Śaṅkara Gītā: Śiva's Teaching to Paraśurāma

The Śaṅkara Gītā is Śiva’s teaching to Paraśurāma on Kailāsa in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa. It follows Paraśurāma’s victory over Sālva and fills chapters 50 to 65. In it Śiva gives Paraśurāma a great store of divine weapons. He then declares Bhagavān Vishṇu to be the highest object of meditation and describes him. He tells three avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu: Nṛvarāha, Narasiṃha and Vāmana. He gives a list of vibhūtis (splendours), teaches the nature and marks of bhakti (devotion), and explains the phala (fruit) and vidhi (rule) of upavāsa (fasting). He describes the Pañcakāla, the five times of daily worship, and ends with a teaching on Brahman and a way of yoga meditation that leads to moksha (liberation).

Context

After Paraśurāma slew Sālva and his whole army, Śiva himself took him to Kailāsa, healed his wounds and restored his paraśu (battle-axe). On Kailāsa, before sending Paraśurāma on his next task, Śiva gave him a large store of divine weapons. Then he gave this teaching on the greatness of Bhagavān Vishṇu, on bhakti, and on the path to moksha. (Chapter 50)

The astras given on Kailāsa

Śiva gave Paraśurāma these divine weapons on Kailāsa.

Brahma weapons: Brahmāstra and Brahmaśiras.

Weapons of the devas: Vaishṇava, Raudra, Āgneya, Aindra, Nairṛta, Yāmya, Āsura, Vāruṇa, Vāyavya, Saumya and Saura.

Weapons of the elements: Pārvata (which calls up mountains), Cakrāstra, Vajrāstra, Pāśāstra and Sārpāstra.

Special weapons: Gāndharva (a weapon of enchantment), Svāpana (which brings sleep), Bhautā (elemental forces), Pāśupata (Śiva’s own highest weapon), Aisheka, Tarjasa (which causes terror), Prāsa, Bhāruṇḍa and Nartana (which calls up dance).

Defending and answering weapons: Astrarodhana (which blocks weapons), Āditya, Raivata, Mānava, Akshisantarjana (which blinds the eyes), Bhīma, Jṛmbhaṇa (which brings yawning and stupor) and Rodhana (which binds).

More weapons: Sauparṇa (of the eagle), Pārjanya (of the rain-cloud), Rākshasa, Mohana (which brings delusion), Kālāstra (the weapon of time) and Dānavāgra (the foremost among weapons against dānavas).

These weapons number more than forty astras in all. (Chapter 50)

Paraśurāma’s question

When he had received these weapons, Paraśurāma asked Śiva, “Who is the highest dhyeya, the one to be meditated on? Who should be thought of? What is the Brahman that the Vedas and Upanishads point to?” With this question he asked Śiva to teach. (Chapter 51)

Śiva’s meditation on Vishṇu

Śiva named Puṇḍarīkāksha Hari as the highest dhyeya, the one on whom even Śiva himself meditates. His description of Bhagavān Vishṇu is the centre of this teaching.

Bhagavān Vishṇu is akshara (imperishable), avyakta (unmanifest) and parātpara (beyond the beyond). He is everywhere. His feet, hands, eyes and heads are everywhere in all that exists. He is at once smaller than the smallest (aṇor aṇīyān) and greater than the greatest (mahato mahīyān). He is both prakṛti (primal matter) and vikṛti (all its changes). He is Sahasraśīrsha, the one with a thousand heads, and the Yogīśvara seated on Padmanābha.

In creation he acts as Brahmā. In keeping the world he is Vishṇu. In dissolving it he becomes Hara. The four Vedas flow from his four faces: the Ṛk from the eastern face, the Yajus from the southern, the Sāma from the western and the Atharva from the northern. The four varṇas came from his body. The brāhmaṇas arose from the cloth that covered him, the kshatriyas from his arms, the vaiśyas from his thighs and the śūdras from his feet. He is the source and keeper of the whole order of the cosmos and of society.

Śiva ended, “This is the one I worship, the one who fills me and all creation. Let Hari be your dhyeya.” (Chapter 52)

The three avatāras

Nṛvarāha and the slaying of Hiraṇyāksha

Hiraṇyāksha, whose name means “golden-eyed”, seized svarga (heaven). In his pride he made all the great mountains leave the earth. Without the weight of the mountains the earth came loose and began to sink into the first waters. The worlds went under.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then took the Nṛvarāha form, part man and part boar. His body looked like a mountain of midnight-black ink and he wore a golden garment. His colour was dark, and he carried the śaṅkha (conch) and cakra (discus). He went down into the waters and lifted the earth. Then, to destroy Hiraṇyāksha, he used the Sudarśana Cakra, his spinning discus, and cut Hiraṇyāksha down. With the asura destroyed, the mountains went back to the earth and order was restored. Indra, whose wings had been cut off, got them back through Bhagavān Vishṇu’s grace. (Chapter 53)

Narasiṃha and the slaying of Hiraṇyakaśipu

Hiraṇyakaśipu did fierce tapas (austerity) for eleven thousand years. Brahmā came with all the devas, all the planets and all the rivers, and asked what vara (boon) the asura wanted. Hiraṇyakaśipu asked for a boon that would make him impossible to kill. No deva, asura or gandharva was to kill him. No ṛshi’s śāpa (curse) was to be able to destroy him. Neither śastra nor astra (weapons) was to pierce him. Neither wet nor dry was to be the means of his death. And he was to be sole ruler of the three worlds.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then appeared as Narasiṃha. He blazed with the light of a thousand suns. He had a lion’s mane and crescent-shaped fang marks on his face. His red eyes turned in circles of fire. He wore blue garments, his fearful tongue hung out, and each step shook the earth. Narasiṃha came down on the assembly hall and threw it into chaos. Hiraṇyakaśipu fought him. Narasiṃha seized him, laid him across his own thigh and tore open his chest with his bare hands. The devas gathered and worshipped the glorious Narasiṃha. (Chapter 54)

Vāmana and the three strides

Bali, the daitya king, got from Brahmā the boon that no one could overcome him. With this he drove out Indra and seized the three worlds. Indra, helpless, first took shelter with Kaśyapa, then with Brahmā, and finally with Bhagavān Vishṇu himself.

Bhagavān Vishṇu entered the womb of Aditi and was born as the dwarf Vāmana. Bṛhaspati carried the divine boy to Bali’s great yajña (fire ritual) at Śāligrāma. Vāmana came and asked Bali for three paces of land. Bali was pleased with the wonderful form of this shining dwarf. He agreed and poured the water of dāna (gift).

The moment the water was poured, Vāmana grew and gave up his small form. As Bhagavān Vishṇu himself, he set about the work of the devas. His first stride covered the deva-loka. His second stride reached Dhruva, the pole star. His left foot was set in the dānava realm. On his third step Hari struck the shell of the brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg) with his great toe. It cracked open and a hole formed. Through that opening the waters outside the cosmic egg rushed in. When his viśvarūpa form met Bali’s asura guards, Bhagavān Vishṇu drove them back with his bare hands alone.

The three worlds were taken back from the asuras and given to the devas. Bali was sent to Sutala, one of the pātālas, where he lives in comfort. Bhagavān Vishṇu gave Bali a boon: in the next manvantara (age of a Manu) Bali will rule as Indra, and Bhagavān Vishṇu himself will be present in that realm. Then Hari vanished. By this Trivikrama act Indra was set again as ruler of the worlds.

The holy water that came in through the hole made by Hari’s great toe became the divine river Vishṇupadī. She fills the whole brahmāṇḍa and on earth is known as the Gaṅgā. (Chapter 55)

The vibhūtis of Vishṇu

Śiva said that Bhagavān Vishṇu fills all things that are excellent, strong and glorious.

Among the devas: the first of the Maruts is Ekajyoti. Among the Rudras he is Ahirbhudhnya. The Āśvins and Sādhyas are Nārāyaṇa himself. Among the Bhṛgus he is Kratu, among the Ādityas he is Vishṇu, among the Aṅgiras he is Āyu, among the Viśvadevas he is Rocamāna, and among all the devas he is Vāsava.

Among cosmic elements and happenings: among lights he is Agni. For the self-controlled he is Yama. Among nāgas he is Ananta. The teja (brilliance) is Sūrya. Among the grahas he is Candra, and among the nakshatras he is Kṛttikā. Among the forms of kāla (time) he is Yama. Among the yugas he is the Kṛtayuga. Among the varṇas (colour-cycles) he is Saṃvatsara. He is Uttarāyaṇa, the northern course of the sun. Among months he is Mārgaśīrsha, among ṛtus (seasons) Vasanta, among tithis Pūrṇimā, and among muhūrtas Abhijit.

Among regions of the cosmos: among the pātālas he is Sutala. Among oceans he is Payodhi, the milk-ocean. Among dvīpas he is Jambūdvīpa, among lokas Satyaloka, among mountains the Himālaya, among rivers Jāhnavī, and among tīrthas Pushkara.

Among beings: among birds he is Garuḍa. Among gandharvas he is Citraratha, among siddhas Kapila, among ṛshis Bhṛgu, among devarshis Nārada, and among brahmarshis Āṅgirasa. Among vidyādharas he is Citrāṅgada, among kinnaras Kambara, among serpents Vāsuki, among daityas Prahlāda, and among apsarasas Rambhā.

Among animals and signs of power: among horses he is Uccaiḥśravas, among cows Kāmadhenu, and among elephants Airāvata. Among mṛgas (deer) he is the lion. Among āyudhas (weapons) he is the Vajra. Among narādhipas (kings of men) he is the king.

Among knowledge and speech: among aksharas he is the letter a. Among mantras he is the Gāyatrī. Among vidyās he is Adhyātmavidyā. Among poets and knowers he is Uśana (Śukra). He is the cetanāśakti (conscious power) in all beings. Among the indriyas (senses) he is manas (mind). Among those who know the Vedas he is Brahmā. He is jñāna (knowledge) in all who know.

Among feminine powers: Kīrti (fame), Śrī (good fortune), Vāk (speech), Smṛti (memory), Medhā (intelligence) and Kshamā (patience) are all Vishṇu.

Among āśramas (stages of life) he is the fourth, sannyāsa. Among varṇas he is the brāhmaṇa. Among commanders he is Skanda. He is dayā (compassion) and jaya (victory). Among trees he is the Aśvattha, and among plants he is yava (barley).

Among other principles: in dying he is mṛtyu (death), and in birth he is the act of birth. Among fish he is the makara. Among messengers he is Yama. In the sphere of secrets he is mānagupti (self-restraint). Among jewels he is gold. Among the qualities of earth he is dhṛti (steadiness). In water he is tejas, and in fire he is tejas. In the wind he is the sparśaguṇa (the quality of touch), and in space he is the śabdaguṇa (the quality of sound). (Chapter 56)

The fruit and the marks of bhakti

The fruits of bhakti

Śiva taught that firm bhakti toward Bhagavān Vishṇu is the highest means of moksha. Whoever grows bhakti receives countless fruits: freedom from the cycle of rebirth, cleansing of all past karma, nearness to Bhagavān Vishṇu in his divine home, and in the end moksha. The bhakta (devotee) is dear to Bhagavān Vishṇu in every state. (Chapter 57)

The marks of a true bhakta

Śiva then described in detail the conduct and marks of one who is truly devoted to Bhagavān Vishṇu. The bhakta keeps body and mind pure. He performs regular pūjā with devotion. He treats all beings with compassion, as forms of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He does no harm to any living creature and speaks the truth. He does every act as an offering to Hari. Every act of the bhakta is made holy by constant remembrance of the name, form and glories of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Such a person, even if born in a low station, is higher than the highest brāhmaṇa who has no bhakti. (Chapter 58)

Upavāsa: the fruit of fasting

The fruit by day of the week

Śiva taught the particular fruit of fasting on each day of the week. Each day belongs to a different part of the governing of the cosmos.

Sunday (Ravivāra): gives long life and health
Monday (Somavāra): gives health and freedom from disease
Tuesday (Maṅgalavāra): gives wealth and well-being
Wednesday (Budhavāra): fulfils all wishes
Thursday (Guruvāra): gives learning and wisdom
Friday (Śukravāra): gives saubhāgya (good fortune in marriage, above all for women)
Saturday (Śanivāra): removes enemies and obstacles

(Chapter 59)

The fruit by nakshatra and tithi

Fasting on the nakshatra Kṛttikā gives the fruit of a mahāyajña (great fire ritual). Fasting on Pūrṇimā, the full-moon tithi, fulfils all wishes. Other nakshatras and tithis carry their own fruits. (Chapter 59)

The rule of upavāsa

The best day for upavāsa is Śravaṇa Dvādaśī, the twelfth tithi that falls under the Śravaṇa nakshatra. When Śravaṇa Dvādaśī also falls on a Budhavāra (Wednesday), it becomes a mahā-dvādaśī of great holiness.

The rule of triyahspṛk, a tithi that spans and touches three days, is held to be most auspicious for fasting.

The rule for choosing the tithi is tithiraudayikī grāhyā: the tithi that is in force at sunrise (udaya) is the one to keep. This makes the sunrise rule the base of all upavāsa timing. (Chapter 60)

The Pañcakāla

Śiva described the Pañcakāla, the five periods of daily worship, as the full frame of a bhakta’s day. The five periods are Abhigamana, Upādāna, Ijyā, Svādhyāya and Yoga.

Abhigamana: approach to Bhagavān Vishṇu

The Abhigamana-kāla, the period of approach, begins before dawn. The devotee rises in the dark before sunrise, cleans the teeth and takes the ritual bath (snāna). After ācamana (sipping of water) he enters the worship room. As he crosses the threshold he says the praṇava (Oṃ). Four kalaśas (ritual vessels) are set out: for pādya (water for the feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu), ācamanīya (water for sipping), arghya (water of offering) and snānīya (water for his bath). These are charged with mantras (abhimantraṇa). The vedi (worship ground) is cleaned, the three sacred paths (mārgatraya) are marked out, and the devotee takes his seat to begin the worship. (Chapter 61)

Upādāna: gathering the materials

The Upādāna-kāla is the time of gathering all the materials needed for worship. The wife does this work in a state of māḍi (ritual purity after bathing). She cooks clean food with pure ingredients in vessels that are kept covered and untouched by anything unclean. The purity of the offerings gathered in this period is needed for the worship that follows to bear fruit. (Chapter 62)

Ijyā: the act of worship

The Ijyā-kāla is the time of the main worship itself. The full order of Ijyā is: the darpaṇa (mirror) offering, snāna (bathing the mūrti), vastra (dressing it in garments), alaṅkāra (ornaments), dhūpa (incense), dīpa (lamp), naivedya (food offering) and madhuparka, the five-part offering of honey (madhu), curd, ghee, milk and sugar. The pūjā ends with the offering of tāmbūla (betel). The fire offering (homa) follows. After the worship of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the devotee gives sevā (service) to atithis (guests) and bhṛtyas (dependants), so that no one who comes to the house is turned away.

Within Ijyā, Śiva explained the Caturvyūha, the four divine forms that are worshipped together. They are Vāsudeva (the supreme form), Saṅkarshaṇa (the form of cosmic dissolution and strength), Pradyumna (the form of mind and creation) and Aniruddha (the form of ego and keeping). Together they show the full unfolding of the works of Bhagavān Vishṇu in the cosmos. (Chapter 63)

Svādhyāya: sacred recitation

The Svādhyāya-kāla begins at dawn and goes on through the day until sunset. It includes the recitation of the Vedic texts, the Purāṇas, and the names and glories of Bhagavān Vishṇu. In the evening the devotee performs ācamana again, goes back into the worship room, performs the nīrājana (waving of lamps before the mūrti), completes a last pūjā, and prepares to enter the fifth kāla. (Chapter 64)

The teaching on Brahman and the way of yoga

The fifth kāla, Yoga, is the high point of the Pañcakāla and the gate to moksha. Śiva described the whole method of yoga as follows.

The four āsanas

Four postures are given for meditation in yoga:

Svastika, the auspicious cross-legged seat
Sarvatobhadra, the all-auspicious seat
Paryaṅka, the couch seat (reclining)
Padmāsana, the lotus seat

The sequence of dhyāna

The one who practises draws his attention step by step from the gross to the subtle in the following rising order:

Pṛthivī (earth): first the meditator takes in and passes beyond the quality of earth.
Jala (water): then water.
Agni (fire): then fire.
Vāyu (wind): then wind.
Ākāśa (space): then space.
Manas (mind): then the mind itself is passed beyond.

Having passed through the five pañcabhūtas (elements) and manas, the meditator reaches:

Candra-maṇḍala dhyāna. In the sphere of the moon (candra-maṇḍala) the practitioner sees an aṅgushṭha-mātra purusha, a being the size of a thumb, shining with the brightness of a hundred moons and wearing every divine ornament. This is the first direct sight of the inner self.
Sūrya-maṇḍala dhyāna. Rising from the sphere of the moon to the sphere of the sun (sūrya-maṇḍala), the practitioner again sees an aṅgushṭha-mātra purusha, this time blazing with the brightness of a hundred suns. This being in the sphere of the sun is a brighter sight of the same inner purusha.
Avyakta dhyāna. Beyond even the sphere of the sun lies the avyakta, the unmanifest ground, which appears as pure light.
Śūnya-dhyāna. The last stage is śūnya, the void, also called nishphalasthāna, the place beyond results. Here even the last trace of objects melts away. This is the threshold of moksha.

The fruit of the practice

The ākhaṇḍakārī is the one who keeps up the Pañcakāla practice without a break across many lifetimes. He gathers the equal of 133 or more years of unbroken yoga. Such a practitioner at last reaches Vishṇu-padma, the lotus feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu, which means moksha into his divine realm.

The ākhaṇḍakāriṇī is the wife who supports and shares in the unbroken practice. She too reaches moksha through her part in it.

Even a śūdra who keeps his svadharma (own duty) faithfully and grows bhakti for Bhagavān Vishṇu will in his next birth be born as an ākhaṇḍakārī, fitted and destined for the whole Pañcakāla practice and for moksha. (Chapter 65)

Sources

Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 50–65