Omkāreśvara in Kāśī

Omkāreśvara is the first and foremost of the fourteen supreme Liṅgas of the Mukti-kshetra of Kāśī. It lies on the north bank of the Matsyodarī lake, which is also called Macchodarī.

Chapters 73 and 74 of the Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Uttarārdha) tell how Brahmā did tapas in Kāśī for a thousand Yugas. At the end of it, the five parts of Praṇava (OM) showed themselves to him as five Liṅgas. These five make up the Omkāreśvara group. Bhagavān Śiva came out of this Liṅga, gave Brahmā the power to create the universe, and promised to stay in the Liṅga always. The chapters also tell of Mādhavī, a singer’s daughter who merged bodily into the Liṅga through her great devotion.

Brahmā’s tapas and the five Liṅgas

Brahmā wanted to know the deepest nature of the Absolute. He did tapas in Kāśī for a thousand Yugas with full attention. At the end, a great radiance rose upward from the seven nether worlds. Brahmā slowly came out of samādhi and opened his eyes. He saw the five parts of Praṇava before him as five Liṅgas:

  1. A-kāra Liṅga: it has the quality of Sattva, is the source of the Ṛgveda, and is the form of Nārāyaṇa.
  2. U-kāra Liṅga: it has the form of Rajas, is the source of the Yajurveda, and is the form of Brahmā himself.
  3. M-kāra Liṅga: it has the form of Tamas, is the source of the Sāmaveda, and is the form of Rudra.
  4. Nāda Liṅga: the sound-absolute, the form of the highest bliss.
  5. Bindu Liṅga: the subtlest cause, the cause of all causes.

Together these five make up the Omkāreśvara group. The central Liṅga that holds them all is called Omkāreśvara or Praṇaveśvara. The Kāśī Khaṇḍa explains that the sound OM “protects (avat) and raises (uddharate) the devotee”, and that this is why it has this name. (Chapter 73)

Brahmā’s hymn: the Brahmāstava

When Brahmā saw the Liṅga, he made and sang a hymn of forty verses, the Brahmāstava, in praise of Bhagavān Śiva as Omkāreśvara. The hymn calls Bhagavān Śiva one with every letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, every musical note, every poetic mood, and every form of dance (Lāsya and Tāṇḍava). It calls him the highest Brahman, who makes, keeps and ends all things by merely opening and closing his eyes. It ends with these words: “You are the one who praises; you alone are the praise; you alone are always the one praised. I know ‘Om namaḥ śivāya’ alone. I do not know anything else.” (Chapter 73)

The varas of Bhagavān Śiva to Brahmā

Bhagavān Śiva appeared from the Liṅga and gave Brahmā three varas (boons):

  1. The power to create the universe: “By the power of this Liṅga, you will understand everything as it is and will create the universe of moving and unmoving beings.”
  2. Rule as Pitāmaha, the grandfather of all.
  3. The permanent presence of Bhagavān Śiva in this Liṅga as Omkāreśvara.

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa says that the region of Brahman (moksha) cannot be far from a person who pleases this Liṅga. (Chapter 73)

Matsyodarī Tīrtha

Next to Omkāreśvara lies the Matsyodarī Tīrtha, a lake. On the eighth and the fourteenth lunar days, sixty crore tīrthas join its waters. When the Varaṇā river in flood meets the Gaṅgā near Praṇaveśa, that meeting brings very great puṇya (merit). Bathing at Matsyodarī in front of Omkāreśvara removes the pāpa (sin) of brahmahatyā, the killing of a brāhmaṇa. The Tārā Tīrtha lies to the west of Omkāreśvara. (Chapter 73)

Mādhavī merges into the Liṅga

Chapter 74 tells of Mādhavī, a daughter of the musician Pushpabatu. She was born with the face of a vulture, because of a pāpa from her past life, when she was a frog and ate the offerings at the Liṅga. But she had great knowledge of music. In spite of her face, she gave herself fully to Omkāreśvara. She swept the grounds, made garlands, served the Pāśupata ascetics, and sang the names of the Liṅga without rest.

On the fourteenth day of the bright half of Vaiśākha, the festival crowd went away. She swept and worshipped alone. She sang and danced before Omkāreśvara and was slowly taken into the Liṅga with her body. She became a bright radiance that filled the sky. The Pāśupata teachers saw it. To this day the fourteenth day of the bright half of Vaiśākha is kept as the yearly festival of Omkāreśvara. (Chapter 74)

Greatness among the tīrthas

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa says: “Avimukta is the greatest sacred place in the whole universe. Even greater than it is Omkāra on the banks of Matsyodarī.” To visit Omkāreśvara alone is the same as visiting all the Liṅgas on the whole earth. If a man bows to Praṇaveśa and then dies elsewhere, he is born again in Kāśī and gains moksha. (Chapters 73–74)

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 73–74.