Rudratīrtha (Gautamī)

Rudratīrtha · rudra-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of Rudra”

Rudra has other meanings too: see all meanings of Rudra. Rudratīrtha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Rudratīrtha.

Rudratīrtha is a tīrtha on the bank of the Gautamī, the place where Rudra, Bhagavān Śiva, stood when he cut off the fifth head of Brahmā. Brahmā himself tells Nārada the account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. While the devas stood on the bank of the Gautamī, Brahmā’s fifth face, terrible in the form of an ass, called out that it would devour them all. Bhagavān Vishṇu told the devas that only the three-eyed Bhagavān Śiva could cut it off and hold it; Brahmā praised Śambhu; and Bhagavān Śiva plucked off the head with his nails and held it in his hand out of compassion for the worlds. Beside Rudratīrtha lie Brahmatīrtha, where a four-faced form of Brahmā stands to this day, the Sauryatīrtha of Sūrya, and the tīrtha Avimukta, where the head was installed.

The fifth head of Brahmā

Brahmā tells Nārada of a tīrtha hard to reach even for the devas, Brahmatīrtha, which gives bhukti (enjoyment) and mukti (release). The hosts of the devas were standing by on the bank of the Gautamī; the daityas had fled into the netherworlds, and the Mātṛs were following them. Brahmā was seated among the devas. Then his fifth face, which had the terrible form of an ass, spoke: “Daityas, why do you flee? Do not fear. I am coming quickly. I shall devour all the devas who come here.”

Seeing it hold Brahmā back and ready to devour them, the devas were afraid and said to Bhagavān Vishṇu: “Save us, Vishṇu, save us, Jagannātha, ruler of the universe. Cut off this face of Brahmā.” Bhagavān Vishṇu, bearer of the cakra, answered: “I could cut off the head with my cakra, but the moment it is cut off it would destroy the whole universe of moving and unmoving beings. So hear this secret, all you devas: the three-eyed Bhagavān Śiva is the one to cut off Brahmā’s head, and he will surely hold it.”

Then Brahmā praised Śambhu: “Yajña passes away; it gives no visible fruit, and is not fruitful to the one who performs it. Knowing this, and knowing Kapardin, the one with matted hair, to be the sure giver of the fruit, people took refuge in him and gained realization.”

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 43

Bhagavān Śiva holds the head

Bhagavān Śiva, ruler of the devas, was pleased. To accomplish the devas’ task and for the good of the people he said, “So be it.” With his nails, sharp as needles, he cut off that fierce face, the very form of pāpa, which made the hair stand on end, and asked: “Where shall it be placed?” Bhūmi, the Earth, said: “I cannot hold the head; I would sink into the netherworlds.” Samudra, the Ocean, said: “I cannot hold it; I would dry up in a moment.” Then the devas said to Bhagavān Śiva: “Out of compassion for the people, you must hold this head of Brahmā.”

Bhagavān Śiva saw that if the head were not cut off, the universe would be destroyed, and that once cut off it would bring the same result; since there was danger in casting it away, he held the head of Brahmā in his own hand. Seeing that wondrous and difficult deed on the bank of the Gautamī, the devas standing near Brahmā praised Candraśekhara, the moon-crested Īśa, with love and bhakti.

The place where Rudra stood and cut off Brahmā’s head is the tīrtha Rudratīrtha.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 43

The tīrthas beside it

  • Brahmatīrtha: from then on the place is known as Brahmatīrtha, and even today a four-faced form of Brahmā stands there. One who sees only the head there goes to Brahmaloka.
  • Sauryatīrtha: the place where Sūrya stays in visible form among the devas. It is famed as giving the fruit of all yajñas, and one who bathes there and has darśana (sacred sight) of Sūrya is not born again.
  • Avimukta: the fifth head of Brahmā, cut off by Mahādeva, was installed in the tīrtha Avimukta on the banks of the Gautamī, for the good of the devas. A brahmahan (slayer of a brāhmaṇa) is purified by visiting the head in Brahmatīrtha and the skull of Brahmā installed in Avimukta.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 43

Sources

  • Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 43