Taṇḍi
Taṇḍi, simply known as Tandi, Sanskrit: तण्डि, Telugu: తండి, Hindi: तंडि.
Taṇḍi was a great ṛshi of the Kṛta Yuga. He did ten thousand years of tapas (austerity) through samādhi (deep meditation) and saw Mahādeva Śiva face to face. He then offered Bhagavān Śiva a deep stotra (hymn of praise). Bhagavān Śiva and Umā were pleased and gave him a son who would become a great sūtrakartā (maker of a school of teaching). Taṇḍi is also the ṛshi through whom the Śiva Sahasranāma came into the world. Brahmā taught Taṇḍi the ten thousand names of the devas together with the thousand names of Bhagavān Śiva. Taṇḍi taught them to Upamanyu, and Upamanyu taught them to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.
Tapas and darśana
In the Kṛta Yuga, Taṇḍi did ten thousand years of tapas through samādhi. This was steady dhyāna-yoga (the path of meditation), not only bodily hardship. It was aimed wholly at Mahādeva Śiva. Through this tapoyoga he gained the darśana (sight) of the imperishable (avyaya) Paramātmā.
His stotra names Bhagavān Śiva as these seven adhi- levels of existence:
- adhipaurusha
- adhyātma
- adhibhūta
- adhidaivata
- adhiloka
- adhivijñāna
- adhiyajña
The stotra also names Bhagavān Śiva as the eight prakṛtis (natures): earth, water, fire, air, ākāśa (space), manas (mind), buddhi (intellect) and ahaṅkāra (sense of self). It names him too as the five gatis (final goals): yajña-loka, tapo-loka (also given as nakshatra-loka), Brahmaloka, prakṛti-laya and kaivalya.
The boon of a son who would make a school
Bhagavān Śiva and Umā were pleased with Taṇḍi’s realisation. They appeared before him. They granted that he would be akshaya (undying), avikārī (unchanging), free of duḥkha (sorrow), yaśasvān (famous) and tejo-yukta (full of radiance), with divine jñāna (knowledge). They also granted, as the most important gift, that he would have a son who would become a sūtrakartā. Great numbers of ṛshis would travel to this son to receive jñāna.
The tradition links this to the Tāṇḍya-śākhā of the Sāmaveda, which is connected with the Pañcaviṃśa (Tāṇḍya) Brāhmaṇa.
Taṇḍi and the Śiva Sahasranāma
Taṇḍi holds a key place in how the Śiva Sahasranāma was handed down. Upamanyu told Bhagavān Kṛshṇa the following. In ancient times Brahmā gave the devas ten thousand names, together with the thousand names of Bhagavān Śiva. By divine grace Brahmā himself later told these most secret names to Taṇḍi Maharshi in Brahmaloka. Taṇḍi then taught them to Upamanyu. Upamanyu taught them to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, in the account told at length in the frame that comes just before the Śiva Sahasranāma itself. The line of teaching is Brahmā, Taṇḍi, Upamanyu, Kṛshṇa.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 16