[Advaita-l] Bhasma dharana mahatmyam in Shiva Purana

V Subrahmanian v.subrahmanian at gmail.com
Tue Jan 2 05:06:08 EST 2018


Bhasma dharana mahatmyam in Shiva Purana

In the Shivapuranam, in the Vayaviya samhita, purva bhaga, a chapter is
dedicated to the description of the Pashupata vrata in great detail. It
says that even Brahma, etc. have performed it and have come to be called
'Pashupata-s'.  The bhasma preparation, the snanam with bhasma, later the
dharanam as tripundra, the atharva shiras mantras to be chanted while doing
so,  are all described there. It also says that those of all aashramas,
including sannyasins and vanaprasthas, have to don the bhasma during the
three sandhya anushthanams. In the course of this the Purana mentions the
Atharva Shira Upanishad as authority.  The worship of Shiva, in the Linga
form, is also enjoined. At the end the Purana, as an aside, states the
maahaatmya of bhasma dharana. The Vrata proper is aimed to secure moksha.
Nowhere does the purana say even remotely that the Atharva Shiaras is an
Upanishat that holds Vishnu as the Jagatkaranam or that the Vrata itself is
aimed at the worship/propitiation of Vishnu.  Thus, this Upanishad, on
several counts, is completely Vaishnava unfriendly.

https://sa.wikisource.org/s/hz8


भस्मच्छन्नो द्विजो विद्वान्महापातकसंभवैः ॥ ७.१,३३.९०
पापैस्सुदारुणैस्सद्यो मुच्यते नात्र संशयः ॥ ७.१,३३.९०
रुद्राग्निर्यत्परं वीर्यन्तद्भस्म परिकीर्तितम् ॥ ७.१,३३.९१
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु वीर्यवान्भस्मसंयुतः ॥ ७.१,३३.९१
भस्मनिष्ठस्य नश्यन्ति देषा भस्माग्निसंगमात् ॥ ७.१,३३.९२
भस्मस्नानविशुद्धात्मा भस्मनिष्ठ इति स्मृतः ॥ ७.१,३३.९२
भस्मना दिग्धसर्वांगो भस्मदीप्तत्रिपुंड्रकः ॥ ७.१,३३.९३
भस्मस्नायी च पुरुषो भस्मनिष्ठ इति स्मृतः ॥ ७.१,३३.९३
भूतप्रेतपिशासाश्च रोगाश्चातीव दुस्सहाः ॥ ७.१,३३.९४
भस्मनिष्ठस्य सान्निध्याद्विद्रवंति न संशयः ॥ ७.१,३३.९४
भासनाद्भासितं प्रोक्तं भस्म कल्मषभक्षणात् ॥ ७.१,३३.९५
भूतिभूतिकरी चैव रक्षा रक्षाकरी परम् ॥ ७.१,३३.९५
किमन्यदिह वक्तव्यं भस्ममाहात्म्यकारणम् ॥ ७.१,३३.९६

It can be noted that the bhasma snana, as part of the Vrata, is not
mandatory for one to be a bhasma tripundra dhaarin. The Purana reverts to
the Vrata, concluding the discourse on the Pashupata Vrata:
*व्रती च भस्मना स्नातस्स्व*यं देवो महेश्वरः ॥ ७.१,३३.९६
परमास्त्रं च शैवानां भस्मैतत्पारमेश्वरम् ॥ ७.१,३३.९७
धौम्याग्रजस्य तपसि व्यापदो यन्निवारिताः ॥ ७.१,३३.९७
तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन कृत्वा पाशुपतव्रतम् ॥ ७.१,३३.९८
धनवद्भस्म संगृह्य भस्मस्नानरतो भवेत् ॥ ७.१,३३.९८

In the chapter that *immediately precedes this*, is a discourse on the
supreme means to be adopted to attain  moksha:

https://sa.wikisource.org/s/hz7

ऋषय ऊचुः
किं तच्छ्रेष्ठमनुष्ठानं मोक्षो येनापरोक्षितः ॥ ७.१,३२.१
तत्तस्य साधनं चाद्य वक्तुमर्हसि मारुत ॥ ७.१,३२.१

Some salient features of the chapter are:


यं वेदादौ स्वरं प्राहुर्वाच्यवाचकभावतः ॥ ७.१,३२.३२
वेदैकवेद्ययाथात्म्याद्वेदान्ते च प्रतिष्ठितः ॥ ७.१,३२.३२
तस्य प्रकृतिलीनस्य यः परस्स महेश्वरः ॥ ७.१,३२.३३

The above is a patent upabrhmanam, allusion, of the famous mahanarayana
Upanishad mantra:

यो देवानां प्रथमं *पुरस्ताद्विश्वाधिको रुद्रो* महर्षिः । हिरण्यगर्भं पश्यत
जायमानँ स नो देवः शुभयास्मृत्या संयुनक्तु ॥१२॥ यस्मात्परं नापरमस्ति
किञ्चित् यस्मान्नाणीयो न ज्यायोऽस्ति कश्चित् । वृक्ष इव स्तब्धो दिवि
तिष्ठत्येकस्तेनेदं पूर्णं पुरुषेण सर्वम् ॥१३॥ न कर्मणा न प्रजया धनेन
त्यागेनैके अमृतत्वमानशुः । परेण नाकं निहितं गुहायां बिभ्राजते यद्यतयो
विशन्ति ॥१४॥ वेदान्तविज्ञानविनिश्चितार्थाः संन्यासयोगाद्यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाः
। ते ब्रह्मलोके तु परान्तकाले परामृताः परिमुच्यन्ति सर्वे ॥१५॥ दह्रं विपापं
वरवेश्मभूत यत् पुण्डरीकं पुरमध्यसँस्थम् । तत्रापि दह्रे गगनं विशोकं तस्मिन्
यदन्तस्तदुपासितव्यम् ॥१६॥ *यो वेदादौ स्वरः प्रोक्तो वेदान्ते च प्रतिष्ठितः
। तस्य प्रकृतिलीनस्य यः परः स महेश्वरः ॥१७॥*  त्रयोदशोऽनुवाकः ।

Also the Purana, cited above, says 'He is known only through the Veda'.



तदधीनप्रवृत्तित्वात्प्रकृतेः पुरुषस्य च ॥ ७.१,३२.३३
अथवा त्रिगुणं तत्त्वमुपेयमिदमव्ययम् ॥ ७.१,३२.३४
मायान्तु प्रकृतिं विद्यान्मायिनं तु महेश्वरम् ॥ ७.१,३२.३४
मायाविक्षोभकोऽनंतो महेश्वरसमन्वयात् ॥ ७.१,३२.३५

The above is the allusion to the famous Shvetashvatara Upanishad mantra: ‘मायां
तु प्रकृतिं विद्यान्मायिनं तु महेश्वरम्’ (श्वे. उ. ४ । १०)  Shankaracharya
has cited this mantra multiple times in the bhashyas. In fact the
Shvetashvatara has been cited profusely  by him.  There are other puranas
too where the Kaivalya and Shvetashvatara Upaishads are patently alluded
to, all in the context of Shiva only and not any other deity.  Same with
the Sri Rudram too.

रुद्दुःखं दुःखहेतुर्वा तद्रावयति नः प्रभुः ॥ ७.१,३२.३६
रुद्र इत्युच्यते सद्भिः शिवः परमकारणम् ॥ ७.१,३२.३६

The above verse from the Shivapuranam chapter cited above has been cited by
Shankara in the Vishnu Sahasra Nama bhashya for the name 'Rudra'.  He cites
this Shivapurana verse there to hold that Shiva is the Supreme Cause,
Jagatkaranam.

What is striking from the above study is that the chapter on Pashupata
vratam and bhasma dharana mahatmyam is immediately preceding, just a few
verses before, the one from which Shankara cites from in the VSN Bhashya.
This chapter from which Shankara cites, is also so patently teaching: शैवो
हि परमो धर्मः श्रेष्ठानुष्ठानशब्दितः ॥ ७.१,३२.२
यत्रापरोक्षो लक्ष्येत साक्षान्मोक्षप्रदः शिवः ॥ ७.१,३२.२

Additional reading:
'Fie upon the forehead that is devoid of Bhasma’

An article on the above topic is available here for download:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/j5apvlkrpx2z36q/Fie_upon_the_
forehead_that_is_devoid_of_Bhasma_F_%281%29.pdf



LINGODBHAVA STORY:

tasya jvālāsahasreṇa brahmaviṣṇū vimohitau // ŚivP_7.2,34.34cd/
visṛjya yuddhaṃ kiṃ tvetadityaciṃtayatāṃ tadā // ŚivP_7.2,34.35ab/
na tayostasya yāthātmyaṃ prabuddhamabhavadyadā // ŚivP_7.2,34.35cd/
tadā samudyatau syātāṃ tasyādyaṃtaṃ parīkṣitum // ŚivP_7.2,34.36ab/
tatra haṃsākṛtirbrahmā viśvataḥ pakṣasaṃyutaḥ // ŚivP_7.2,34.37ab/
manonilajavo bhūtvā gatastūrdhvaṃ prayatnataḥ // ŚivP_7.2,34.37cd/
nārāyaṇopi viśvātmā līlāñjanacayopamam // ŚivP_7.2,34.38ab/
vārāhamamitaṃ rūpamasthāya gatavānadhaḥ // ŚivP_7.2,34.38cd/
evaṃ varṣasahasraṃ tu tvaran viṣṇuradhogataḥ // ŚivP_7.2,34.39ab/
nāpaśyadalpamapyasya mūlaṃ liṃgasya sūkaraḥ // ŚivP_7.2,34.39cd/
tāvatkālaṃ gataścordhvaṃ tasyāṃtaṃ jñātumicchayā // ŚivP_7.2,34.40ab/
śrāṃtotyaṃtamadṛṣṭvāṃtaṃ pāpatādhaḥ pitāmahaḥ // ŚivP_7.2,34.40cd/
590a

That Shankaracharya was aware of the Shivapurana and its contents is clear
from his citing the crucial verse:   '......shivah paramakaaranam.'


warm regards
subrahmanian.v


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