Yatinātha and Haṃsa Avatāra

Chapter 28 of the Śata Rudra Saṃhitā tells of two linked avatāras of Bhagavān Śiva. In the Yatinātha Avatāra, Bhagavān Śiva came as a wandering renunciant (yati) to a Bhilla couple named Āhuka and Āhukī, near Mount Arbuda. In the Haṃsa Avatāra, he came as a swan and united Nala and Damayantī in their next birth.

Bhagavān Śiva himself says that the Bhilla couple will be born again as Nala and Damayantī. Āhuka gave his life as a night guard. Āhukī was ready to enter the funeral pyre of her husband (satī). Together these acts were the test that earned Bhagavān Śiva’s grace (anugraha) and the vara (boon) of their next birth.

Āhuka and Āhukī, the devoted Bhilla couple

Near Mount Arbuda lived a Bhilla, a hunter who dwells in the forest, named Āhuka. His wife Āhukī was a woman of great steadiness and discipline. Both were devoted Śivabhaktas, and they performed Śivapūjā (the pūjā of Bhagavān Śiva) with great love.

One day Āhuka went a long way to find food for his wife. In the late afternoon he had not yet come back.

Śiva arrives as the yati

At dusk Śaṃkara wished to test Āhuka. He came to the Bhilla’s home disguised as a yati, a renunciant living a life of tapas (austerity). At that same moment Āhuka, who was a householder (gṛhastha), also came home. With great love he received and honoured the master of renunciants (yatīśvara).

Bhagavān Śiva took the part of a frightened wanderer, as part of his divine test. He spoke to Āhuka in a sad voice: “O Bhilla, give me a place to stay tonight. I will certainly leave at dawn. May you be blessed at all times.”

Āhuka answered him honestly: “O Svāmī, your words are well spoken. But hear mine too. My house is very small. How can you stay?” The yati began to get ready to leave.

But Āhukī thought of her dharma and spoke firmly to her husband: “O Svāmī, give this yati a place! Do not let a guest (atithi) turn away from our door. Think of the dharma of a householder. If you do not honour a guest, dharma itself will leave us. You stay inside in comfort with the yati. I will stand outside with strong weapons and guard the house.”

Āhuka’s self-sacrifice

Āhuka heard his wife’s words, full of dharma and good fortune, and he thought to himself: “How can I send a woman outside and stay indoors myself? If this yati goes to another place, adharma will come to me. Neither choice is right for a householder. Let what must happen, happen. I myself will stay outside.”

He made this firm decision. He settled the yati and his wife inside the house, took up his weapons, and stood guard outside the whole night.

During the night fierce wild animals attacked him again and again. Āhuka was strong and fought back with all his might. But the animals, driven by his prārabdha (the karma already ripe for him), overpowered him and devoured him.

Āhukī’s steadiness and her readiness for satī

At dawn the yati rose and found that the Bhilla who had stood guard for him had been eaten by wild animals. He was struck with deep grief.

Āhukī was herself sunk in grief. She steadied her heart with great courage, looked at the grieving yati and said: “Why do you grieve? What has happened here is auspicious. The one who met death in this way has become blessed (dhanya). He has gained what is truly great. O yati, I will follow him too. Light the funeral pyre for me with joy. This is the sanātana dharma (the eternal duty) of women.”

The yati heard her decision and thought it righteous, and he lit the pyre himself. Āhukī entered it as her dharma required. At that very moment Bhagavān Śiva, the remover of pāpa (sin), appeared in front of her and praised her: “Blessed one! Blessed one! O pure soul, I am pleased with your conduct. Ask for a boon. Nothing is beyond you. I am wholly yours.”

Śiva’s prophecy of the next birth

Āhukī heard the words of Śambhu and was filled with the highest bliss (ānanda). She forgot everything and stood speechless. Bhagavān Śiva, the remover of pāpa, saw her state and was very pleased. He said again, “Ask for a boon.” Then he went on: “My avatāra, the Yati, will take the form of a haṃsa (swan) in your next birth. He will joyfully bring about the union of the two of you.”

Then Bhagavān Śiva told them what their next birth would be: “In the country of Nishadha, in the great royal city of King Vīrasena, this Bhilla Āhuka will be born as the king’s son. There is no doubt that he will become famous as Nala. In the royal city of Vidarbha, you will be born as the daughter of King Bhīma. O pure soul, you will shine with great qualities and become famous by the name Damayantī. Together you will enjoy great royal pleasures. You will reach moksha (liberation), which even the greatest masters of yoga cannot reach.”

The Achaleśa Liṅga and the Haṃsa Avatāra

After he spoke these words, Bhagavān Śiva himself took the form of a Śivaliṅga at that place. Āhuka had never broken dharma, and so the liṅga set up there became known as Achaleśa.

In the next birth it happened as he had said. Āhuka was born as Nala, son of King Vīrasena of Nishadha, and became a famous mahārāja. Āhukī was born as Damayantī, daughter of King Bhīma of Vidarbha, and became famous for her great qualities.

Bhagavān Śiva had earlier appeared as the Yatinātha. Now he took the form of a haṃsa, a divine swan. Because of the great puṇya (merit) of the hospitality that Āhuka and Āhukī had given him in their earlier birth, he joyfully brought Nala and Damayantī together. He served as the divine messenger who carried their love between them. In this way he fulfilled his own prophecy.

The Śata Rudra Saṃhitā says that this charitra (account), which covers Bhagavān Śiva’s two avatāras as Yatīśvara and as the Haṃsa, is supremely pure, gives moksha and is full of wonder. Whoever hears or recites the auspicious charitra of both avatāras reaches the highest goal (paramāgati). It gives all the fruits one wishes for. It gives svarga (heaven), fame and long life, and it increases bhakti (devotion). Whoever hears it will enjoy all pleasures in this world and after death will reach the abode of Bhagavān Śiva.

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Śata Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 28