Chapter 10 - Śiva Swallows the Poison

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

The sages said:

1. O holy Sir, you said that the Cosmic Egg including the mobile and immobile beings was entirely reduced to ash by the fire of Kālakūṭa on account of the wrath of Rudra.

2-4. But, we consider Rudra to be within the Cosmic Egg. Then the mobile and immobile beings with Brahmā and Viṣṇu as leaders were destroyed and reduced to ash through the wrath of Rudra. How was creation resumed and made to function? Wherefrom did Brahmā, Viṣṇu and other Suras and Asuras with the Moon at their Head (originate again)? Where did they get merged? Where were they reduced to ash? What happened after that? It behoves you to recount everything.

5. By the grace of Vyāsa you know everything. No one else knows it. Hence you understand the holy scripture full of knowledge as no one else does.

6. Asked thus by all those sages of sanctified souls, Sūta bowed down to Vyāsa and spoke these words:

Lomaśa said:

7. When Devas beginning with Hari and Brahmā, stationed in the middle of the Cosmic Egg, as well as the guardians of the worlds including Indra were enveloped by the fire of poison, Śaṃbhu was informed by the noble-souled Heraṃba (Gaṇeśa):

Heraṃba said:

8-9. O Rudra, O Mahādeva, O Sthāṇu, the lord of the universe, an obstacle very difficult to be surmounted has been created for them by me by way of amusement.^[1] There are persons who start an enterprise, but either because of their fear or through the delusion of their minds, they do not worship you or me. The distress unto them will be very great.

10-11. On being requested thus by the over-lord of Gaṇas, who dispels obstacles like the sun dispelling darkness, the Pināka-bearing Lord with a bull for his emblem, the Lord Nīlalohita with matted hair, the lord devoid of ailments, the lord in the form of Liṅga, the unsullied lord without form or features, the sky-haired lord Śiva, Śaṃbhu spoke thus:

Maheśvara said^[3]:

12-14. O Heraṃba, listen to my words with great faith and attention. This universe consisting of the mobile and immobile beings is of the form of Ahaṃkāra (Cosmic Ego). This Ahaṃkāra creates, sustains and destroys. At the beginning of the universe, O Gaṇapati, Vijñapti (Intelligence, Consciousness) alone (remained). It was devoid of Māyā. īt was quiescent and of the form of Dvaita and Advaita (duality and non-duality). It was in the form of intelligence alone characterized by existence and eternal bliss.

Gaṇapati said:

15. If you are the sole Ātman, characterized by supreme bliss, O Scorcher of foes, then there is nothing other than you.

16. Then how did the different forms originate, differentiated as Suras and Asuras? It is of variegated form observed by the three Devas. It is the cause of delusion.

17. The cycle of worldly existence originated as different from Nitya (eternal) and Anitya (transient). It consists of four types or species of living beings endowed with many distinctive features etc.

18. People are deluded by various doctrines and tenets of knowledge antagonistic to one another. Some are devoted to the doctrine of Karman. Some resort to their (intrinsic) qualities.

19. A few are adherents of the path of knowledge but they are opposed to one another.

O Bull-bānnered Lord, thus I have been overwhelmed by doubts. Save me (by dispelling the doubt).

20. Where do I and the Gaṇas belong to? Whence is this bull, O'Lord? From where are these and many others born? Where (do they go)?

21. Whence are all these exceedingly fortunate ones made into Sāttvikas, Rājasas etc.?

Lord Śaṃbhu laughed and began to speak to Gaṇeśa:

Maheśvara said:

22. Rajas, Sattva and Tamas are produced by Kālaśakti (Power of Time). The entire universe including Devas, Asuras and human beings is enveloped by them.

23. This (world) that is being seen is imperishable ultimately, but, understand that as an evolved effect it is perishable. It is evolved by means of all Siddhis.

Lomaśa said:

24-25. While Sadāśiva of Cosmic Form and in the form of the Liṅga was conversing with Gaṇeśa, His Power (Śakti called Śiva), the source of the universe of the nature of cause and effect was born of Sadāśiva. At the same instant, the Lord in the form of the Liṅga became submerged.

26. The single supreme Śakti, characterized as the Ātman of Brahmavidyā abided (there). Overwhelmed by wonder, Gaṇeśa became engrossed in looking (at that form).

The sages asked:

27. If this entire universe consisting of the mobile and immobile beings is included within Prakṛti, how is it then that Gaṇeśa was able to preserve his separate entity? Let this be explained.

Lomaśa replied:

28. Lord Gaṇeśa was directly born of Prakṛti herself.^[4] Gaṇeśvara has the same form as that of Śiva himself.

29-30. A battle ensued between Śiva and that noble-souled one who had been Prākṛta (born of Prakṛti) due to ignorance. That battle continued without a break for a long time.

On observing that he was invincible as long as he was riding an elephant, Śaṃbhu hit him with his trident and toppled him down along with the elephant.

31. Then Mahādeva the scorcher of enemies, was eulogized by the Supreme Power (Prakṛti). The lord then said to the great Śakti, “O splendid lady, choose your boon.”

32-33. Then an excellent boon was chosen from Mahādeva: “O lord, he who was killed by you was undoubtedly my son. Being born of a part of Prakṛti, he is deluded. Hence he does not know you. In order to gratify me, resuscitate this son of mine.”

34. Lord Rudra laughed loudly and revived the son of Māyā. He fixed the head of an elephant to his body.

35. Thus the elephant-faced lord was born by the grace of Śaṅkara. Although he was the son of Māyā, he was free from the clutches of Māyā and became endowed with (spiritual) knowledge.

36. He was perpetually contented with the nectar of the knowledge of Ātman. He was free from ailments. Sitting in deep meditation, he became very fierce and then destroyed Kāla (god of death) of black complexion.

37. He pulled out his own huge tooth for the sake of Yogadaṇḍa^[5] (the mystic wand of Yogic practice) and held it in his hand. He was the presiding deity of the Gaṇas. He surpasses the Śabdabrahman (the Vedas or the supreme spiritual knowledge expressed in words). Though accompanied by both Ṛddhi and Siddhi, he shines in his aloneness.

38. The groups of Gaṇas and Vighnas (obstacles) and many others superior to these—whatever there was on the earth, he became the lord thereof. He was made so by Śaṃbhu then.

39. Hence he was able to see Prakṛti which has the Cosmic form. He remained separate and was able to realize the Liṅga as well as the Prakṛti. He saw the pure Liṅga naturally abiding in the Prakṛti.

40. Heraṃba who was equipped with perfect knowledge saw himself along with the Gaṇas as well as the three worlds entirely merged in the Liṅga.

41. Though he was endowed with perfect knowledge, he lost his consciousness. He regained it with very great effort. The lord of the Gaṇas bowed down his head to those two supreme powers.

42. Then he saw there itself Brahmā, Rudra, Viṣṇu and Sadāśiva in the form of the annihilator of the worlds.

43-45. He saw some beings resembling ghosts. They were the Liṅgaśaktis. He saw crores of spherical Cosmic Eggs like so many atoms. They were getting merged and dissolved in Maheśa who was in the form of a Liṅga.

The Liṅga was inside the Prakṛti and the Prakṛti was within the Liṅga. The whole of the Liṅga was seen covered by Śakti. The Śakti was covered by the Liṅga. Thus the two encompassed each other.{GL_NOTE::}

46. The whole world consisting of the mobile and immobile beings stayed supported by both Śivas (i.e. Śiva ānd Śakti). Only Gaṇeśa and none else, though great, had that knowledge.

47. The presiding deity of the Gaṇas (Lord Gaṇeśa), of great splendour, accompanied by the Gaṇas eulogized with great strength, the lord accompanied by Śakti.

Gaṇeśa prayed:

48. I bow down to the god accompanied by His Śakti (Power)—the Lord who is the embodiment of knowledge, who is kindly disposed (but) beyond the ken of knowledge and of the form of supreme Light, who transcends forms, is the Supreme Reality incarnate, who is beyond the principles (categories of Sāṅkhyas), supremely auspicious, who is called Bliss undivided and uncontaminated by sorrow.

49-50. The fire in (a ball of) iron is beyond smoke (smokeless), but it appears as though filled with smoke. You who are the source of knowledge, appear to be within Prakṛti. You who are present within the Prakṛti by Māyā, are spoken of as manifested.

You whose nature is such, O lord, create, annihilate and protect the universe by your Māyā. On account of this poison, the entire universe consisting of the mobile and immobile beings and accompanied by Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Indra, has been destroyed.

51. You are lord Maheśa. You are the lord of the three worlds. You are the immanent soul of the mobile and immobile beings. The mobile and immobile beings along with the vestures of individual souls, have been completely burnt down. Please revive them quickly and make it (the world) as it was before.

Lomaśa said:

52-54. On being eulogized thus by Gaṇeśa, the Lord (Siva), the sanctifier of all living beings, assumed the form of a Liṅga and consumed the Kālakūṭa that arose there and caused the destruction of all the worlds. He made everything free from impurities. Since the lord was endowed with great compassion and considerateness, all Devas, Asuras and human beings and all the three worlds were instantaneously saved.

Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Surendra, the Guardians of the Quarters along with the sages, Yakṣas, Vidyādharas, Siddhas, Gandharvas and groups of celestial damsels—all of them got up as though from sleep.

55. They were struck with wonder. They were agitated and frightened. All Devas and Asuras said in dismay:

56-62. “Where is that immense Kālakūṭa by which we had been compelled to flee and made almost dead along with the Guardians of the Quarters?” So said they, but Daityas remained silent. The Guardians of the Quarters beginning with Śakra, who were able to regain strength and happiness with god Brahmā as their leader, said this after honouring Viṣṇu, the lord of all lords:

“By whom has this been caused? We do not know as we are deficient in intelligence.” Then Viṣṇu laughed at Brahmā and all those (Suras). All of them then began to meditate with great concentration of their minds. O Brāhmaṇas, that dispelled base emotions such as lust and anger as well as other feelings by means of the knowledge of Reality. Then Devas and others saw the Liṅga present in their own Ātman (Soul). Keeping Viṣṇu at their head, they eulogized the Lord for the attainment of the ultimate truth:

“Yogins worship the Supreme Soul through their own souls. The Liṅga alone is the greatest knowledge. The Liṅga alone is the greatest penance. The Liṅga alone is the greatest Dharma. The Liṅga alone is the greatest goal. Hence, there is nothing at all which (can be called) greater than the Liṅga.”

63. After saying thus, Suras and Asuras along with the Guardians of the Quarters and sages kept Viṣṇu whose complexion is dark like the Indian cinnamon, at their head. They then sought refuge in Śaṃbhu who is worthy of being resorted to:

64. “Save us, save us, O Mahādeva, O merciful lord, O Supreme God. It behoves you to save us as we had been saved before (by you).

65. O Lord of Devas, your lotus-like feet possess greatness befitting our repeated service. They have infinite forms. We have resorted to them. (Save us) with the greatest mercy. Obeisance to you, O excellent one among Devas. Be pleased.”

66. Lord Ramāpati (Viṣṇu), the sanctifier of the living beings, stood in the middle of the form of Liṅga along with ail the groups of Suras and spoke thus:

67-69. “You are the Lord in the form of the Liṅga. You bestow protection from fear on all the worlds. All those who died on account of the poison, have been saved. Hence, O Lord, the conqueror of Mṛtyu (Death), save us, save us. O Mahākāla, the destroyer of Tripura, obeisance to you.”

On being eulogized by Viṣṇu, Lord Maheśvara in the form of the Liṅga appeared before them along with Aṃbā (goddess Pārvatī). He appeared to awaken (i.e. enlighten) those Suras:

70-74. “O Viṣṇu, ye all Suras and Sages, let this be heard. Ordinary people think that the worldly existence is eternal, while it is only transitory. Thereby, they are agitated. O Devas and others, of what avail are the Yajñas, austerities and activities connected with holy rites, if one does not perceive the (Supreme) Ātman by means of (his individual Ātman)? There is no benefit therefrom, whether they are performed collectively or separately. All of you joined together and carried out a very difficult task, namely the churning of the ocean. T??? you did for the sake of getting nectar. But why was it performed after rejecting Mṛtyuñjaya and always disrespecting me? Hence all of you undoubtedly fell into the mouth of Death.

Lord Gaṇeśa has been created by us for the purpose of achieving success in an undertaking.

75. Those who do not bow down to Gaṇeśa as well as Durgā of similar nature will be victims of distress. There is no doubt about this.

76. All of you are sinful and stubborn. You profess to be learned without knowing what is right and what is wrong. You are deluded by mere false prestige.

77-78. All of you, groups of Devas beginning with Indra, are devoted to the Vedas. All those beginning with Indra are mediocres, pleasure-seekers, praise-mongers and useless ones. O consort of Śacī (i.e. Indra), you do not understand yourself on account of delusion.

79. A great effort has been made by you for getting nectar, O rogue. You attained a kingdom by performing a hundred horse-sacrifices. Even that is under the control of your enemies now. O vicious one, you do not know that.

80. O deluded one, you have been eulogized by ascetics through the Vedic statements (hymns). Those ascetics are fools. They propitiate you, because they are prompted by different passions.

81. O Viṣṇu, on account of your partiality you do not know what is good and what is otherwise. Some persons are killed by you, O Viṣṇu, and some have been protected.

82. You are desirous of certain things in this matter. You are always childish in your activities. Why talk of all the other Guardians of the Quarters?

83. If a matter is pursued in a way other than what is proper, the result is bound to be in a way other than (what is expected). You all forgot that thing whereby your efforts are crowned with success.

84-85. It is he by whom all (of you) have been saved from the great fear of Kālakūṭa today. It is he by whom you have been saved from a poison by which Viṣṇu is turned blue (dark-complexioned), by which all of you were defeated and by which all the worlds have been reduced to ash. Hence, the worship of that noble-souled Gaṇeśa should be performed by you.

86. If at the beginning of any holy rite, people do not worship Gaṇādhipa (Gaṇeśa), they will never realize their objectives as in your own case.”

87. On hearing these words of Maheśa, Suras, Asuras, Kinnaras and Cāraṇas asked Girīśa about the method of worship in the proper manner.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The destruction of the universe by Kālakūṭa is a ‘diversion’ (vinoda) to god Gaṇeśa, because people do not worship him and Śiva through delusion.

[2]:

One wonders whether this was the proper occasion for expounding the Dvaitādvaita philosophy when the entire universe was being burnt down by Kālakūṭa.

[3]:

VV 28-38. This is another version how Gaṇeśa became elephant-headed and why he is called ‘the king of obstacles and difficulties.’

[4]:

In BdP Paraśurāma is said to have cut down one of Gaṇeśa’s tusks with his axe (II.iii.41.2-4). Here it is self-extraction of the tusk by Gaṇeśa himself.

[5]:

This peculiar mutual relation between Śiva and Śakti shows the influence of Trika Śaivism of Kashmir.