18 - The holy Pashupata rite

Devas said: —

1-3. Lord Rudra alone is identical with Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara. He is Skanda; he is Indra; he is the fourteen worlds, Ashvins, planets, constellations, stars, firmament, quarters, elements, Sun, moon and the eight planets. He is Prana, Kala, Yama, Mrutyu and Amruta.152 He constitutes things of the past, present and future; he is the universe as well as truth. Obeisance to him.

152. amrutah — moksharupah ST. in the form of salvation.

4. At the outset you had been the universe, you are Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah. At the end also you are of the form of the universe. You are always at the head of the universe.

5-6. You are the sole153 Brahman. You are dual 154 in form, triple 156 in form. You are beneath.156 You are the lord of Devas. You are peace, nourishment, and contentment. You are what is offered and what is not offered in Homa. You are the universe and non-universe. You are what is given and what is not given. You are Ishvara. You are what is done and what is not done. You are certainly the great Deva and the lesser Deva. You are the greatest goal of the good as well as of the bad. You are Shankara.

153. Cf. the oft-quoted formula “ekam eva brahma na dvitiyam”.

154. dvau i.e Prakruti and Purusha.

155. tridha — threefold in the form of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.

7-8. May we drink soma juice and become immortal. May we approach light and not go to Devas. Indeed, what will the enemy do to us? Is death synonymous with immortality? 156 This form of Shiva is beneficent to the universe. It is divine, imperishable, subtle and unchanging.

156. apama somam. RV. VIII. 8. 48. TS. 3. 2. 5. 4.

9-10. It is holy. It pertains to Prajapati. It is gentle. It cannot be comprehended. It is unchanging. It can be grasped by the mind 157 just as the wind is grasped by a gaseous thing.

157. agrahyenapi grahyam, yatha sparshagunena vayuh ST. just as air is perceived through its quality 'touch’, similarly the ungraspable lord is grasped by mental realization.

It swallows the gentle by means of the gentle refulgence of its own sportively. Obeisance to the trident-bearing lord who puts a stop to everything and grabs everything.

11-12. The deities are stationed in the heart, in the vital breath. You are one always present in the heart in the form of the three Matras. You are beyond them. Your head is to the north; your feet are to the south. You are directly attached to the north; you are the eternal Omkara.

13-14. What is Omkara is Pranava itself pervading every- thing. The Infinite being (Tara), the subtle being (Sukshma) and the refulgence called Vaidyuta (pertaining to the lightning), the great Brahman — all these are Ishana, Rudra, Maheshvara, the great Deva.

15. That which uplifts is Omkara. Pranava is Omkara because it protects the vital breaths.

16-17. The eternal lord pervades everything. Hence, he is all-pervasive. Rudra the greatest cause is infinite because neither Brahma nor Vishnu nor others could trace out his beginning or end. He who redeems from the ocean of worldly existence is called Tara.

18. Lord Nilalohita is subtle and stays always in the heart in the bodies, Hence, he is called Sukshma (subtle).

19. He is both blue and red since both Pradhana and Purusha merge in him. Since the semen flows out from him he is termed Shukla.

20-21. Since he is refulgent, he is mentioned as Vaidyuta. He is Parabrahma because he is huge [Bruhattvat] or because he swells up [Brumhanatvat]. The lord without a second is the fourth Being; he is Parameshvara.

22-24. They call him lshana the heavenly and lordly eye of the universe. The wise such as Indraand others worship Ishana on all occasions. He who is the lord of all lores 158 is Ishana. What the lord sees and causes others to see 159 with the behest what should be seen is the knowledge of the Atman. The great lord himself makes people attain yoga.160 Lord Maheshvara the lord of Devas is, therefore, called “Bhagavan.”

158. Ishanah sarva-vidyanam. TA, 10.47.I; Mahan. U. 17.5.

159. Yadi kshate cha bhagavan. Cf. atha kasmad uchyate bhagavin? yah sarvan bhavan ikshate, atmanam nirikshayati, yogam gamayati— AtharvaShiras — cited in ST.

16o. yogam gamayati — yogam prapayati, it is the lord who sets his devotees on meditation.

25. It is the great lord (Maheshvara) who grasps the worlds duly. He, the lord of Devas, creates everything and resides in them sportively.

26. It is this lord who is present in all quarters. He is the one born at the outset and also one who enters into the foetus. He is one who is born or one who will be born. O men of inferior sight, he stands with his faces all round.

27. He should be assiduously worshipped, this unchanging lord from whom the words recede after not reaching him along with the mind.161

161. “yato” vacho nivartante TA. 8.4.I; 9.I; TU. 2.4.I; 9.I.

26. What the organ of speech utters strenuously is without grasping him. He is the greatest refuge whether Apara or Para.

29. The organs of speech call him omniscient, Nilalohita. This tawny coloured Shiva is the Purusha. Obeisance to him.

30. He is the great Rudra, he is the whole universe 162 in the past, present and future, in many ways, here and there.

162. Cf. “Vishvam bhutam bhuvanam chitram bahudha jatam jayamanam cha yat” TA, 10.16. I; Mahan. U. 13.2.

31. The lord is gold-armed. 163 He is the lord of gold. He is the consort of Uma; the bull-bannered lord is gold-semened.

163. hiranya-bahu— one with golden arms. Cf. “namo hiranya- bahave” VS. 16.17; TS. 4.5.2.I.

32-34. The lord is odd-eyed. He is the creator of the universe, his vehicle is the universe. It is he who, at the outset, created Brahma 164 as his eternal son and gave him perfect knowledge revealing the Atman. Those who perceive Rudra the sole Purusha, oft-invoked and oft-eulogised, having the form of fire, the excellent Deva in the middle of the heart, the lord stationed in the Atman and having the size of the tip of hair are self-possessed and courageous. Theirs is the perennial tranquillity, not of the others.

164. brahmanam vidadhe. Cf. “yo brahmanam vidadhati purvam” — cited in ST.

35. He is the lord greater than the greatest, one who never changes, minuter than the minutest 165 atom, and concealed in the cavity of the heart of living beings.

165. ago api anu. Cf. anor aniyan mahato mahiyan TA. 10.10. I. Mahan. U. 8.3. K.U. 2.20; Shvet. U. 3. 20.

36. He is the abode of this universe, he is stationed in the lotus of the heart; the cavity is deep within 166; the lord is stationed deep within as well as above. 167

166. gahvaram gahanam. ST. explains gahvaram as Akasham— ether or empty space.

167. ST. supplies vahni-shikha and construes it with antashcha Urudhvatah. The flame of fire is stationed in the lotus-heart. Cf. “tasya madhye vahnishikha aniyordhva vyavasthita”— cited in ST.

37. Omkara, Parameshvara, is of the size of the tip of the hair. It is in the middle of the subtle cavity of the heart. He is Ruta the eternal law, the greatest cause.

38. He is the truthful Brahman. He is the Purusha dark and tawny-coloured. He is Virupaksha of sublimated sexuality. He is lshana the source of origin of Brahma.

39. He is the ancient lshana who presides over the fivefold physical body. He is the sole Ishvara who occupies the Yoni (the phallus that is put in the symbol of the pudendum muliebre).

40. He is within the vital breaths. They call him the Linga (symbol) of the mind wherein the qualities of anger, desire and forbearance persist. By dispelling desire that is at the root of the series of causes of worldly existence and by stabilising it in Rudra, he should be meditated upon by means of the intellect.

41. They call him Rudra, the perpetual Parameshvara and the most fixed and greater than the greatest Being.

42-44. One shall meditate upon him who is the procreator of Brahma, Vishnu, Vahni (Fire god) and Vayu (Wind god). A sadhaka should purify himself by means of fire. He shall separately sanctify his limbs. Then the five elemens shall be compressed in the order of their origin and qualities. At the outset, the five Matras shall be contemplated upon, then four, three, two and one in due order. Then the deity shall be meditated upon without any Matra stabilising him at the cerebrum. Becoming immortal thus, one shall perform the Palupata rite.

45. Now, I shall mention this Pashupata rite in brief. One shall duly consecrate the sacred fire repeating the mantras Ruk from Yajus and Saman.

46. He shall observe fast, remain pure after taking bath, and wear white clothes, white sacred thread and white garlands. He shall smear himself with white unguents.

47-52. Free from Rajoguna, he shall perform Homa. He shall become free from sins. The devotee then repeats the following mantras — “May the five vital airs 168 be sanctified. May the organ of speech, mind, feet etc. be sanctified. May all these be sanctified, viz — the ears, tongue, breath, intellect, head, hands, sides, back, belly, calves, penis, vagina, rectum, scrotum, skin, flesh, blood, fat, bones, sound, touch, colour, taste, smell etc. May these elements be sanctified. So also the fat. May, by the grace of Shiva’s will, the cooked rice, the vital airs, mind and perfect knowledge be purified.” He shall then perform the sacrifice with ghee, sacrificial twigs and Charu offerings in due order. Thereafter, he shall extinguish the Rudra fire and take the bhasman assiduously. Repeating the mantra “Agni” 169 etc. the intelligent devotee shall wipe off his limbs and touch them.

168. virajash cha bhavishyati — by performing viraja homa the devotee becomes devoid of rajoguna. According to ST. this homa purifies the internal winds — prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana. Cf. “Pranapanavyanodanasamana me shuddhyantam” TA. 10.5I. I; Mahan. U. 4.20.I5.

169. Agnih TS. 3.I.9.I. There are several mantras addressed to agni. Which mantra is meant is not clear.

53. This Pashupata rite is divine and conducive to liberation from bondage. It is beneficial to the brahmins as well as to Kshatriyas.

54. It is beneficial to deserving Vaisyas and particularly to the ascetics. It is beneficial to those who are in the stage of life of a forest dweller and also to the good householders.

55-57. Salvation of Brahmacharins (religious students), due to this holy rite, has been noticed. One can take ashes from the fire of the Agnihotra sacrifice, repeating the mantra “Agni” etc. and wipe off the limbs and touch them. That brahmin is also a devotee of Pashupati. A learned brahmin who smears himself with ashes is undoubtedly liberated from all sins, even those that are called “mahapatakas” (great sins). The ashes are the virile essence of Fire and a person who uses Bhasnan becomes a virile person.

58. A brahmin engaged in the ablution of Bhasman or a person lying down on the ashes or a person who has conquered his sense-organs will be liberated from all sins and shall attain identity with Shiva.

59. Hence, by all means, the learned man shall sanctify his body by means of Bhasman. The words “re re” shall not be uttered nor shall one say “turn tum” [i.e. one shall not be rude or impolite in speech].

60-62. The lord of Devas does not brook it even if he be Brahma or Vishnu.

The lord said thus: — “O excellent-faced lady, a person who applies Bhasman is on a par with my son Ganesha. What is repugnant to them 170 should be eschewed. A householder who is devoid of Brahman (Vedic knowledge) 170 and who does not wear the caste mark Tripundra falls into the depths of hell. Ail his holy rites of worship, charitable gifts and holy ablutions are in vain like the Homa performed in the ashes.

170. The Purana in this respect shows a compromising nature but the following padas of this verse impose strictness in the observance of Shaivite rites.

63-67. Hence, in the course of all holy rites, the learned men shall wear the caste mark Tripundra.

After saying this and after eulogising the lord in the company of Devas who had smeared themselves with Bhasman, lord Brahma who too applied himself with Bhasman stopped his speech, O king(?).

Thereupon, in order to bless them the lord of the individual souls, graced the place with his presence along with his consort and the Ganas.

Thereafter, Devas eulogised the leading Deva Rudra who was present there, the lord of all, the lord of Devas by means of Rudradhyaya. The bull-bannered lord glanced at Devas with merciful glances in order to grant them boons. The lord, the slayer of the enemies of Devas, said to Devas — “I am pleased.’