Gṛhapati Avatāra: Śiva Born as Agni

This narrative comes from the Śata Rudra Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa, Chapters 13 to 15. It tells how Parameśvara Śiva was born as Gṛhapati, the son of the great ṛshi Viśvānara and his wife Śucishmatī, and how he became Agni, lord of the fire-loka. It moves in three stages. First, Viśvānara does tapas (austerity) at the Vīreśa liṅga in Kāśī, and Śiva appears as an eight-year-old boy and promises to be born as his son (Chapter 13). Next comes the birth of Gṛhapati and Nārada’s warning of danger (Chapter 14). Last, Gṛhapati does his own tapas at Kāśī, is tested by Indra, is accepted by Śiva, and is made lord of Agni (Chapter 15).

Viśvānara and Śucishmatī

The mahāṛshi (great seer) Viśvānara belonged to the Śāṇḍilya gotra (family line). He was a devoted follower of Śiva and lived at Narmapura on the bank of the Narmadā. He knew all the śāstras and kept good conduct (sācāra). He was a master of Śaiva practices and a perfect householder. Each day he performed the five yajñas (pañca-yajñas) and pleased the devas, the pitṛs (ancestors) and his guests.

After many years of this life, his wife Śucishmatī, a faithful wife (pativratā) firm in her vows, came to him with a heartfelt request: “O my husband, if I am worthy of a vara (a boon), give me a son equal to Maheśvara himself. I ask for nothing else.”

Viśvānara thought in his heart: “What an extraordinary request! This wish is beyond imagination. Only Śaṅkara can fulfil it. Śaṃbhu himself must have put these words in her mouth, for who else could ask such a thing?” He decided to do tapas. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 13)

The tapas at Kāśī: the Vīreśa liṅga

Viśvānara set out for Kāśī, the eternal city of Viśveśvara, where Bhagavān Śiva lives in his own form as lord of all. He reached Vārāṇasī and bathed at Maṇikarṇikā, shedding what had gathered over countless births. He visited all the liṅgas of Kāśī and bathed in all its kuṇḍas (holy pools) and tīrthas (holy places). He honoured all the Vināyakas, paid his respects to Bhairava, and worshipped Ādikeśava and the other devas.

Viśvānara then thought about which liṅga would give him the boon he wanted most quickly. He decided that the Vīreśa liṅga was the most powerful for granting a son. It is famous as the Siddha-liṅga, because countless siddhas (perfected beings) gained siddhi (perfection) by worshipping it. He bathed in the waters of Candra-kuṇḍa, took a firm vrata (vow), and began a year of extraordinary tapas with a strict order of fasting:

One meal a day for a month.
Then only meals taken at night.
Then only what came without asking.
Then fasting alone.
Then milk.
Then fruits and roots.
Then a handful of sesame seeds.
Then water only.
Then pañcagavya (the five products of the cow).
Then the cāndrāyaṇa-vrata (the moon-linked fast).
Then drops of water from the tips of darbha grass.
Then air alone.

Through this whole year he performed the abhisheka (ritual bathing) of the Vīreśa liṅga three times a day with the deepest devotion. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 13)

Śiva appears as an eight-year-old boy

In the thirteenth month of his tapas, early one morning, Viśvānara was returning from his bath in the Gaṅgā. A wonderful vision then appeared to him from within the liṅga itself. It was a boy of eight years. His only ornament was vibhūti (sacred ash). His large eyes, dark with kohl, reached to his ears. His lips were red, and he had beautiful dark matted locks. He wore no clothes, only the ornaments fit for a small child. A faint smile was on his face, and he was softly reciting the Vedic sūktas (hymns). When Viśvānara saw this child, joy filled his whole body. With deep feeling he called out “Namaskāra! Namaskāra!” many times.

Viśvānara then steadied himself and praised Śiva in the form of the child in eight verses called the Abhilāshāshṭakam (the octad of desires). In plain English they say:

Brahman alone is full truth, and the appearance of many things is not real. Rudra alone exists, and there is no second. I take refuge in you, Maheśa, the one without a second.
O Śaṃbhu, you create and destroy all. You are the unbroken being in all forms, yet you have no form. You are the pratyagātman (the inner self), the one without a second who appears as many. I take refuge in Īśvara alone.
As a rope appears as a snake, a shell as silver, and a mirage as water, so the world is mithyā (only an appearance) in you. To know this is to know the world as it truly is. I take refuge in such a Maheśa.
The coolness in water, the heat in fire, the warmth of the sun, the pleasantness of the moon, the fragrance of a flower, the butter in milk: you are all these. O Śaṃbhu, I take refuge in you.
You hear without ears, smell without a nose, come from far away without feet, see without eyes, and know taste without a tongue. Who can fully know your true nature (svarūpa)? I take refuge in you.
The Veda cannot know you directly. Vishṇu cannot, and Brahmā cannot. The great yogīs cannot, and even Indra cannot. But the bhakta (devotee) can know you. I take refuge in you.
You have no gotra, no birth or death, no form (rūpa), no character (śīla) and no country (deśa), yet you are the master (prabhu) of the three worlds. I serve you. Fulfil my desires.
All arises from you, and all is you alone. You are Gaurīpati, the Digambara (the one clothed in space), supremely peaceful (śānta), the old one, the young one and the child. What truth (tattva) is not filled by you? I bow to you.

(Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 13)

Viśvānara fell down in prostration. The child smiled with delight and said: “O Viśvānara, I am pleased. Ask for any boon.” Overcome, Viśvānara answered: “You are all-knowing (sarvajña), the one who lives within all beings. Why do you make me ask? Do as you see fit.” Śiva smiled and said: “The son that you and Śucishmatī long for will come to you soon and without fail. I myself will be born as your son. He will be called Gṛhapati, and he will be dear to all the devas.” Then he went away. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 13)

The birth of Gṛhapati

Viśvānara went home full of great joy and told Śucishmatī everything. She rejoiced and counted herself fortunate. In due time Viśvānara performed the garbhādhāna rite, and Śucishmatī became pregnant. He then performed the puṃsavana and sīmanta rites in their order. At a good hour, with Bṛhaspati in a kendra (an angle of the chart), with favourable planetary yogas and an auspicious rising sign (lagna), Śucishmatī gave birth to a beautiful, moon-faced child who destroys all calamities. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14)

The birth had all the signs of a great cosmic event. Fragrant winds swept the quarters like the garments of divine women. Great clouds rained flowers. The drums of the devas sounded. All directions became clear, the waters became transparent, and darkness fled. The apsarases led by Rambhā came, together with the women of the vidyādharas, kinnaras, devas, gandharvas, nāgas and yakshas. They all brought auspicious things and sang in sweet voices.

Great maharshis came in large numbers: Marīci, Atri, Pulaha, Pulastya, Kratu, Aṅgiras, Vasishṭha, Kaśyapa, Agastya, Bharadvāja, Gautama, Bhṛgu, Parāśara, Yājñavalkya, Vālmīki, Mārkāṇḍeya, Durvāsa, Nārada and many more. Brahmā came, and Bṛhaspati, and Vishṇu with Garuḍa, and Śiva with Pārvatī, Nandī and Bhṛṅgi. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14)

Brahmā himself performed the jātakarma (the birth rite). He looked at the child’s form and at the signs the Veda teaches, and he gave the name Gṛhapati. He blessed the child with all four Vedas and left on his haṃsa (swan). Śiva and Vishṇu also performed the rites of protection and left. All who had gathered marvelled: “What beauty! What radiance! How perfectly formed! How fortunate is Śucishmatī, for Śiva himself has been born as her son.” (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14)

Viśvānara performed all the saṃskāras (life rites) in order. They were the nāmakaraṇa (naming), the nishkramaṇa (first outing) in the fourth month, the annaprāśana (first solid food) in the sixth month, the cūḍākaraṇa (first haircut) after the first year, and the karṇavedha (ear-piercing) under the Śravaṇā nakshatra. At age five came the upanayana (sacred thread rite) and the start of Vedic study. Gṛhapati learned all the Vedas with their limbs (aṅgas) within one year, and he also showed every virtue of humility and good conduct. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14)

Nārada’s warning of danger

When Gṛhapati was nine years old, the devarshi Nārada came to Viśvānara’s āśrama. He was honoured and given a seat. Nārada looked carefully at the child. He read the lines of his palm, looked inside his mouth, and studied all his marks. Then he said to Viśvānara: “Your son has excellent signs on every limb. But his fate is uncertain. I fear there may be a danger in his twelfth year, from lightning or from fire.” With these words he left. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14)

Viśvānara was struck as if by a thunderbolt. He beat his chest and fell into a faint from grief. Śucishmatī wept bitterly. Gṛhapati stayed calm and unmoved, and gently comforted both parents: “Father, mother, do not grieve. Not even Kāla-Yama can touch this body, which is guarded by the dust of your feet. What need is there to speak at all of mṛtyu (death), which is small and fleeting? Hear my resolve. I will worship Mṛtyuṃjaya, Parameśvara who conquers death, and I will overcome even Mahākāla. I swear this to you as truth.”

The parents were amazed at their son’s steadiness. They called on Śiva’s grace and left the matter to the child’s resolve. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 15)

Gṛhapati’s tapas at Kāśī

Gṛhapati took leave of his parents with prostrations and pradakshiṇa (a walk around them). He set out for Kāśī, the city that even Brahmā and Nārāyaṇa cannot easily approach. Viśveśvara rules it, the Gaṅgā shines there like a garland at its throat, and it glows with the presence of Pārvatī. He arrived, bathed at Maṇikarṇikā, had darśana of Viśveśvara, and bowed with joined hands in great joy.

He then set up an auspicious liṅga with the proper rites. He took vows that those who have not mastered their senses (indriya-jaya) could not keep. Each day he bathed the liṅga with 108 pots of pure Gaṅgā water and offered 1108 flowers, including garlands of black lotus. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 15)

His fasting was severe. For six months he ate only dried leaves, for six months only air, and for six months only drops of water. His mind stayed fixed on Mahāśiva without wavering. After one year of this tapas, as the dangerous twelfth year drew near, Indra came in disguise with his vajra (thunderbolt) and offered him boons. Gṛhapati refused: “I do not want boons from Indra. Śaṅkara alone can give me what I seek.” Indra tried again: “I am the same as Śiva. I am Deva-deva. Take your boon quickly.” Gṛhapati answered sharply: “O seducer of Ahalyā! O corrupt one! O enemy of mountains! Go away. I will take a boon from no one but Paśupati. That is clear.” (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 15)

Furious, Indra raised his blazing vajra. Gṛhapati remembered Nārada’s words. At the sight of the thunderbolt blazing with lightning he was seized with fear and fainted.

At that moment Śaṃbhu appeared. He touched the child again and again and said: “Rise, rise. May all be well for you!” Gṛhapati opened his lotus eyes like one waking from deep sleep. He saw Bhagavān Śiva before him, blazing like a hundred suns. Śiva had the third eye in his forehead and the dark mark at his throat. Pārvatī was at his left side, and the crescent moon was on his head. He had matted hair (jaṭājūṭa), a trident and a bow, a form white as camphor, and an elephant skin (gajacarma) for a garment.

Gṛhapati knew Parameśvara through his guru’s teaching and the Vedic knowledge he had taken in. He was overcome. His voice choked, tears flowed, and his hair stood on end. For a moment he stood as still as a mountain, unable to speak, to bow or to ask for anything. Śiva smiled gently. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 15)

Boons and installation as Agni

Śiva spoke to Gṛhapati: “It was I who came as Indra and frightened you. I was testing you. No Indra, no vajra and no Yama can harm my bhakta. Now receive your boons.” He then declared:

Gṛhapati would receive the Agni-pada, the place and rule of Agni himself, lord of the fire-loka.
Among the lokapālas (guardians of the directions), he would govern the directions lying between Dharmarāja and Indra.
The liṅga he had set up would be famous as Agnīśvara. All who worship it in Kāśī would be freed from fear of lightning, fire, bad digestion and untimely death. They would gain prosperity and in the end reach Agni-loka.

Śiva then entered the liṅga that Gṛhapati had set up.

The Śata Rudra Saṃhitā ends the chapter with a long teaching on the greatness of Agni. Agni purifies every impure thing it touches, and so it has the name Pāvaka. It is the inner self of all beings as the fire of digestion. It is the third eye of Śiva, shown as the visible fire of the world. Offerings of incense (dhūpa), lamps (dīpa) and food (naivedya) given to Agni reach all the devas of the higher worlds. Brāhmaṇas, brahmacārīs and those who do the pañcāgni-tapas (the austerity of five fires) all reach Agni-loka. (Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 15)

Sources

Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 13 (Viśvānara, the Vīreśa liṅga, the Abhilāshāshṭakam)
Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14 (the birth of Gṛhapati, Nārada’s words)
Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 15 (Gṛhapati’s tapas at Kāśī, Indra’s test, Agnīśvara)