Kṛshṇa’s Stotra to Śiva at Kailāsa
This is the stotra that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa offered to Bhagavān Śiva when the two met face to face on Kailāsa. It is found in the Bhavishya Parva of the Harivaṃśa (Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa), in Chapters 82 and 83. The stotra is in Sanskrit. It is addressed to Bhagavān Śiva and praises him as Maheśvara, the master of cosmic dissolution. It teaches that Hari and Hara are one.
The setting
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa had done tapas at Kailāsa for twelve years. Then Bhagavān Śiva came to the mountain. Hari and Hara, the Vaishṇava and the Śaiva forms of the one Parameśvara, met face to face. Before this meeting, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa offered a Sanskrit stotra to Bhagavān Śiva. Here Kṛshṇa, the avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, bows before Bhagavān Śiva.
What the stotra praises
Bhagavān Śiva as master of dissolution. Kṛshṇa praises Bhagavān Śiva as the master of pralaya (the dissolution of the world). All created things return to him at the end of a kalpa. He is the destroyer who makes new creation possible.
The forms of Bhagavān Śiva. The stotra praises the forms that carry the deepest meaning: the half-moon on his brow, the Gaṅgā flowing from his jaṭā (matted hair), the holy serpent around his neck, the triśūla (trident) and the three eyes. Each is praised as a mark of his being beyond the world. The moon stands for time and its passing. The Gaṅgā stands for the grace that flows from the highest. The triśūla stands for mastery over the three worlds and the three guṇas.
Maheśvara, the giver of all that is auspicious. The stotra praises Bhagavān Śiva as the one whose name means “auspicious” (śiva). All grace, all blessings and all moksha flow through him as Maheśvara, the master of māyā. His grace does not depend on whether the one who receives it deserves it. It comes from his own endless kindness.
Hari and Hara as one. The deepest teaching of the stotra is that Kṛshṇa and Bhagavān Śiva are not two but one. It teaches that Hari is Hara and Hara is Hari.
Sources
- Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa (Harivaṃśa), Bhavishya Parva, Chapters 82 and 83