Caṇḍa the Hunter
Caṇḍa was a mountain dweller and a hunter. He killed fish, deer and birds on the bank of the Śābhramatī river. His name means “fierce” or “violent.” The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells how he kept the night of Śivarātri without knowing it, and how Bhagavān Śiva’s grace freed him.
Who he was
Caṇḍa lived by violence and had no religious practice. His wife Caṇḍā was also full of pāpa. She suffered from disease, which came from her past actions (karma). Caṇḍa was the last person anyone would expect Śiva to lift up.
The night in the bilva tree
One night Caṇḍa climbed a bilva tree to wait in ambush for a boar. He did not know that a Śivaliṅga, the Khadgadhāreśvara, stood at the foot of that tree. He stayed awake all night, which was the night of Śivarātri. He kept shifting his place as he watched for his prey. Three things happened without his knowing.
- Bilva leaves that he disturbed fell onto the liṅga below. This was the bilva-patra offering (bilva leaves) that Śivarātri asks for.
- Drops of water from his mouth fell onto the liṅga. This was the abhisheka (ritual bathing) that Śivarātri asks for.
- He stayed awake the whole night near a Śivaliṅga. This was the jāgaraṇa (night vigil) that Śivarātri asks for.
So Caṇḍa carried out every part of the Śivarātri worship with no knowledge and no intention. The Purāṇa shows this as the greatest example of the grace of Śivarātri. The night itself gives moksha (liberation) even when it is kept without knowing.
The change in the morning
The worship of that night had purified Caṇḍa. In the morning a dog ate all his food, and his wife Caṇḍā was angry. Caṇḍa did not answer with his usual violence and anger. He decided instead to make one last offering of devotion. He took the Khadgadhāra vow, which means offering his own head to Śiva.
Liberation
Caṇḍa had not yet finished offering himself when Vīrabhadra, the great commander of Śiva, arrived with divine vimānas (flying chariots). Vīrabhadra took Caṇḍa and his wife Caṇḍā straight to the world of Bhagavān Śiva. Caṇḍā carried just as much pāpa, but she was lifted up with him. The power of Śivarātri reached her as well.
What the account teaches
The Purāṇa makes Caṇḍa one of its main examples of grace working through Śivarātri. Even the person with the most pāpa, with no learning, no practice and no intention, is freed by the night of Śivarātri when a Śivaliṅga is there. The bilva leaves that fell by chance and the drops of water from his mouth became holy through the power of that night.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 154