Kailāsa in the Kūrma Purāṇa

Kailāsa is the highest mountain home of Bhagavān Mahādeva Śiva. It lies in the Himālaya, near Meru Parvata, the great mountain at the centre of the world. The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa describes it as a place of wonderful splendour where Śiva and Pārvatī live. They are attended by countless gaṇas (Śiva’s attendants), siddhas (perfected beings), vidyādharas and gandharvas (divine beings), yakṣas and great ṛṣis.

It is the foremost tīrtha (holy place) and abode in all creation. It is also the very place where Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa did intense tapas (spiritual discipline) to receive darśana (sacred sight) of Parameśvara, the Supreme Īśvara.

Location and Geography

In its description of Jambūdvīpa (the central continent of the world), the Kūrma Purāṇa places Kailāsa among the great peaks that stretch from east to west in the far north of the Himālaya. The text says that Gandhamādana and Kailāsa are two mountains, each eighty yojanas wide (a yojana is an old Indian measure of distance), standing firm among the varṣaparvatas (the great boundary mountains of the world).

The peak of Hemakūṭa is said to hold a magnificent vimāna (palace) with crystal peaks, belonging to the Parameṣṭhī. Nearby on these heights, Śiva, trident in hand, with his bhūtagaṇas (his band of spirit attendants) and ever shining with Pārvatī beside him, constantly receives the pūjā of ṛṣis, siddhas and devatās.

What Kailāsa Looks Like

Kailāsa has peaks of rare beauty. Its separate, graceful śikharas (summits) are said to be adorned with many kinds of natural splendour. The great temple of Parameśvara Īśvara stands there. Nearby flows the Ākāśagaṅgā (the “Gaṅgā of the sky”), a supremely pure, holy river adorned with many kinds of lotuses. Devatās, rākṣasas, gandharvas, yakṣas and kinnaras (divine musicians) always come to it and draw strength from its waters. The river is said to bear golden lotuses and to have supremely auspicious qualities.

On the peak of Kailāsa stands a great forest of pārijāta trees. Inside it is the vast, shining bhavana (palace) of Indra, held up by pillars of sphaṭika (crystal) and bright with golden gopuras (gateway towers). Nearby is the holy home of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, glowing with every kind of ratna (jewel), where Nārāyaṇa lives with Lakṣmī Devī.

Kailāsa is also home to yakṣas in their millions, and to Kubera, their ruler.

Who Lives There

The holy gathering on Kailāsa includes:

• Śiva and Pārvatī: Parameśvara himself, bearing the piṇāka bow, surrounded by his bhūtagaṇas, ever shining with the Devī at his side.
• Nandīśvara: the great dvārapāla (gatekeeper) and first among Śiva’s gaṇas. His kapila (tawny) cow also lives on Kailāsa.
• Gaṇeśvaras: thousands of Śiva’s gaṇas and leaders of the gaṇas, of boundless power (prabhāva), living on the many peaks and in the puras (cities) on and around Kailāsa.
• Siddhas, yogīs and ṛṣis: great yogīs, jñānins (knowers of truth) and tapasvīs (those who practise tapas), who live in the many āśramas on Kailāsa, always absorbed in dhyāna (meditation), japa (repeating a mantra) and brahma-vicāra (enquiry into Brahman).
• Vidyādharas and gandharvas: divine beings who live on the beautiful peaks. The vidyādharas have eight puras on Sahasraśikhara (“the thousand-peaked”).
• Jaigīṣavya and his disciples: the great teacher of yoga Jaigīṣavya lives in an āśrama on Kailāsa’s peak, beside a pure amṛta-kuṇḍa (pool of nectar) adorned with lotuses. His disciples have gone beyond all dṛṣṭis (fixed views). Śiva himself blesses this place with his presence for the sake of these great yogīs.

Kṛṣṇa’s Tapas on Kailāsa

The Kūrma Purāṇa tells a remarkable story of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, who is himself Nārāyaṇa Puruṣottama, travelling to the Himālaya to seek the darśana of Parameśvara. The great muni Upamanyu told him to do tapas on this holy ground. Here Vasiṣṭha, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, Bhṛgu, Yājñavalkya and many other ṛṣis had already reached siddhi (spiritual perfection) through Śiva’s grace.

Kṛṣṇa, his body smeared with bhasma (sacred ash) and dressed in bark, did intense tapas. After a long time, Bhagavān Śiva came down from the sky with Pārvatī and gave him darśana. In that vision Kṛṣṇa saw Śiva in his all-pervading form. In the gathering he saw his own form standing at Śiva’s left, Indra standing at the right with folded hands, and Brahmā in the sky on his haṃsa (swan), all praising Parameśvara. The great ṛṣis Marīci, Atri, Pulaha, Pulastya, Pracetas, Dakṣa, Kaṇva, Parāśara and Vasiṣṭha were all present around Śiva.

After Kṛṣṇa received boons from Śiva and Pārvatī, Bhagavān Śaṅkara himself took Kṛṣṇa by the hand and led him back to Kailāsa, where they lived and played together. All who lived on Kailāsa, devas, devīs, siddhas and gandharvas, offered pūjā to Kṛṣṇa in his all-pervading form just as they offer it to Śiva himself.

Why Kailāsa Matters

Kailāsa is not just a peak on the map. It is the highest abode, where Parameśvara himself lives in his eternal true form (svarūpa), with Pārvatī beside him and his bhūtagaṇas around him. It is the goal of those who practise tapas, the resting place of the greatest yogīs, the place of divine vision, and the home where siddhas always live. The summit itself is honoured by beings in all three lokas (worlds).

The Ākāśagaṅgā flowing near Kailāsa, the pure kuṇḍa (pool), the divine pārijāta forest, and the homes of Indra, Viṣṇu, Sarasvatī, Mahālakṣmī and the Saptarṣis (the seven great ṛṣis) all make the region of Kailāsa the holiest in all the worlds.

Sources

• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 25–26
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 48