Meghahāsa
Meghahāsa · megha-hāsa
Deva-tīrtha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Deva-tīrtha. Devasthāna has other meanings too: see all meanings of Devasthāna.
Meghahāsa was a great daitya, the son of Rāhu and grandson of the daitya woman Siṃhikā. He performed tapas (austerity) on the bank of the Gautamī, and the devas made him chief and ruler of the rākshasas. The tīrtha where he sat is named after him and is also called Devasthāna.
His tapas on the Gautamī
In the Gautamī Māhātmya, Brahmā tells Nārada that long ago, at the beginning of the Kṛta yuga, the devas and dānavas fought. Siṃhikā’s son Rāhu, the extremely powerful daitya, was cut in two at the churning of the ocean of milk when the amṛta came forth. Rāhu’s son was Meghahāsa. Hearing of the attack on his father, he grew very dejected and sat in tapas on the bank of the Gautamī.
The devas and ṛshis came to him, as though afraid, and said: “O mighty-armed one, cut short your tapas. Let everything in your mind be fulfilled by the grace of Śiva and Gaṅgā. What cannot be obtained by the grace of Śiva and Gaṅgā?”
Meghahāsa answered: “My father, who is worthy of pūjā and is my devatā, has been insulted and harassed by you. If he and I are properly honoured by you, I will give up this tapas and my enmity towards you. To take proper revenge on behalf of the father is the duty of a son. If you grant my request, my desires are fulfilled.”
Ruler of the rākshasas
The devas made Rāhu one of the grahas, and they made Meghahāsa honoured and worshipped by the rākshasas. So the son of Rāhu became the chief and ruler of the rākshasas. Then he asked the devas once more: “It is my wish that the power of this holy place be granted in my name, so that I may earn some renown.” The devas said, “So be it,” and gave him all he wished.
The tīrtha
The tīrtha on the Gautamī is called by the name of that leading daitya. Because the devas were present there, it is also called Devasthāna, famous in the three worlds and hard to reach even for the devas. There are eighteen tīrthas there, worthy of being worshipped by the daityas. The Brahma Purāṇa says that snāna (the sacred bath) and dāna (gifts) there destroy great pāpas (sins).
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 72