Hirbu and the Mahārudra

Hirbu and the Mahārudra · hirbu, mahā-rudra, “Hirbu and the great Rudra”

Hirbu was a dānava of the line of Nikumbha, a thorn to the world, equal to Indra in valour. Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, tells his account to Devendra in the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, as the māhātmya of the Rudras who shine over the Śaśimaṇḍala, the disc of the moon. By a thousand years of tapas Hirbu won from Brahmā the vara that no living thing or object in the universe could slay him, and he drove the devas from svarga. On Nārada‘s counsel the devas performed pārthiva pūjā of Bhagavān Śiva for eleven years. Bhagavān Śiva then became jyotirliṅga-maya and burned the asuras. The Mahārudra who destroyed Hirbu was made king of the Śaśimaṇḍala and was later born as Bhāratīśa. Bṛhaspati then tells of another Rudra of the same maṇḍala, the raudra tejas named Aurva.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 12

Hirbu’s vara

Bṛhaspati said: In former times there was a dānava named Hirbu, a thorn to the world, born in the line of Nikumbha, and his valour was equal to Indra‘s. After tapas for a thousand years he defeated the devas.

Then Brahmā, Lokapati, intent on protecting the worlds, told him to ask for a vara. Hirbu bowed and asked: “May I not be slain by any living thing or object in the universe.” Brahmā said “So it shall be” and went to Brahmaloka.

Having received the vara, the fearful daitya conquered the devas, drove them from svarga, and settled the daityas there. The devas suffered terrible torment.

The pārthiva pūjā

Seeing their plight, Nārada said: “Devagaṇa, take up the upāsanā of Śaṅkara. Bhagavān Śaṅkara is the master of the brahmāṇḍa and destroyer of calamities.” Hearing this, the devas began the pārthiva pūjā of Devadeva Bhagavān Umāpati, the pūjā of a liṅga made of earth.

The jyotirliṅga

When eleven years of this pūjā had passed, Bhagavān Śiva, who does good to the worlds, was pleased. He became jyotirliṅga-maya, a liṅga of light, and began to burn all the asuras, leaving out those who were bhaktas of the devas.

Gladdened by this, Brahmā, together with Vishṇu, joyfully pleased Mahārudra with Sāma sūktas.

When the Sun stood in Mithuna rāśi, Mahārudra, destroyer of the daitya Hirbu, was made king of the Śaśimaṇḍala for the good of the devas. This Mahārudra became intent on the work of the devas.

Bhāratīśa

Afterwards this same Mahārudra was born on the beautiful Himālaya mountain as the son of Sādhakarmā, and later became famous under the name Bhāratīśa, knower of the kalās. He conquered the assembly of scholars, came to Kāśī, and became a śishya of Śaṅkarācārya.

The raudra tejas: Aurva, Dahana and Vāḍava

In the twelfth Dvāpara of the Cākshusha manvantara, kshatriyas born in the Tālajaṅgha line destroyed the brāhmaṇas born in the Bhṛgu line at Kurukshetra. They took the brāhmaṇas’ abundant wealth and became partisans of the daityas.

At that time a certain brāhmaṇa’s pregnant wife, in fear, by the power of tapas held her garbha for a hundred years. The child in the womb, not bearing this, split open his mother’s thigh and came onto the earth. By his tejas the whole world began to burn to ash.

All the devas, placing Prajāpati before them and overcome by fear, came to him. By the command of the pitṛs and the devas the boy threw that world-destroying tejas into the midst of the waters. Jaladevī took the form of a baḍavā (mare) and drank that excellent tejas, but pained by the raudra tejas she vomited it out. Brahmā came to Trikūṭa mountain and, to protect the world, placed that tejas in the dreadful ocean below it.

Again Parameshṭhī Pitāmaha, when the Sun came into Mesha rāśi, established that raudra tejas in the form of a Rudra as master of the Śaśimaṇḍala. It has three names:

• Aurva, because it was born of the ūru (thigh).
• Dahana, because it burns the world.
• Vāḍava, because it came from the mouth of the baḍavā.

See also Aurva Maharshi, of the Bhṛgu line. The Aurva of this chapter is the Rudra-form of the raudra tejas.

Kshetraśarmā

Sūta says that this Dahana produced tejas from his own mouth, and it became famous as Kshetraśarmā in the house of a Sārasvata brāhmaṇa living at Kurukshetra. He was the foremost among scholars. Defeated by Śaṅkarācārya, he became his śishya, took the vow of brahmacarya, and remained in Kāśī doing upāsanā of Bhagavān Śaṅkara.

Sources

• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 12