Nandin and Mahākāla at Dhavaleśvara

At Indragrāma, on the northern bank of the Śābhramatī river, stands the Dhavaleśvara liṅga. A pious vaiśya named Nandin worshipped it with flowers every day. A fierce hunter worshipped it in his own rough way, with mouth-water, bilva leaves and deer flesh. When Nandin took the liṅga home, the hunter was ready to give his life, and Bhagavān Śiva appeared. Bhagavān Śiva took both men as his gatekeepers. Chapter 151 of the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this.

The place

The Dhavaleśvara liṅga is at Indragrāma, on the northern bank of the Śābhramatī. Indra set it up after he bathed here to be freed from the brahmahatyā (the guilt of killing a brāhmaṇa) that he had taken on by killing Namuci with foam. A desire-yielding cow bathed the liṅga again and again with her milk and turned it white (dhavala). That is how it came to be called Dhavaleśvara.

The liṅga has four names in the four ages. It is Nīlakaṇṭha in the Kṛta age, Hara in the Tretā age, Śarva in the Dvāpara age and Dhavaleśvara in the Kali age.

Nandin’s pūjā

A vaiśya named Nandin lived in Indragrāma. He was deeply devoted to Bhagavān Śiva. Every day at dawn he went to the tapovana (grove of austerity) where the Dhavaleśvara liṅga stood. He worshipped it with flowers, by the rites laid down in the śāstras. This daily pūjā was the highest act of his life.

The hunter’s worship

A greedy hunter, who killed deer and other creatures, was walking one day along the Śābhramatī bank. By chance he came to the Dhavaleśvara liṅga. It was beautifully decked with the flowers and fruits that Nandin had left. The hunter saw it and embraced it. Then he went to the river to drink.

He came back with his mouth full of water. He had bilva leaves in one hand and deer flesh in the other. He then did these things:

• He scattered Nandin’s offerings with his foot, without meaning to.
• He bathed the liṅga with the water from his mouth.
• He offered the bilva leaves from one hand.
• He offered the deer flesh from the other hand.
• He bowed down flat before the liṅga.

He took this worship, which began by accident, as his own. He said: “From today, O Śaṅkara, you are my master and I am your devotee.” Then he went home.

Nandin’s alarm

The next morning Nandin came and found his careful offerings scattered and spoiled. He was alarmed and told his family priest. The priest proposed that they hide and catch the one who did it.

The following morning they watched. The hunter came again. He looked terrible and fierce, and he carried his bow. He did exactly the same: he scattered the flowers with his foot, bathed the liṅga with water from his mouth, and offered bilva leaves and flesh. Nandin and his priest were afraid of his fearsome look. But they saw that he did the same acts every time, and that he did them with complete sincerity.

Nandin takes the liṅga home

The spoiling of his worship troubled Nandin. He decided to keep the Dhavaleśvara liṅga safe in his own home and to worship it there. The liṅga was taken from the tapovana and set up in Nandin’s house.

The next morning the hunter came and found the liṅga gone. He was broken by grief. He had lost his only refuge and his master. In his pain he cut off parts of his own body as an act of fierce devotion, and he decided to give up his life for Bhagavān Śiva. He raised his sword to cut off his own head as an offering. At that moment Bhagavān Śiva appeared before him in person.

Bhagavān Śiva’s grace

Bhagavān Śiva was deeply pleased by the hunter’s great bhakti. It was not shown in the usual way of worship. It was raw and without limit. Bhagavān Śiva took both the hunter, Mahākāla, and the devoted Nandin into his service as gatekeepers at Kailāsa.

So Nandin the pious vaiśya and Mahākāla the fierce hunter were very different men. Their love for the same liṅga joined them. Both won the highest honour, which is to stand at Bhagavān Śiva’s own door.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 151