Dadhīci and Kshupa

The Liṅga Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha) tells of a great quarrel between Dadhīci, a brāhmaṇa ṛshi, and Kshupa, a kshatriya. The two had been close friends in their youth. They fell out over one question: who is higher in varṇa (social order), the brāhmaṇa or the kshatriya?

The quarrel grew into a battle in which Bhagavān Vishṇu and all the devas stood against Dadhīci, and Dadhīci, strong in his devotion to Bhagavān Śiva, overcame them. The narrative also tells how Sthāneśvara tīrtha (holy place) began, and how Śukrācārya gave Dadhīci the full Mṛtyuñjaya mantra.

Where Kshupa came from

Kshupa was born from a sneeze of Brahmā. He grew up a kshatriya in nature and in conduct. In their youth he and Dadhīci were very close friends.

The dispute

The friends became opponents in the debate over varṇa. In the heat of the argument, Dadhīci struck Kshupa’s head with his left foot, which was a grave insult. Kshupa was humiliated in the public assembly and was filled with rage. He struck back with the vajra (thunderbolt) that Indra had given him. The vajra can shatter mountains. It struck Dadhīci and broke his body in two.

Śukrācārya revives Dadhīci

The great Śukrācārya knew the Mṛtasañjīvanī vidyā, the science of bringing the dead back to life. He came to the badly wounded Dadhīci and revived him. As part of the revival, and as a supreme gift, Śukrācārya taught Dadhīci the whole Mṛtyuñjaya mantra and explained it word by word.

Tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ pushṭivardhanam /
urvārukamiva bandhanāt mṛtyormukshīya māmṛtāt

The words of the mantra were explained as follows.

• Tryambaka: the one who rules the three worlds, the three guṇas and the three sacred fires, and who has three eyes (tryambaka means trīṇi ambakāni, “the one who has three eyes”).
• Sugandha: the one whose subtle presence fills all creation, as fragrance fills flowers.
• Pushṭivardhanam: the one who nourishes Purusha through Prakṛti (pushṭi is the Prakṛti of Purusha).
• Yajāmahe: we worship.
• Urvāruka: the cucumber fruit. A ripe cucumber parts from its vine by itself, without effort. In the same way may the devotee be set free.
• Mṛtyormukshīya: may I be freed from the bond of death and rebirth (saṃsāra).
• Māmṛtāt: may I reach amṛta (deathlessness, moksha).

Kshupa turns to Bhagavān Vishṇu

Kshupa still wished to overcome Dadhīci. He turned to Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa and worshipped him with deep devotion. Bhagavān Vishṇu was moved by this devotion and appeared before him with all his attendants. He carried the śaṅkha (conch), the cakra and the gadā (mace), and Lakshmī and Bhūdevī stood at his sides.

Kshupa praised Bhagavān Vishṇu with a stotra (hymn of praise):

Nīvastu prakṛtiyukta purushaḥ

“You are Purusha joined with Prakṛti. The mahat-tattva, ahaṃkāra and the five tanmātras: all this is you.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu offered him a vara (boon). Kshupa asked Bhagavān Vishṇu to help him defeat Dadhīci. Bhagavān Vishṇu knew in his heart the might of Maheśvara and the unbeatable Śiva-bhakti of Dadhīci, and he tried to talk Kshupa out of it. He said:

Śiva-bhaktas, even if lowborn, are fearless. How much more unbeatable is a brāhmaṇa Śiva-bhakta like Dadhīci! At the yajña of Daksha, Dadhīci’s śāpa (curse) made me fall into a stupor.

Still, Bhagavān Vishṇu was bound by Kshupa’s devotion, and he agreed to try.

The battle

Bhagavān Vishṇu came to Dadhīci’s āśrama in the form of an old brāhmaṇa. He tried to make Dadhīci say, “I am afraid.” Dadhīci knew by the all-knowing power that Śiva had given him that the visitor was Bhagavān Vishṇu. He answered:

Janārdana! You have come in this brāhmaṇa form because Kshupa worships you. I have no fear from any being: not from a deva, a dānava or a dvija. I will not say that I am afraid.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then took his own form and sent the Sudarśana cakra at Dadhīci. Bhagavān Vishṇu had received this Sudarśana from Maheśvara himself. Dadhīci’s Śiva-bhakti blunted it and it fell back. The verse says:

Abhavat kuṃṭhitāgraṃ hi vishṇoś cakraṃ sudarśanam /
prabhāvāddhi dadhīcasya kshupasyaiva hi sannidhau

The Sudarśana cakra of Bhagavān Vishṇu lost its sharp edge through the power of Dadhīci, right in front of Kshupa.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then hurled many more weapons, and the devas joined his side against Dadhīci. Dadhīci called on Śiva, took a blade of darbha grass and threw it at the gathered devas. The grass became a blazing triśūla of pralaya-fire (the fire of dissolution) and began to burn the devas. All the weapons of Bhagavān Vishṇu and the devas fell down before the triśūla. The devas ran in every direction and lost all their strength.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then showed his Viśvarūpa (universal form) to frighten Dadhīci. Dadhīci simply bathed that vast form with clean water and said:

Vishṇo! Give up your māyā and fight me face to face!

Then Dadhīci gave Bhagavān Vishṇu divine sight and showed him Brahmā, Vishṇu and Rudra, all within Dadhīci himself. Bhagavān Vishṇu was humbled. He bowed down before Dadhīci and went back to Vaikuṇṭha.

Kshupa gives in, and Dadhīci’s śāpa

Kshupa was deeply sorrowful. He came to Dadhīci and begged his forgiveness, and Dadhīci in his greatness forgave him. Dadhīci then turned to the devas who stood there and said:

O devas! At the yajña of Daksha you will all be burned by the fire of Rudra.

This śāpa points ahead to the Daksha Yajña. Dadhīci then declared:

Brāhmaṇas are the highest of all, honoured by devas and humans alike.

How Sthāneśvara began

The place where the dispute of Kshupa and Dadhīci, the defeat of Bhagavān Vishṇu and Dadhīci’s śāpa on the devas all took place became holy as Sthāneśvara tīrtha. The Śivaliṅga that arose there is the Sthāneśvara liṅga. The text says that those who see and worship the Sthāneśvara Śivaliṅga reach Śivasāyujya (union with Śiva). Whoever reads, hears or recites this narrative is freed from untimely death, and at the end of his prārabdha (karma that has begun to bear fruit) he reaches Kailāsa.

Sources

• Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha