Caṇḍeśvara

Caṇḍeśvara · caṇḍa-īśvara, “the fierce lord”

Caṇḍeśvara, also called Caṇḍa, Caṇḍeśa, Caṇḍanātha and Dhūlicaṇḍeśvara, is the attendant of Bhagavān Śiva who receives the nirmālya, the offerings that have been made to Bhagavān Śiva and are then removed. The Agni Purāṇa tells that he was born from the fire of Rudra. He is blue in colour, with four faces and four arms, and holds the divine śūla (trident), the ṭaṅka (chisel-axe), the akshasūtra (rosary) and the kamaṇḍalu (water-pot).

The Agni Purāṇa gives him a chapter of his own, the Caṇḍa-pūjā, done at the close of the worship of Bhagavān Śiva. All that is offered to Śiva, except cows, land, gold, cloth and gems, goes to Caṇḍeśvara, and the worshipper asks him, by Śiva’s command, to remove every fault of too little and too much and make the pūjā complete. He receives the nirmālya in the daily Śiva-pūjā, the pavitrakas in the annual Pavitrārohaṇa, and worship at the end of the nirvāṇa-dīkshā. In the consecration of a Śiva-liṅga he guards the north door with the Devī and is installed in the north-east, and he is asked to stay as long as Śiva stays. The Purāṇa also names Caṇḍa as the attendant of Bhagavān Sūrya, who receives the nirmālya of Sūrya.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 73–74, 76, 79, 83, 96–97

His form

After the pūjā of his mantras, the worshipper meditates on the Caṇḍa devatā, born from the fire of Rudra. Caṇḍa Deva holds the śūla and the ṭaṅka in his hands. He is blue in colour. In his third hand he holds the akshasūtra, and in the fourth the kamaṇḍalu. He has four faces, and he is in a maṇḍala that has the form of the oṃkāra or of the half-moon.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 76

The Caṇḍa-pūjā

The Agni Purāṇa teaches the pūjā of Caṇḍeśvara in the chapter after the worship of Bhagavān Śiva, in the teaching of Maheśvara to Skanda.

  1. The pūjā is done with the mantra oṃ caṇḍeśāya namaḥ.
  2. With oṃ dhūlicaṇḍeśvarāya hūṃ phaṭ svāhā, Caṇḍeśvara is invoked (āvāhana) onto the vigraha (the image).
  3. The aṅga-pūjā (worship of his limbs): oṃ caṇḍaśirase hūṃ phaṭ for the head; oṃ caṇḍaśikhāyai hūṃ phaṭ for the śikhā; oṃ caṇḍāyushkavacāya hūṃ phaṭ for the kavaca (armour); oṃ caṇḍāstrāya hūṃ phaṭ for the astra (weapon).
  4. The worshipper meditates on him in his form, worships him and does japa (quiet repetition of the mantra) as he is able.
  5. Gathering the homa materials, he offers homa of one tenth of the japa.
  6. All the nirmālya is given to Caṇḍeśvara, except the cows, land, gold, cloth, gems and the like offered to Bhagavān Śiva.
  7. Offering it, he says: “Oṃ Caṇḍeśvara! By the command of Śiva I offer you this meal in the form of nirmālya: the food that is licked, sucked and chewed, tāmbūla, flowers, unguent and the rest. Caṇḍa! All this rite of the pūjā I have done by your command. May the faults of too little and too much that came from ignorance be removed, and may this pūjā be complete.”
  8. Remembering the devatās, he gives arghya, recites the mantra of the saṃhāra-mūrti, and with the saṃhāra-mudrā withdraws all into himself.
  9. The place where the nirmālya was laid is smeared with cow-dung water and sprinkled with arghya. After devatā-visarjana (sending off the devatās) he does ācamana (sipping water) and completes the remaining duties.

The fruit of the Caṇḍa-pūjā is the completion of the worship of Bhagavān Śiva: through Caṇḍeśvara every fault of too little or too much in it is removed.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 76

In the worship of Bhagavān Śiva

In the daily Śiva-pūjā. In the purifying of the liṅga, the worshipper removes the old flowers, the nirmālya, from the Śiva-liṅga and gives it to Caṇḍa in the north-east, saying caṇḍāya namaḥ. Then he bathes the pedestal and the liṅga with the Brahma-pañcaka (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74).

In the Pavitrārohaṇa. On the second day of the Pavitrārohaṇa, the annual offering of pavitrakas (sacred threads) to Bhagavān Śiva, the lokapālas are dismissed and the pavitrakas are taken from Śiva’s image. After the pūjā of Caṇḍeśvara they are offered to him together with Śiva’s nirmālya. Or, as before, Caṇḍeśvara is worshipped on them, and the worshipper prays: “Caṇḍanātha! In this annual rite I have done, if there is any fault of too little or too much, remove it and make the rite complete with all its aṅgas and upāṅgas (its limbs and lesser limbs).” Then he praises Caṇḍeśvara, bows and dismisses him, and after the nirmālya is removed, bathes and worships Śiva (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 79).

In the nirvāṇa-dīkshā. In the adhivāsana (preparatory rite) of the nirvāṇa-dīkshā, the whole rite is offered to Sthaṇḍileśvara, Śiva on the altar-ground; that Śiva is worshipped and given leave, and then Caṇḍeśa is worshipped (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 83).

In the consecration of a Śiva-liṅga

In the adhivāsana before a Śiva-liṅga is installed, the dvārapālas (door-guardians) are worshipped door by door: Nandī and Mahākāla at the east door, Bhṛṅgi and Vināyaka at the south, Vṛshabha and Skanda at the west, and the Devī and Caṇḍa at the north door (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 96).

At the installation itself, the ācārya bathes Śiva with the water of a kalaśa, offers bali, takes Śiva’s leave and comes out. Outside the yāga-maṇḍapa (the pavilion of the rite), in the north-east, he installs Caṇḍa and performs his pūjā. After the japa and tarpaṇa he prays to him with praise: “Oṃ Caṇḍeśa! As long as Śiva is here, you too stay here. By your kṛpā (grace) may all the faults of karma I committed through ignorance be removed. Make good those lapses.” After the pūjā of Caṇḍa, the guru bathes the yajamāna (the patron of the rite), with his wife and sons, with the water of the kalaśa set up earlier.

Caṇḍeśvara has no adhikāra (right) over the nirmālya of the bāṇa-liṅga, of a liṅga made of metal, of the siddha-liṅga or of the svayambhū-liṅga (the self-manifested liṅga), nor of other images, nor in the rite done on a sthaṇḍila (an altar of earth) (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 97).

Attendant of Bhagavān Sūrya

In the rite of Sūrya-pūjā, after the worshipper has withdrawn the radiance of Bhagavān Sūrya into his own heart-lotus with the saṃhāriṇī-mudrā, he gives the nirmālya of Sūrya to Caṇḍa, his attendant (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 73). In the worship of Sūrya taught with the mantras of Gaṇapati and Sūrya, the nirmālya is offered in the north-east to Kṛtānta, and the kindled radiance (dīpita tejas) to Caṇḍa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 301). In the pūjā of Sūrya that gives victory in battle, Sūrya, Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa are worshipped with sandal paste and the other offerings (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 148).

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 73–74, 76, 79, 83, 96–97, 148, 301