Pārvatī’s Stotra to Śiva

Pārvatī’s stotra to Bhagavān Śiva was sung at Dharmāraṇya when Bhagavān Śiva had fallen into a mūrcchā (state of unconsciousness) in that kshetra (sacred field). Pārvatī offered it to wake him. It is found in the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 20.

The stotra is unusual. It uses six Śākinī-bījas, which are kūṭāksharas (hidden seed-syllables) of the Atharvaṇa tradition, and it also praises Bhagavān Śiva with common Śaiva names.

The setting

At Dharmāraṇya, Bhagavān Śiva fell into a mūrcchā within the kshetra. Pārvatī found him in this state. She bound him. Then she performed pañcāgni tapas, the five-fire austerity, in which one sits among four fires with the blazing sun overhead as the fifth fire. She offered this stotra to rouse him. In it she used both the secret Śākinī-bījas and the common Śaiva names.

The Śākinī-bījas

The stotra uses six Śākinī-bījas from the Atharvaṇa tradition. They are kūṭāksharas: hidden seed-syllables, each one a short and secret call that carries the full power of its śakti. They call on six forms of śakti:

  1. Śākinī, the fierce śakti linked with the sixth cakra, the ājñā.
  2. Ḍākinī, the śakti who presides over the mūlādhāra.
  3. Kākinī, the śakti of the anāhata.
  4. Hākinī, the śakti of the ājñā.
  5. Ēkinī, the single, undivided śakti.
  6. Lākinī, the śakti who presides over the maṇipūra.

The names of Śiva

Along with the kūṭāksharas, Pārvatī praises Bhagavān Śiva with common names:

  • Sarvarūpa: of all forms, taking every form.
  • Vṛshabhadhvaja: whose banner bears the bull (vṛshabha).
  • Jaṭādhara: who bears matted locks (jaṭā).
  • Nīlakaṇṭha: the blue-throated one.
  • Kṛpāsindhu: the ocean of compassion.
  • Kālarūpa: whose form is time, or death, itself.

Together with the Śākinī-bījas, these names make a stotra of two layers. The outer layer is common Śaiva praise. The inner layer is the secret Atharvaṇa call.

Dharmāraṇya as Dhara-kshetra

In this chapter Dharmāraṇya is also called Dhara-kshetra and Dharā-kshetra, the kshetra of Dharā, the earth. The Mukteśvara liṅga is named as the liṅga at this place.

The phalaśruti

Those who bathe at Dharmāraṇya on Āśvayuja kṛshṇa caturdaśī (the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Āśvayuja) are freed from all pāpa (sin). This is the phala declared for the stotra and for bathing at Dharmāraṇya in connection with this event.

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 20