Maṅkaṇaka and Rudra
The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of the ṛshi Maṅkaṇaka, who lived by the Prācī Sarasvatī near Pushkara. When he pricked his hand, sap of plants flowed from the wound instead of blood. He was so glad that he began to dance, and the whole of creation danced with him. Rudra came to stop him, showed him bhasma (sacred ash) flowing from his own thumb, and Maṅkaṇaka bowed to him.
The setting: Prācī Sarasvatī at Pushkara
At Pushkara the Sarasvatī flows in five streams: Suprabhā, Kāñcanā, Prācī, Nandā and Viśālakā. The Prācī stream flows to the east. It is held especially holy for tapas, japa (repeating a mantra) and śrāddha (rites for the forefathers).
Many kinds of ṛshis live on her banks: the vāyubhakshas (who live on air), the jalāhāras (who live on water), the phalāhāras (who live on fruit), the dantolūkhalas (who grind food with their teeth) and the aśmakuṭṭas (who crush grain with stones). They practise many kinds of austerity at the place where Brahmā himself performed his great mahāyajña.
The wonder of the śāka-rasa
Here a brāhmaṇa ṛshi named Maṅkaṇaka was deep in tapas. One day the tip of a darbha (kuśa grass) blade cut his hand. From the wound there flowed no blood but śāka-rasa, the green sap of vegetables.
Maṅkaṇaka was amazed and full of joy. He took it as a sign that his tapas had changed his body, so that even his blood had become the sap of plants. He broke into a joyful dance on the bank of the Prācī Sarasvatī.
Creation dances with him
Maṅkaṇaka’s tapas-śakti (power of tapas) was so great that as he danced, his tejas (radiance) spread out and filled the whole world. All that is rooted and all that moves (sthāvara-jaṅgama) began to dance with him, carried on the tide of his joy. Mountains swayed, rivers shook, and every creature was swept into his dance.
Indra and the devas saw this upheaval. They went to Brahmā and asked him to stop the ṛshi’s dance before it disturbed the order of creation. Brahmā listened, and then sent Rudra to the ṛshi to hold him back.
Rudra’s coming
Rudra came to Maṅkaṇaka on the bank of the Prācī Sarasvatī and said: “O muni, why do you dance? Your dancing has set the whole world dancing. What is the cause?”
The ṛshi was still caught in his joy. He pointed to his hand and showed Rudra the śāka-rasa flowing from it. He said: “Do you not see? Sap of vegetables flows from my wound! This is the wonder I rejoice in and dance for.”
Rudra answered quietly: “I see nothing to wonder at. Look at me.” Without more words he struck his own thumb. From the wound on Rudra’s thumb flowed bhasma, pure white ash, fine as snow, in place of blood. There was no sap and no fluid of flesh, only the sacred ash that is Rudra’s own substance.
Maṅkaṇaka bows to Rudra
When he saw bhasma pour from Rudra’s thumb, Maṅkaṇaka at once grew still. His dance stopped. He was filled with the humility of true understanding, for his wonder was small beside the greatness of Rudra. He fell at the feet of Bhagavān Śiva and offered this stuti (hymn of praise):
“I cannot think of any deva higher than Rudra. You are the ground of this whole world of things that are rooted and things that move. The wise say that you made this whole universe. At the time of pralaya (the dissolution) all this returns into you. Even the devas cannot know you fully. How then could I know you? Brahmā and all the devas can be seen within you. You made all the devas. You make all things go forward through them. Only by your anugraha (grace) do the devas overcome all fear.”
Then he prayed: “By your grace, may my tapas not grow less.”
Rudra’s varas
Rudra was pleased by the ṛshi’s honest humility. He was pleased too that Maṅkaṇaka saw the wonder of the śāka-rasa as nothing before the supreme reality of Rudra. He gave two varas (boons):
- Tapas-vṛddhi (growth of tapas): “By my anugraha, your tapas will grow a thousand times.”
- Sānnidhya (nearness): “I will always dwell here, always, on this very bank of the Prācī Sarasvatī, with you.”
Because Rudra promised to dwell for ever at the Prācī Sarasvatī, the tīrtha became a place of great power of Bhagavān Śiva. The Purāṇa says that those who do japa on the bank of this Prācī Sarasvatī will not meet death in this place again. Those who bathe in the Sarasvatī here receive the fruit of the aśvamedha. Śrāddha done here benefits twenty-one generations.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 18