Bubhukshu

Bubhukshu, “one who wishes to enjoy”

Grammar: masculine noun and adjective, the desiderative of the root bhuj (to enjoy): “one who wishes to enjoy”. Its pair is mumukshu, “one who wishes to be free”.

Meaning: a seeker of bhoga (enjoyment) or bhukti, the fruits one desires, as against the mumukshu, the seeker of moksha (liberation). In the Śaiva rites of the Agni Purāṇa the two keep different rules.

In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa sets the rules of the bubhukshu beside those of the mumukshu in the Pavitrārohaṇa and in dīkshā.

In the Pavitrārohaṇa. On the night of the rite, after the vigil with music, the one who desires bhoga, after midnight, remembering Bhagavān Śiva, sleeps on a seat of kuśa grass; the one who desires moksha, fasting and one-pointed, sleeps on a bed of bhasma, sacred ash (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 78). When the pavitrakas (sacred threads) are offered, mumukshus offer them in the order ātma-tattva, vidyā-tattva, śiva-tattva, with mantras ending in svāhā; bubhukshus offer them in the order śiva-tattva, vidyā-tattva, ātma-tattva, with mantras ending in namaḥ. At the close, the one who desires bhoga offers all the karma he has done to Bhagavān Śiva and prays to him: “By your anugraha (grace) may I obtain from this karma the fruits my mind desires.” The one who desires moksha prays: “May my karma not be a cause of bondage” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 79).

In dīkshā. Bhagavān Śiva teaches that dīkshā gives both bhoga and moksha. In the samaya-dīkshā, a śishya who desires mukti sits facing north, and one who desires bhukti sits facing east; only the part of the body above the ankles is on the seat. For the seeker of moksha the guru looks over the śishya’s limbs from the feet up to the śikhā; for the seeker of bhoga, from the śikhā down to the feet, with a gracious gaze that spreads Śaiva tejas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 81). In the nirvāṇa-dīkshā the disciples are again seated, those desiring mukti facing north and those desiring bhoga facing east, and each is given three or eight mouthfuls of caru: to the mukti-seeker in a cup of palāśa leaves, to the bhukti-seeker in a cup of aśvattha leaves (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 83).

Related terms: Mumukshu · Bhoga · Bhukti · Mukti · Dīkshā · Pavitrārohaṇa

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 78–79, 81, 83