Śivaśarman of Mathurā

Śivaśarman · śiva-śarman

Vishṇuśarmā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vishṇuśarmā.

Śivaśarman was a brāhmaṇa (priestly scholar) of Mathurā. He had learning, wealth, sons and a full worldly life. In old age he saw that he had done no spiritual practice at all. He set out to visit the seven moksha-purīs (cities that give liberation). After he died, his jīva (individual being), carried by the merit of that pilgrimage, passed through all the worlds in turn. At the end he reached moksha (liberation).

His story is the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s main teaching on the power of tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage to holy places).

Life in Mathurā

Śivaśarman was the son of a learned brāhmaṇa of Mathurā. His education was very wide:

  • He studied all the Vedas completely and understood their meaning.
  • He mastered the Dharmaśāstras and the Purāṇas.
  • He knew all six Aṅgas (the helping subjects of the Vedas), logic, and Pūrva and Uttara Mīmāṃsā.
  • He knew Dhanurveda (archery and arms), dance and political economy.
  • He knew the sciences of horses and elephants, and various arts.
  • He was expert in Mantraśāstra.
  • He knew the languages of other countries and the scripts of foreign lands.

By honest and pious means he earned wealth. He enjoyed pleasures as was right for his stage of life. He had sons of good character and shared his property among them. His life was one of full worldly success. This is told in the Skanda Purāṇa, Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7.

The turning point

In old age, when grey hairs came, Śivaśarman was seized by sharp fear. He thought of all that he had not done:

  • He had not worshipped Śiva, Vishṇu, Gaṇeśa, Sūrya or Mahāmāyā.
  • He had not performed yajñas (fire rituals) or given the gifts that go with them.
  • He had not served the sacred Tulasī grove.
  • He had not fed brāhmaṇas.
  • He had not planted trees, dug ponds, or given cows, land or gold.
  • He had not built a temple or set up a liṅga.
  • He had not given anna-dāna (gifts of food) or jala-dāna (gifts of water).

His lament lists all the kinds of giving and pūjā (worship) that build up spiritual wealth, and he had done none of them. Yet old age had come and little time was left. This is told in Chapter 7.

Pilgrimage to the seven moksha-purīs

Śivaśarman decided to make up for this by pilgrimage. He set out to visit the seven moksha-purīs. These are the seven cities that the śāstras declare give liberation to all who visit them.

  1. Ayodhyā, the city of Bhagavān Rāma.
  2. Mathurā, the city of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. It was his own home city, which he now approached as a holy tīrtha.
  3. Māyā (Haridvāra), where Gaṅgā comes down to the plains.
  4. Kāśī, the highest moksha-purī, the city of Bhagavān Śiva’s tāraka-mantra (the mantra that carries one across).
  5. Kāñcī, the city of Kāmākshī Devī and Ekāmreśvara.
  6. Avantikā (Ujjayinī), the city of Mahākāleśvara.
  7. Dvārakāvatī, the holy city founded by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

At each city he did all the prescribed snānas (ritual baths), pūjās and rites, and he completed the pilgrimage. Then he died. This is told in Chapter 7.

The journey through the worlds after death

After his death, Śivaśarman’s jīva was given power by the merit of his seven-city pilgrimage. It rose through all the worlds in order:

  • Yamapurī
  • Apsarā-loka
  • Sūrya-loka, with the seventy names of Sūrya
  • Vahni-loka, where Viśvānara (Gṛhapati) was born
  • Varuṇa-loka
  • Nirṛti-loka
  • Vāyu’s Gandhāvatī
  • Kubera’s Alakā
  • Somaloka
  • the world of the stars
  • Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn
  • the Saptarshi-maṇḍala (the circle of the seven ṛshis)
  • Dhruvaloka, where the story of Dhruva is told
  • Maharloka, Janaloka and Tapoloka
  • Satyaloka, where Brahmā himself praised Kāśī as higher than all created worlds

He then received the Caturbhujābhisheka and reached final liberation.

What the story teaches

Agastya tells the story of Śivaśarman to Lopāmudrā. It is the great example of what a pilgrimage to the seven holy cities can bring. Śivaśarman had neglected all spiritual practice in his active life, and in old age his sincere pilgrimage won an extraordinary reward in the worlds. The Kāśī Khaṇḍa gives this as a teaching of hope. Even a person who has spent a whole life on worldly aims can reach liberation through sincere tīrtha-yātrā.

Sources

  • Skanda Purāṇa, Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 7–24 (Chapter 7 for his life, turning point and pilgrimage)