Daksha’s Śiva Sahasranāma (Brahma Purāṇa)

Dakshakṛta Śiva Sahasranāma · daksha-kṛta śiva sahasra-nāma, “the thousand names of Śiva sung by Daksha”

Daksha’s Śiva Sahasranāma is the stuti of the names of Bhagavān Śiva that Daksha Prajāpati sang after his yajña had been destroyed by Vīrabhadra and the gaṇas of Śiva. It is told in the Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 39–40, where Brahmā tells the munis how Daksha’s aśvamedha was destroyed and made whole again, and Chapter 40 is named for it: the Daksha-kṛta Śiva-stuti, “the stuti of Śiva made by Daksha”. Chapter 39 says that Daksha, kneeling, praised Vṛshabhadhvaja with eight thousand names of Śiva; the printed text of Chapter 40 calls it a Śiva-sahasranāmāvali, a garland of a thousand names, which praises Śiva in his virāṭ-rūpa, his cosmic form. Its names are kept for pārāyaṇa, recitation, and the printed text gives only its closing verses, in which Daksha bows to the mūrtis of Śiva present in every place and every being, and confesses that Śiva, the inner Self of all, is not one to be invited.

Pleased with it, Bhagavān Śiva gave Daksha the fruit of a thousand aśvamedhas and a hundred vājapeyas. The stuti is called the greatest of all stutis, as Mahādeva is the greatest of the devas. It is secret, equal to a mantra, and its phalaśruti promises long life, freedom from fear, the success of every undertaking, freedom from all pāpa and, at the end, a place among the gaṇas of Rudra.

The setting

Brahmā tells the ṛshis that Bhagavān Śiva dwelt with Śailakanyā, the daughter of the mountain, on Jyotisthala, a jewelled peak of Meru, served by the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Aśvins, Kubera, Sanatkumāra and the others, and the apsarasas, while the Gaṅgā in embodied form attended on him. Then Daksha Prajāpati, son of the Pracetases, began an aśvamedha at Gaṅgādvāra. Indra and the devas came on their vimānas, and with Śrī Mahāvishṇu came the Vasus, Rudras, Ādityas, Sādhyas, Maruts, Ūshmapas, Ājyapas, Somapas and the Aśvins, each seeking a share of the yajña.

Dadhīci asked Daksha why he did not honour Paśupati, Parameśvara, who is worthy of pūjā. Daksha answered that he had the eleven Rudras and knew no other Maheśvara, and that he would give a share to Vishṇu, to the Rudras and to every deva, but not to Śaṅkara. Dadhīci said he saw no deity greater than Śaṅkara, and that this yajña would not be fulfilled.

On Meru, Umā asked her husband why he did not go to her father’s yajña, and what dāna, niyama or tapas she should perform so that he would receive his share. Bhagavān Śiva, delighting in her, told her that the knowers of the Veda call him Yajñeśvara and praise him with the Rathantara sāman, and that he would now go to ask for his share. From his mouth, from his fire, he sent forth a son and commanded him: “Go to Daksha’s yajña and destroy the kratu he is performing.” That son was Vīrabhadra, who dwells in the cremation ground, and Maheśvarī took the fierce form of Bhadrakālī and went with him. From the pores of his body Vīrabhadra created gaṇeśvaras of fierce shape, and at their cries the mountains split, the ocean was stirred, the fires would not burn and the sun grew pale. They burned the yajñaśālā, tore up the yūpas, ground the vessels to powder and ate the mountains of food. The yajña took the form of a deer and fled into the sky, and from a drop that fell from Vīrabhadra’s brow as he pursued it there arose a dark, red-eyed being who burned the yajña like dry grass.

Brahmā then worshipped Mahādeva: “All the devas will give you a share of the yajña. You are the overlord of the devas; withdraw this fierce form. This being born of your sweat will move through the worlds by the name Jvara; make him into many forms, for the earth cannot bear his tejas in one.” When a share was assigned to him, Bhagavān Pinākapāṇi was supremely pleased, and Daksha took refuge in Bhava with all his heart. Parameśvara withdrew his outgoing gaze, smiled gently and said, “What shall I do for you?” Daksha, frightened and doubting in his mind, with joined palms and tears, asked one vara: that though all the food of the yajña had been eaten and scattered, the yajña should not be in vain but bear fruit. Hara said, “Tathāstu,” “so be it.” Then Daksha placed his knees on the ground, bowed to Mahādeva, the three-eyed overseer of dharma, and praised Vṛshabhadhvaja with the names of Śiva.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 39–40

The stuti

Seeing the greatness of Śambhu, Daksha, with joined palms and bowed head, began his praise. The printed text notes that the stuti is a Śiva-sahasranāmāvali praising Śiva in his virāṭ-rūpa, and that, since it is for pārāyaṇa, the meaning of its verses 2 to 81 is not written out. Its closing verses are given in order:

  • “O Sadāśiva, your eyes are the moon and the sun. Your heart is Brahmā. Your body is the agnishṭoma, gained by dharma and karma.”
  • “Your true greatness not even Brahmā, Hari and the ṛshis know.”
  • “Your Śiva-mūrtis, your auspicious forms, are subtle. May they grant me darśana.”
  • “As a father guards the son he has begotten, guard me with your mūrtis. Protect me, who am fit for your protection. You are gracious to your devotees; I am your devotee.”
  • “May that mūrti which, enveloping thousands of purushas, stands beyond the ocean, be my protection.”
  • “Namaskāra to you, whose nature is yoga, whom those who have conquered sleep, restrained the breath, risen to sattva and see all equally behold as the Supreme Light (paraṃjyoti), fixing the mind between the brows.”
  • “Namaskāra to that Śiva who at pralaya devours all beings and lies in the midst of the waters.”
  • “Namaskāra to that mūrti of yours which, entering the mouth of Rāhu, drinks Soma by night and swallows the Sun by day.”
  • “May the purushas the size of a thumb, who dwell as Soma and Agni in the bodies of all embodied beings, always protect me, nourish me and satisfy me.”
  • “Namaskāra to those mūrtis of yours by whom the embryo comes to be, who dwell within the waters, who receive the havis with svāhā and svadhā, by whom beings are born, who make beings weep, who give them joy and who give them pain.”
  • “Namaskāra to your mūrtis that are in the ocean, in river-forts, on mountains, in caves, at the roots of trees, in cowsheds, in forests and thickets, at crossroads, on royal roads, on prepared ground, in assemblies, in the stables of elephants and horses, in ruined gardens, in temples, in the five elements, in the directions and the intermediate directions, between Indra and Sūrya, in the rays of the sun and moon, in Pātāla and above it.”
  • “You are sattva; you are everywhere; you are the master of all beings (sarva-bhūta-pati) and the inner Self of all beings. Therefore you are not one to be invited.”
  • “You alone are worshipped by yajñas with their many dakshiṇās, and you are also their doer. Therefore you are not one to be invited.”
  • “The subtle māyā is you; by it I too was deluded. For this reason too I could not invite you.”
  • “Be gracious to me. You are my refuge, my goal (gati), my support (pratishṭhā). I hold that there is none other than you.”

Having praised Maheśvara thus, Daksha fell silent.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 40

Śiva’s grace

Bhagavān Śiva, pleased, said: “I am satisfied with the stava you have made. You are steadfast in excellent vratas. Why say more? You will come into my presence.” Then Bhava, the master of the three worlds, the all-knowing, comforted him: “Daksha, do not grieve over the destruction of the yajña. You have seen that it was I who struck it down. Receive from me again the excellent fruit of your yajña: by my prasāda you will now gain the fruit of a thousand aśvamedhas and a hundred vājapeyas. Know the Vedas with their six aṅgas and the whole of sāṅkhya and yoga.”

He told Daksha of an observance of twelve years that he had fashioned, which devas and dānavas cannot perform and which those without wisdom censure: joined with the dharmas of varṇa and āśrama, firm and well ordered, fit for those of every āśrama, a mantra that frees all paśus, all bound beings, from their bonds, giving abundant fruit when it is well practised. “Let go of the fever of the mind,” he said, and Deveśa withdrew from sight with Umā Devī and his retinue.

Then Bhava, for the peace of all beings, divided Jvara: as heat in the head of elephants, śilājit in mountains, nīlikā in water, the slough of snakes, khoraka in cows, saline barren soil in the earth, blindness in dogs, randhrāgata in horses, the falling of tail feathers in peacocks, redness of the eyes in cuckoos, enmity in mahātmās, discord among all people, hiccups in parrots, fatigue in tigers, and in human beings fever itself, at birth, at death and between the two. This Jvara is the very tejas of Maheśvara, and Īśvara is to be bowed to and worshipped by all beings. One who reads this account of the origin of Jvara with a full heart becomes free of disease, joyful, and gains all he desires.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 40

The rite of recitation

Before the pārāyaṇa, one should offer bali (pūjā) separately to Kumārasvāmī, Gaurī and Nandīśvara, with the senses controlled and keeping niyama, and then take up these names of Śiva in order. The stava is secret (guhya) and equal to a mantra; no one knows it, and it must not be told to just anyone. It should be recited to vipras at every parva, and by this the dvija attains Rudraloka; there is no doubt.

The phalaśruti

  • One who recites this Śiva-stava made by Daksha never meets with what is inauspicious, and gains long life.
  • As Bhagavān Mahādeva is the greatest of all the devas, so this stuti is the greatest of all stutis.
  • Those who desire fame, svarga, the wealth of the devas, riches, victory and learning should read it with bhakti.
  • One afflicted by disease, sorrow or fear, and one appointed to the king’s service, is freed from fear by reading it.
  • In this very body he enjoys the gaṇas of Śiva and the bliss of Maheśvara, and becomes a gaṇādhipati.
  • Yakshas, piśācas, nāgas and vināyakas cause that devotee no obstacle.
  • A woman who hears it with bhakti, her mind fixed on Śiva, is honoured in her father’s house and in her husband’s house.
  • For one who hears or chants it every undertaking succeeds without obstacle, and whatever is resolved in the mind and spoken in words is fulfilled.
  • One who recites the names in order after the bali gains what he desires, enjoyments and the purushārthas, and at death goes to svarga with a thousand apsarās.
  • Even one full of desires and grave pāpas is freed of all pāpa by reading it; after the body falls he attains sāyujya with the gaṇas, is honoured by suras and asuras, and, mounted on the bull and on a vimāna, follows Rudra until the bhūta-pralaya.
  • Even those of pāpa-birth, vaiśyas, women and śūdras who read or hear it attain Rudraloka.

“Thus spoke Bhagavān Vyāsa, the son of Parāśara.”

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 40

Sources

  • Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 39–40