Atrīśvara

Atrīśvara is a liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva that came to be in the south. The Koti Rudra Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa tells how. The ṛshi Atri and his wife Anasūyā lived in their āśrama on Citrakūṭa. A drought lasting fifty-four years struck the land. Through Anasūyā’s tapas, Gaṅgā came into a pit she had dug. Atri then did pūjā to a liṅga made of earth beside it, and Parameśvara appeared and promised to stay there as Atrīśvara.

Citrakūṭa and the āśrama of Atri

The ṛshi Atri was one of the seven great saptarshis and a son of Brahmā. He lived with his wife Anasūyā in their āśrama (hermitage) on Citrakūṭa, the holy hill spoken of across the Purāṇas and the Rāmāyaṇa. The āśrama was a place of steady Vedic practice, purity and tapas. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koti Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 3.)

The drought of fifty-four years

For fifty-four years a terrible drought lay over the region. The land dried up, the rivers stopped flowing and the plants died. Life became very hard. The āśrama of Atri suffered badly. Without water it was almost impossible to carry out the śrauta-sūtra rites, the yajñas, bathing (snāna) and the daily rituals. The ṛshi and his family were in great hardship. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koti Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 3.)

Anasūyā’s tapas and Gaṅgā’s coming

Anasūyā was known as a mahāpativratā (a wife of great faith to her husband), and her power of tapas was strong. She began hard tapas to bring water to the āśrama. She did it not only for the āśrama but for the good of all living beings who were suffering in the drought. By the strength of her long tapas and prayer, she was able to call Gaṅgā herself.

Anasūyā dug a pit (kuṇḍa) in the earth near the āśrama. By the force of her tapas the holy Gaṅgā appeared in this pit, flowing into it as if drawn by the power of her devotion. The water filled the pit and stayed there as a holy spring that never dried. (Śiva Purāṇa, Koti Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 3.)

Atri’s pūjā and Bhagavān Śiva’s appearance

Now that there was water, the ṛshi Atri made a pārthiva liṅga, a liṅga of earth, from the clean clay near the holy pit. With the Gaṅgā water that Anasūyā’s tapas had brought, he did the full sixteen-part pūjā (the shoḍaśopachāra), including abhisheka, gandha, pushpa, dhūpa, dīpa, naivedya and namaskāra. He did it all with full attention and devotion.

Parameśvara was pleased with this honest pārthiva pūjā. He appeared in a shining divine form of great splendour. Bhagavān Śiva said to Atri: “I am pleased with your pūjā. I shall stay here for ever as a liṅga for the good of all my devotees.” (Śiva Purāṇa, Koti Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 3–4.)

The Atrīśvara liṅga

Bhagavān Śiva took his place in the liṅga and took the name Atrīśvara. It means the īśvara (lord) of Atri, the one who appeared for Atri. The text places this liṅga in the south (dakshiṇa diśā), and so it is an important Śaiva holy place of the southern region. The holiness of the place is raised by the Gaṅgā-kuṇḍa that Anasūyā dug. The text says that bathing in this holy pit clears away all pāpa (sin). (Śiva Purāṇa, Koti Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 3–4.)

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Koti Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 3–4