Chapter 9 - Śiva’s incarnations as Yogācāryas

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:—

1. O lord, please enumerate the incarnations of Śiva as Yogācārya and his disciples in the different circles of Yugas.

Upamanyu said:—

2-6. The following twenty-eight are the Yogācāryas in the seventh Manvantara, in the Vārāha Kalpa:—Śveta, Sutāra, Madana, Suhotra, Kaṅka, Laugākṣi, Mahāmāya, Jaigīṣavya, Dadhivāha, Ṛṣabha, sage Ugra, Atri, Supālaka, Gautama, sage Vedaśiras, Gokarṇa, Guhāvāsin, Śikhaṇḍin, Lāṅgulin, Mahākāla, Śūlin, Muṇḍīṣa, Viṣṇu, Somaśarman, and Lakulīśvara. These are in the order of the Yugas.

7. Each of these had four disciples of quiet minds. They are from Śveta to Ruṣya. I shall enumerate them in the proper order.

8-20. Śveta, Śvetaśikha, Śvetāśva, Śvetalohita, Dundubhi, Śatarūpa, Ṛcīka, Ketumān, Vikośa, Vikeśa, Vipāśa, Pāśanāśana, Sumukha, Durmukha, Durgama, Duratikrama, Sanat, Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana, Sudhāman, Virajas, Śaṅkha, Aṇḍaja, Sārasvata, Megha, Meghavāha, Survāhaka, Kapila, Āsuri, Pañcaśikha,^[1] Bāṣkala, Parāśara, Garga, Bhārgava, Aṅgiras, Balabandhu, Nirāmitra, Ketuśṛṅga, Tapodhana, Lambodara, Lamba, Lambatman, Lambakeśaka, Sarvajña, Samabuddhi Sādhyasiddhi, Sudhāman, Kaśyapa, Vasiṣṭha, Virajas, Atri, Ugra, Guruśreṣṭha, Śravaṇa, Śraviṣṭhaka, Kuṇi, Kuṇibāhu, Kuśarīra, Kunetraka, Kāśyapa, Uśanas, Cyavana, Bṛhaspati, Utathya, Vāmadeva, Mahākāla, Mahānila, Vācaḥśravas, Suvīra, Śyāvaka, Yatīśvara, Hiraṇyanābha, Kauśalya, Lokākṣi, Kuthumi, Sumantu, Jaimini, Kubandha, Kuśakandhara, Plakṣa, Dārbhāyaṇi, Ketumān, Gautama, Bhallavī, Madhupiṅga, Śvetaketu, Uśija, Bṛhadaśva, Devala, Kavi, Śālihotra, Suveṣa, Yuvanāśva, Śaradvasu, Akṣapāda, Kaṇāda, Ulūka, Vatsa, Kulika, Garga, Mitraka and Ruṣya.

21. These are the disciples of the lord, the Yogācārya. Their number is hundred and twelve.

22. These had become Śiddhas by Pāśupata rites. They used to dust their bodies with Bhasma. They knew the principles and meanings of the sacred texts. They were masters of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.

23. They were engaged in Śiva’s hermitage. They were devoted to Śiva’s lore. They were free from attachments. Their minds were attached to Śiva alone.

24. They could bear the mutually clashing pairs—extreme cold, heat etc. They were self-possessed and engaged in the benefit of living beings. They were straightforward, soft and healthy. They had covered anger and their sense-organs.

25. They, had strings of Rudrākṣa beads for their ornaments. Their foreheads were marked by Tripuṇḍras. Some had tufts of matted hair. Some had matted tresses. Some had shaven heads.

26. Mostly their diet was confined to fruits and roots. They regularly practised Prāṇāyāma. They were rich in their pride in Śiva. They were devoted to meditations upon Śiva alone.

27. They had destroyed even the seeds of the poisonous tree of worldly existence. They were ready to proceed to the city of Śiva.^[2]

28. He who worships Śiva everyday after thinking about these and their preceptors attains Sāyujya with Śiva. No doubt need be entertained in this respect.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Kapila, Āsuri and Pañcaśikha are the originators of the Sāṅkhya system. (See Īśvarakṛṣṇa, Sāṅkhyakārikā) Here they are mentioned as the disciples of Yogācārya incarnation of Śiva.

[2]:

A mythical city ‘Śivapura’ on the Himālayas particularly on the Kailāsa peak is conceived as the abode of Śiva.