Siddhasamādhi
Siddhasamādhi was a brāhmaṇa ṛshi who lived at the gate of the Mahālakshmī temple in Kolhāpura. He had great powers that came from reciting the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavadgītā again and again. A prince came to him on the direction of Mahālakshmī herself. Siddhasamādhi called all the devas with a mantra, took back the stolen horse of the yajña (fire ritual) from Indra, and brought the dead king back to life by sprinkling consecrated water on his body. His story is the narrative told for the greatness of the twelfth chapter of the Gītā.
Where he lived and what he practised
Siddhasamādhi lived at the doorway of the Mahālakshmī temple in Kolhāpura. Kolhāpura is the great śakti-pīṭha (seat of the Devī’s power) of the southern country. His name means “one whose samādhi (deep meditation) has been made perfect”, or “one who has gained siddhis (powers) through samādhi“.
His only practice was to recite, with care and without a break, the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavadgītā. This is the chapter on devotion (bhakti-yoga). Through this recitation he gained a power so complete that it let him call the devas themselves.
The prince’s request
A prince came to Kolhāpura. His father, King Bṛhadratha, had died while performing a great aśvamedha (horse yajña). The king’s body had been kept by drying it with heated oil. The yajña horse was missing. Indra himself had stolen it at night. The prince could not finish the yajña and could not bring his father back to life, so he turned to Mahālakshmī. She sent him to Siddhasamādhi.
The two feats
Siddhasamādhi did two great things.
- He used his mantra to draw all the devas before him. The prince saw them standing there, their bodies trembling and their palms joined. Siddhasamādhi ordered them to return the horse, and Indra did so at once.
- He went to the place where the dead king’s body lay, made the water holy, and sprinkled it on the king’s head. The king woke and regained consciousness.
The source of his power
The prince was astonished and asked Siddhasamādhi where his power came from. The ṛshi answered simply: “I carefully mutter the twelfth chapter of the Gītā. Due to that I have this power by means of which you regained life and I called the devas and rescued the yajña.”
The king then learned the twelfth chapter from Siddhasamādhi, together with the brāhmaṇas who had gathered. All of them reached good positions.
Why his story matters
Siddhasamādhi shows the teaching of the Purāṇas that steady recitation of one sacred chapter, done with perfection, gives great power. His story is told as the narrative for the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavadgītā. It gives that chapter its māhātmya (account of its greatness) in the sequence of Gītā māhātmya accounts.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 186