Gayāsura

Gayāsura was a great asura (a being opposed to the devas) who performed tapas (austerity) of extraordinary power. By his tapas, everyone who merely saw him reached mokṣa (liberation). The three worlds began to empty. Bhagavān Viṣṇu, at the request of Brahmā and the devas, solved this by pressing Gayāsura’s body into the earth under the Gadādhara-śilā, a sacred stone. That place became the holy tīrtha (pilgrimage place) of Gayā, famous for pitṛ-tarpaṇa (offerings of water to the ancestors) and śrāddha.

The Agni Purāṇa tells this in Chapter 114, as part of the Gayā-māhātmya (the praise of Gayā).

The tapas of Gayāsura

The Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 114, begins by declaring Gayā the most exalted of all tīrthas. It then gives the origin. Gayā was an asura who did great tapas. His tapas became so strong that the devas were afraid and afflicted (pīḍita). They went to Bhagavān Viṣṇu, who rests on the milk-ocean (Kṣīrasāgara), and prayed:

“Bhagavān Viṣṇu! Protect us from Gayāsura!”

The vara

Bhagavān Viṣṇu agreed to help and went to Gayāsura. He asked the asura to name his wish. Gayāsura said:

“O Mahāviṣṇu, let me become more pure (pavitra) than all tīrthas.”

Bhagavān Viṣṇu granted this vara (boon) and said, “So be it (Tathāstu).”

The problem for the worlds

The vara at once caused a crisis. People began to visit Gayāsura. Merely by seeing him, they reached mokṣa and went to Viṣṇu’s abode, Vaikuṇṭha. The worlds began to empty. Brahmā and the devas went back to Bhagavān Viṣṇu in alarm and said:

“Deva! Both Svarga and Bhūloka have become empty. All who merely see that daitya are reaching your loka.”

Śrī Hari (Bhagavān Viṣṇu) told Brahmā: “Go with the devas and ask Gayāsura to give his body as the ground for a yajña (fire ritual).” Brahmā went to Gayāsura with all the devas and said:

“O best of daityas, I have come to your door as a guest (atithi). Give me your pure body for a yajña.”

Gayāsura agreed with the words “Tathāstu” (so be it) and lay down on the earth. Brahmā began the yajña upon his head.

The body trembles and the stone of Dharmavrātā

When the time of the pūrṇāhuti (the final offering) came, Gayāsura’s body began to move. Brahmā told Bhagavān Viṣṇu with concern. Bhagavān Viṣṇu called Dharma Deva and said: “Place a dharmamaya-śilā (a stone of dharma) on the asura’s body. All the devas must sit upon that stone. My Gadādhara-mūrti will also be present on that stone.”

The Agni Purāṇa then tells how this sacred stone came to be. Dharma’s wife Dharmavatī gave birth to a daughter named Dharmavrātā. Dharmavrātā was a great tapasvinī (woman of tapas). Maharṣi Marīci, a son of Brahmā, married her.

One day Marīci was tired from collecting kuśa-grass and fuel. He asked Dharmavrātā to press his feet. She began to do so while he slept. At that moment Brahmā arrived. Dharmavrātā thought: “Should I stop serving my husband to honour Brahmā, or continue?” She reasoned that Brahmā was the father even of her husband and so the greater one to honour. She rose to welcome and worship Brahmā.

When Marīci woke and found her gone, he gave her a śāpa (a curse): “Become a stone (śilā)!” Dharmavrātā had acted rightly, yet she was cursed. She cursed Marīci in return: he would receive a curse from Śiva. Then she left her household duties, entered fire, and did tapas for thousands of years.

Viṣṇu and the devas were pleased with her tapas and offered her a vara. She prayed: “Remove my curse.” The devas answered:

“The curse of Marīci cannot be undone. But you will become a supremely sacred stone, marked with the footprints of the devas. You will hold down Gayāsura’s body and make it steady as the foundation of a tīrtha. You will be known by the names Devavratā, Devaśilā, Sarvadevasvarūpā, Sarvatīrthamayī and Puṇyaśilā.”

Dharmavrātā asked:

“If you are truly gracious to me, may Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Gaurī, Lakṣmī and all the devas always shine within me.”

The devas gave her this vara too.

The Gadādhara form of Viṣṇu

Dharma placed this devamayi-śilā (stone of the devas) on Gayāsura’s body. But Gayāsura still moved, carrying even the stone. Rudra and all the devas sat on the stone, yet the asura kept stirring. The devas begged Bhagavān Viṣṇu, who was resting on the milk-ocean. Bhagavān Viṣṇu sent his Gadādhara-mūrti (his form that holds the mace) and said: “Through this form I will hold Gayāsura’s body still.”

The moment the Gadādhara-mūrti sat on the stone, Gayāsura became completely still. Brahmā then finished the pūrṇāhuti.

The holy name Gadādhara-Viṣṇu at Gayā recalls this moment. The Agni Purāṇa also gives the history of the name Gadādhara (bearer of the mace). The asura Gada once terrified the world. After Viṣṇu killed him, Viśvakarmā made the primordial mace, the ādi-gadā, from his bones. With this ādi-gadā Viṣṇu destroyed the asuras Heti and others. So he became Ādigadādhara, the first mace-bearer.

Gayāsura’s last request

After Brahmā finished the yajña, Gayāsura spoke to the devas:

“You have deceived me. Could I not have stayed still even at Śrī Viṣṇu’s word? O devas, since you have pressed me down with stones, grant me a vara.”

The devas replied: “Your body has been made steady to create a tīrtha. So your kṣetra (sacred ground) will be the abode of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara. This tīrtha will surpass all others in fame. It will give Brahmaloka to those who perform pitṛ-śrāddha (the rite for the ancestors) here.” After this, all the devas made their home at Gayā.

Gayā-kṣetra, the sacred tīrtha

Brahmā finished the yajña. He gave the brāhmaṇas of Gayā a region of fifty-five villages within five krośas (a measure of distance). He gave them golden mountains, rivers of honey, lakes full of curd and honey, groves of kalpa-vṛkṣas (wish-granting trees), kāmadhenu cows, and houses of silver and gold.

Out of greed, the brāhmaṇas took further gifts from Dharma’s yajña. Brahmā then cursed them: “You will become unlearned and greedy.” Their divine gifts turned to stone, and the rivers of nectar stopped. The brāhmaṇas repented. Brahmā declared:

“From now on your living will be supported by this tīrtha. Those who come to Gayā and honour you with śrāddha, havya, kavya and dāna will send one hundred generations of their ancestors to Svarga. Those already in Svarga will attain mokṣa.”

The Agni Purāṇa adds that King Gaya himself performed a great yajña with abundant dakṣiṇā (gifts to the priests) at this kṣetra. The city took its name from King Gaya. The Pāṇḍavas also visited Gayā and worshipped Bhagavān Viṣṇu there.

Sources

  • Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 114