī again with every class of divine being, all except Śiva himself. The city’s own spiritual pull held every one of them there.

Ḍhuṇḍhi comes as an astrologer

Śiva then went to Ḍhuṇḍhi, the divine Vināyaka of Kāśī, and asked for his help. Ḍhuṇḍhi came down into Kāśī disguised as a handsome and learned astrologer (jyotisha). His looks were charming and his advice was convincing.

Inside the city he began to sow unrest through his predictions. He showed some of the people that their stars were unlucky. He suggested that the city itself was under bad omens. Little by little he brought about unease. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46)

Vishṇu comes as the Buddha

Outside the pañcakrośī boundary of Kāśī, beyond the sacred ring around the city, Bhagavān Vishṇu came in the form of the Buddha, together with his consort Kamalā. The Buddha taught a doctrine that was against the Vedas and held that only the senses matter. It rejected the authority of the Vedas, denied karma and the value of ritual, and taught that what the senses feel is the only true measure. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46)

Divodāsa’s people, met just outside the sacred boundary of the city, were led astray by this teaching. The perfect dharmic order of Kāśī was weakened from outside. When enough unrest had been caused, Bhagavān Vishṇu as the Buddha showed his true form to Divodāsa directly. At the same moment Ḍhuṇḍhi showed his own identity as the Vināyaka of Kāśī. Divodāsa understood that the whole order of creation was asking him to step aside. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Kāśī Khaṇḍa, also tells this account. It places it at the time of Śiva’s return. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa places it in the course of the events of the Kṛta yuga.

Divodāsa’s renunciation and moksha

With his mind clear, Divodāsa gave up his kingdom. As his last act as king he set up the Divodāseśvara liṅga, a Śiva liṅga in his own name. In this way he turned his renunciation into a gift of devotion to the city. Then he did tapas (austerity). (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 47)

Ḍhuṇḍhi sent a messenger to Śiva. Śiva came to Kāśī, entering his eternal city at last, with his gaṇas, riding on his bull. The muni Jaigishavya had been doing tapas in Kāśī through all of Divodāsa’s reign, and he was there at the time of Śiva’s return.

Śiva set up a Ḍhuṇḍhi mūrti made of Gaṇḍakī stone, the sacred stone of the Vishṇu śāligrāmas, as a lasting mark of this event. Then Śiva gave Divodāsa moksha, final liberation. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 48)

Gaṇḍakī is the sacred river of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and a stone from it is the śāligrāma of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Sources

  • Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 44–48 (Chapter 44: Divodāsa’s rule and Śiva’s absence; Chapter 45: the Bhairavas, Ādityas, Yoginīs, Durgā, Dikpālas and ṛshis; Chapter 46: Ḍhuṇḍhi as astrologer and the Buddha; Chapter 47: the showing of true forms and the renunciation; Chapter 48: Śiva’s return, the Ḍhuṇḍhi mūrti and Divodāsa’s moksha)
  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Kāśī Khaṇḍa (named as also telling this account)