Bhṛgu and the Krodha-Sthāna
The Svarga Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of the ṛshi Bhṛgu, who did tapas on the west bank of the Narmadā, near the Daśāśvamedha tīrtha. Śiva tested him through Nandin, and Bhṛgu showed his anger. Then Bhṛgu saw Rudra standing before him and prayed to him with the Karuṇābhyudaya stotra.
Bhṛgu asked that the place become a Rudra-vedi. Śiva granted it, and said that the place would also be a krodha-sthāna, a place of anger, where conflict arises even between father and son. The tīrtha is called Bhṛgu-tīrtha.
The tapas
To the west of the Daśāśvamedha tīrtha on the Narmadā, the great ṛshi Bhṛgu, the best of brāhmaṇas, did tapas for one thousand divine years, for Śiva. The tapas lasted so long that an anthill (puṭṭa) grew up around his body and covered him completely. Even then he stayed inside the anthill in deep samādhi.
Even Pārvatī (Umādevī) was moved by the sight. She said to Śiva: “O Deva! Look at this one doing tapas here. Is he a deva or a dānava? Please tell me.”
Śiva answered: “Priyā! This is Bhṛgu-muni, the best of brāhmaṇas and the best of ṛshis. He is in samādhi, and he asks for a vara (boon).”
Pārvatī smiled and said: “If you are so pleased with him, why do you show him no dayā (kindness)? It is very hard to please you. Of that there is no doubt.”
Śiva’s test
Śiva said: “Devī, you do not know his nature. He is a krodhī, one who is full of anger. I will show you. After that you may do as you wish.”
Then Śiva called Nandin, the bull who carries him and who is the form of his dharma (Vṛshabha-vāhana), and told him: “Push down this vipra who sits covered by the anthill.” Nandin obeyed. He knocked the ṛshi from his seat and broke his samādhi of a thousand years.
Bhṛgu was thrown out of his yoga and blazed with anger. He raised his hand and shouted at Nandin: “O Pāpin! Where are you running to? I will destroy you here and now!” He chased the fleeing bull into the sky.
Then he saw Rudra himself standing before him, with three eyes. At once he fell flat on the ground in a daṇḍa-namaskāra (a full bow). He stood up, full of devotion, and offered the Karuṇābhyudaya stotra.
The Karuṇābhyudaya stotra
The stotra begins with a confession: “O Jagannātha! You who take a divine form! O Bhuvana-pati, I am afflicted with fear of saṃsāra (the cycle of births). Hear my humble words.”
It goes on to say that no human can describe the guṇas of Śiva, even if Vāsuki himself, with his thousand heads, tried. Bhṛgu prays to be freed from the cycle of lives in which he has gathered pāpa (sin). He confesses his attachment to para-dhana (the wealth of others) and para-dāra (the wives of others), his pride, his desire for short pleasures, and his giving in to the demands of the senses and of his kin.
The central prayer is: “Cut away the bonds of mada and moha. Lift me out of this ocean of saṃsāra.”
The stotra ends with these words: “Whoever reads this Karuṇābhyudaya with bhakti will receive the ṛddhi (success) of his chosen deity. Śiva will be pleased with him as he was with Bhṛgu.”
The vara and the krodha-sthāna
Śiva was pleased. He said: “O Brāhmaṇa! I am satisfied. Ask for the vara you wish. I grant it to you in the presence of Umā.”
Bhṛgu asked for one thing: “Let this sthāna (place) become a Rudra-vedi.”
Śiva answered: “O Viprendra! As you wish, this sthāna will become a krodha-sthāna. It will cause conflict (virodha) even between father and son.”
From that day Maheśvara, pleased at this place, has been honoured by Brahmā, by all the devas and by the kinnaras. The darśana (sight) of the tīrtha frees a person at once from all pāpa. Dying here, by any cause, brings paramā-gati (the highest goal).
The Bhṛgu-tīrtha and Krodha-sthāna on the Narmadā is called viśāla (vast) and sarva-pāpa-praṇāśaka (the destroyer of all pāpa). Bathing here brings svarga. Dying here brings no rebirth. The right dānas (gifts) here are pādukā (sandals), anna (food) and suvarṇa (gold), along with anna-saṃtarpaṇa (feeding others with food) as one is able.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Svarga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20