Jvarotpatti

The Jvarotpatti is the account of how jvara (divine fever) came into being. Bhīshma tells it to Yudhishṭhira in the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata. It tells how Bhagavān Śiva’s anger and teja (fiery power) at the yajña of Daksha gave rise to the Rudra-jvara. This is the same jvara that later entered the asura Vṛtra in his fight with Indra.

This account is not the same as the Jvara-yuddha of the Śiva Purāṇa, which is a fight between Mahādeva and Kṛshṇa in the episode of Bāṇāsura.

The question

Yudhishṭhira had heard from Bhīshma that the asura Vṛtra was weakened by a jvara, a divine fever, that came from Bhagavān Śiva’s teja. He now asked: how did this jvara come to exist? What is the origin of jvara itself?

The setting on Mount Meru

Bhīshma said that in ancient times, on the top of Mount Meru, Bhagavān Śiva sat in an assembly of great souls. Meru’s peak was full of shining splendour, adorned with every kind of gem, and home to the siddhas and the wise. In the assembly were Sanatkumāra, the Aṅgiras ṛshis, the deva-ṛshis, and the gandharvas Viśvāvasu and Nārada-Parvata. Groups of apsarās were there. The wind carried the scent of forests of every season, and the trees were in flower with every kind of bloom.

Nandī stood beside Bhagavān Śiva, holding a blazing śūla (trident) and shining with his own light. Vidyādharas, siddhas, ṛshis rich in tapas (austerity), bhūtas, rākshasas and piśācas were all there, the whole company of Mahādeva, in their many forms, glad and armed.

Daksha’s yajña and the birth of jvara

While this calm assembly sat on Meru, Daksha Prajāpati was holding a great yajña (fire ritual) at Gaṅgādvāra in the Himālaya. Bhagavān Śiva was not invited, and his share of the offering was left out on purpose. When this became plain, and the distress of Śiva’s consort was seen, Bhagavān Śiva’s anger rose.

From his gathered anger and teja, and in particular from the power of his third eye, the Rudra-jvara (the fever of Rudra) came into being. It was a divine sickness. It was Bhagavān Śiva’s cosmic fire in a form that could enter and shake even the most powerful beings.

The jvara that later entered Vṛtra’s body in his fight with Indra was this same first divine teja. Bhagavān Śiva kept it and sent it out by his own will when the need came. When the ṛshis led by Bṛhaspati asked Bhagavān Śiva to act against Vṛtra, they were asking him to release this ancient power.

The nature of jvara

The Jvarotpatti presents jvara as a form of teja. It is not a disease in the usual sense. It is overwhelming divine fire entering a body or a mind. It shows itself in these signs:

• Jvalitāsya (burning of the mouth)
• Vaivarṇya (loss of colour)
• Gātra-kampa (trembling of the body)
• Śvāsa (laboured breathing)
• Romaharsha (the hair standing on end)
• Smṛti-nāśa (loss of memory and clear thought)

These are the very signs that appeared in Vṛtra’s body when Bhagavān Śiva’s jvara entered him, just before Indra struck the fatal blow.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 283