Five Liṅgas of Mahīsāgara

A liṅga is the sacred form in which Bhagavān Śiva is honoured in temples across India. The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, a section of the Māheśvara Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, tells of five great Śiva Liṅgas set up at Guptakṣetra, the holy place where the river Mahī meets the sea (the Mahīsāgara Saṅgama). They are linked to the birth of Kumāra (Skanda, the son of Śiva), his appointment as Senāpati (commander of the army of the devas), and his victory over the asura Tārakāsura.

Each Liṅga has its own story of how it came to be, its own presiding power and its own blessings. Together they form the sacred Śaiva layout of the kṣetra (holy site). They run from the western entrance inward to the central Liṅga and the victory pillar, and end with Siddheśvara, which all the devas installed together.

1. Pratijñeśvara

  • Location: the western entrance of Guptakṣetra
  • Meaning of the name: “the lord of the vow” or “the lord of the promise”

Pratijñeśvara marks the place where pilgrims enter Guptakṣetra from the west. Its name holds the sacred vow that pilgrims take at this doorway, and also Śiva’s promise of grace to those who enter with sincere bhakti (loving devotion). A pilgrimage that begins at Pratijñeśvara and goes on to visit all five Liṅgas is held to bring the greatest puṇya (spiritual merit).

2. Kapāleśvara and Kapālikeśvarī

  • Location: the south-eastern part of Guptakṣetra
  • Associated Śakti: Kapālikeśvarī
  • Connection: a Śaktipīṭha, the place of Śiva’s Śakticchidra

Kapāleśvara is one of the most important of the five Liṅgas. When Viṣṇu’s Sudarśana discus cut the body of Satī into fifty-one pieces, one portion, the Śakticchidra (a wound or portion of the Śakti’s body), fell here. This makes the Kapāleśvara site one of the fifty-one Śaktipīṭhas, the holy seats of the Devī. The Śakti here is called Kapālikeśvarī, and she and the Kapāleśvara Liṅga receive pūjā together.

The Kapāleśvara account in the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa includes Viṣṇu’s teaching to the gathered devas that the Liṅga is the highest form of Śiva, so that honouring the Liṅga is the highest form of Śiva-bhakti. In this section Śiva himself also declares Śiva-Viṣṇu abheda: that Viṣṇu and Śiva are one being.

3. Kumāreśa

  • Location: the centre of Guptakṣetra
  • Established by: Brahmā
  • Associated deities: Pārvatī (a shrine nearby) and Gaṇeśa (installed here)
  • Meaning of the name: “the lord of Kumāra”

Kumāreśa is the central and best-loved Liṅga of Guptakṣetra. Brahmā himself made it when Kumāra was made Senāpati (commander of the divine army) and set out to fight Tārakāsura. When Brahmā set up this Liṅga, the gathered devas, gandharvas (celestial musicians) and ṛṣis all offered it pūjā. The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa lists many blessings for those who honour Kumāreśa, including freedom from all pāpa (wrongdoing), the gaining of everything they wish for, and finally mokṣa (liberation) itself.

Once Śiva called Pārvatī Kālī, “the dark one”, and she left Kailāsa in anger. She chose to perform her great tapas (austerity) on the Himādri, the Himālaya mountains (Chapter 28). Before she left, she installed her own shrine near the Kumāreśa Liṅga. Gaṇeśa was also installed at this site.

4. Stambheśvara

  • Location: at the jaya-stambha (victory pillar) of Guptakṣetra
  • Established by: Kumāra himself, after defeating Tārakāsura
  • Meaning of the name: “the lord of the pillar”

After Kumāra (Skanda) defeated and killed Tārakāsura, he raised a jaya-stambha, a pillar of victory, to mark the triumph of the devas. He then installed a Liṅga on or beside this pillar and named it Stambheśvara. This Liṅga marks the place where the war between the devas and asuras came to its end. It is linked with the protection of dharma through the destruction of Tārakāsura. Honouring Stambheśvara is said to give the devotee victory over all enemies and obstacles.

5. Siddheśvara

  • Location: the inner sanctum of Guptakṣetra
  • Established by: all the devas together
  • Associated devī: Siddhāmbikā
  • Associated tīrtha (holy bathing place): Siddhakuṇḍa
  • Meaning of the name: “the lord of siddhi”, or “the lord who grants siddhi” (spiritual success and powers)

All the devas together installed Siddheśvara at the end of the Tārakāsura story. They did this to give thanks and to consecrate the innermost power of the kṣetra. Siddhāmbikā is the devī of siddhi at this site, and the Siddhakuṇḍa is its bathing pool. The dānava (a kind of asura) Pralamba was killed in this part of the kṣetra. Honouring Siddheśvara and bathing in the Siddhakuṇḍa is said to grant every kind of siddhi and mukti (liberation).

The Mahākāla Liṅga

Besides the five Liṅgas linked to Kumāra’s story, the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa also tells how the Mahākāla Liṅga came to be, through the tapas of Kālabhīti (Chapters 40–41). It is not one of the original five. It is the sixth and most recent Liṅga at Guptakṣetra. It arose from the extraordinary tapas of a human devotee, not from an event among the devas in the story of Kumāra and Tārakāsura.

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 33–36
  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 28 and Chapters 40–41