Chronological Development (4): Śānti Parva

The name Aśvaśira instead of Hayaśira appears in the śānti parva of the Mahābhārata.

Bhīṣma tells about a beautiful region called Badarī, the abode of Nara-Nārāyaṇa:

“Yatra sā badarī ramyā saro baihāyasaṉ tathā/
Yatra cāsvaśirā rājan! vedān pathati śāśvatān//”^[1]

Aśvaśiras reads the eternal Vedas. In the commentary of this verse the commentator shows Aśvaśira as a seer (munīḥ)—

“Aśvaśirā nāma munīḥ.”^[2]

According to Jan Gonda, “the Aśvaśira form of Lord Viṣṇu is said to be for reading the eternal Vedas” which connects Aśvaśira-Viṣṇu with the eternal Vedas.

We find another aspect of the Horse headed one in śānti parva, which brings to our memory Viṣṇu’s association with Yajña.

Lord Viṣṇu reveals himself as Hayaśira to sage Nārada and says,

“I receive havya^[3] and kavya, ^[4] brought with devotion in my horse-headed appearance in the north-western ocean.”

This indicates Lord Hayaśira-Viṣṇu’s involvement in Yajña or sacrifice—

“Ahaṃ Hayaśiro bhūtvā samudre paścimottare/
Pivāmi suhutaṃ havyṃ kavyaṃ ca sraddhayāṇvitam//”^[5]

The śānti parva depicts the four vyūhas of Lord Viṣṇu and subsequently proclaims Hayaśira or Hayagrīva as having evolved from Aniruddha.^[6] Here Viṣṇu is revealed by the epithet Aniruddha instead of Hayaśira or Hayagrīva. This concept is developed in the later Pañcarātra^[7] texts which provide us a complex classification of the various forms of Lord Viṣṇu. Here it is noted that a few number of Pañcarātra texts refer to Hayagrīva as an emanation from Saṃkarṣana vyūha whereas Mahābhārata expresses Aniruddha as the source of Horse-headed one. P. Gangadhara epithets Hayagrīva is an emanated form of vyūha^[8] known as Aniruddha in his article titled,“Iconography of Hayagrīva, a new light”.

At one instance we come across a detailed description of Lord Nārāyaṇa as a great sage named Vaḍavāmukha who stands for the benefit of the mankind—

“Nārāyaṇo lokahitārthaṉ vaḍavāmukho nāma maharṣi purābhavat/ Tasya merau tapastapyataḥ samudra āhuto nāgataḥ/ tenāmrṣitenātmagātroṣmṇā samudraḥ stimitajalaḥ kritaḥ/ svedaprasyandanasadṛśaścāsya lavaṇabhābo janitaḥ/ uktaścāpeyo bhaviṣyasi/ etasya te toyaṉ vaḍavāmukhasangitena pīyamānaṉ madhuraṉ bhaviṣyati/ tadetadadyapi vadavamukhasangitenanuvartina toyan samudran piyate//”^[9]

“Hayaśiraḥ Vaḍavāmukham’ (Nīlakaṇṭha)/ ‘Hayaśiro Vaḍavāmastakam’ (Siddhanta Bāgīśa)

In the past Nārāyaṇa used to be called Vaḍavāmukha, the great sage, for the benefit of mankind. While practising severe austerities on the mountain Meru, he summoned the ocean who disobeyed him. Angry at it, the sage, with the heat of his body, made the ocean water salty in taste like perspiration. Moreover, He said to the ocean that “you will be undrinkable, and then only when your water is drunk by Vaḍavāmukha it will become sweet as nectar.” Due to this curse ocean water are salty till date and not consumable by anyone except Vaḍavāmukha.^[10]

This aspect of horse’s head takes us on the sea that reminds us about the discussion of the origin of aśva as clearly mentioned in the Bṛhadāraṇyak Upaniṣad. ^[11] Here it is noted that the epithets Vaḍavāmukha is connected with Viṣṇu through the incarnation of Nārāyaṇa in the form of Hayaśira. We have also found the epithet Vaḍavāmukha who is related with Aurva,^[12] Agni^[13] and also Śiva.^[14]

Aurva is a sage, the son of Urva and grandson of Bhṛgu. The sage Aurva performed a sacrifice to destroy the followers of Kārtavīryārjuna. He was, however, persuaded against doing so. Angry by this Aurva discharged his anger into the sea, where it became a being with the face of horse, called Hayaśiras. This submarine fire came to be known as ‘Vaḍavāgni’, also known as ‘Vaḍavānala’ or ‘Aurvānala’. Vaḍavā is the submarine fire which when consumes the water of the ocean; the waters evaporate then solidify into rain and snow.

Hopkins says that:

“… Aurva, who became the Aurva fire or mare’s mouth, or Horse’s head, Hayaśiras will consume ocean^[15] and this fire is interpreted as Viṣṇu’s energy.”^[16]

The supreme deity, in the unitary conception of the universe, in the form of Agni Vaḍavāmukha, swallowed the waters and then again let it out. As samvartaka vahni, he is equated with samvartaka sūrya, and anila, the central elements in creation.^[17] Vedic hymns also say that agni lives in the centre of the sea or contained by the waters.^[18]

In the Ṛgveda we read that the rivers collect water for the pleasure of the ocean fire.^[19] This may be a reference to the submarine fire, subsequently named Vaḍavāmukha and visualized as an undersea volcano, formed like a mare’s head.^[20] Some say that Vaḍavāmukha was situated in the South Pole, and said to consume the waters of the ocean.^[21] According to the purāṇic eschatology, at the time of dissolution, the Vaḍavāmukha explodes or erupts disaster that destroys the world.

References to Śiva as the mare fire are available in some places throughout Sanskrit literature. The Mahābhārata says that Śiva’s mouth is the mare’s head.^[22] In this context Doniger quotes P.C Roy:

“Thou art the Vaḍavānala, mare fire, mare’s head that ranges within the ocean, ceaselessly vomiting fire and drinking the saline waters as if they were sacrificial butter.”^[23]

According to her, the submarine mare ought to be read as a symbol of energy, female sexuality, or power blocked by authority. She points out that the fire of Śiva’s third eye is an anti erotic fire, blazing forth to counter the tormenting erotic fire.

In Matsyapurāṇa it is mentioned:

“Śiva reduced Kāma to ashes, and the fire from his third eye soon yawned wide to burn the universe. But then, for the sake of the world, Śiva dispersed that fire among mangoes and the moon and flowers and bees and cuckoos—thus he divide the fire of Kāma. That fire that had pierced Śiva inside and outside, kindling passion and affection, serves to arouse people who are separated, reaching the hearts of lovers, and it blazes night and day, hard to cure.”^[24]

Śiva’s anger, the mare fire, and the fire of Kāma are combined in a verse addressed to Kāma.^[25]

Doniger declares that,

“The mare is a symbol of yogic power thwarted and rebounding against itself... the combination of anger and lust is at the heart of the myth of Śiva and the mare.”^[26]

There also blazed the asura fire, known as the fire mare, Vaḍavā, the submarine fire that feeds on water.^[27] It had left Śiva at his wrath, though the origin of the submarine fire outside the śaiva tradition was also differently accounted for an asura fire. It also says that, the entry to the hell was at the mare’s head, Vaḍavāmukha, where the submarine fire, Vaḍavānala, issued from her mouth.^[28]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Mahābhārata, 12.126.3.

[2]:

According to the commentary, Bhāratakaumudī of the Mahābhārata, 12.123.3.

[3]:

Good oblation of the gods.

[4]:

Offerings of the manes.

[5]:

Mahābhārata, 12.326.56.

[6]:

“Te’nuśiṣṭā bhagavatā devāḥ sarṣigaṇāstathā/
Namaskṛtvābhagavate jagmurdeśānyathepsitān//
Gateṣu trivivaukaḥsu brahmaikaḥ paryavasthitaḥ/
Didṛkṣurbhagavantaṃ tamaniruddhatanausthitaṃ//
Taṃ devo darśayāmāsa kṛtvā hayaśiro mahat/
Sāṅgānāvartayanvedān kamaṇḍalugaṇitradhṛk//
Tato’śvaśirasaṃ dṛṣṭvā taṃ devamamitaujasaṃ/
Lokakartā prabhurbrahmā lokānāṃ hitakāmyayā//
Mūrdhnā praṇamya varadaṃ tasthau prāñjaliragrataḥ/
Sa pariṣvajya Devena vacanaṃ śravitastadā//
Lokakāryagatīḥ sarvāstvaṃ cintaya yathāvidhi/
Ghātā tvaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ tvaṃ prabhūrjagatoguruḥ/
Tvayyāveśitabhāro’sthaṃ dhṛtiṃ prāpsyāmyathāñjasā//
Yathā ca surakārye te aviṣhyaṃ bhaviṣyati/
Prādurbhāvaṃ gamiṣyāmi tadātmajñānadeśikaḥ//
Evamuktā hayaśirastatraivāntaradhīyata/
Te’nānuśiṣṭo brahmāpi svaṃ lokamacirādgataḥ//
Evameva mahāhāgaḥ padmanābhaḥ sanātanaḥ/
Yajñeṣvagraharaḥ prokto yajñadhārī ca nityadā//” Mahābhārata, 12.327.79-87.

In the Pañcarātra circle, the word ‘rātra’ came to be differently interpreted. The apocryphal Nāradīya takes the word ‘rātra’ to mean knowledge and speaks of five kinds of ‘rātras’ namely Tattva (Cosmology or Ontology), Muktiprada (Liberation), Bhaktiprada (Devotion), Yaugnika (Yoga or meditation) and Vaiśeṣika (the objects of senses). But Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarāra text interpreted the word ‘rātra’ means night which is equated with the five Mahābhūtas and which holds that the Supreme Being is above all the qualities and being known cause’s salvation by dint of which man becomes identical with Viṣṇu himself. Śāstrī Kāli Kumār Datta: Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarāra, Ādikāṇḍa, p.i.

[7]:

The Pañcarātra is a sect of the Vaiṣṇavas. The earliest reference of which may be found in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (13.6.1) in which the Puruṣa Nārāyaṇa is said to have conceived the idea of Pañcarātra satra or a sacrificial rite to be continued for five days.

[8]:

Vyūha is one of the five aspects of the supreme lord, other aspects being para, vibhava, antaryāmī and arcā. In the antaryāmī aspect the god resides in the hearts of all and in the arcā aspect he manifests himself in the visible or vigraha form. Icons described as dhruvaberas in the Vaikhānasāgama appear to have symbolized the para aspect. Śāstrī Kāli Kumār Datta: Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarāra, Ādikāṇḍa, p.146.

[9]:

Mahābhārata, 12.329.48.

[10]:

The Sanskrit texts mention that there is an equine-head of vast ratios which roams through the seas. Blazing fires always emission from its mouth and these drinks up the sea-water. It always makes a roaring noise. It is called Vaḍavāmukha. The fire emission from it is called Vaḍavānala. The waters of the ocean are like clarified butter. The equine head drinks them up as the sacrificial fire drinks the libations of clarified butter poured upon it. The origin of the Vaḍavā fire is sometimes imposed to the wrath of Urva. Mahābhārata Vol. 10, p.533.

[11]:

“Samudra evāsya bandhuḥ samudro yoniḥ” i.e Samudra is said to be the bandhu and yoni of this aśva. This word primarily signifies the sea. It may here signify the vast unbound reality from where this horse has come into existence. BU, 1.1.2.

[12]:

Hopkins, E Washburn: Epic Mythology, p.180.

[13]:

The supreme deity, in the unitary conception of universe, as agni Vaḍavāmukha, drinks the waters and lets it out again. As samvartaka vahni he is one with samvartaka sūrya and anila, fire, sun, and wind all being samvartaka are as the central elements in creation. Vedic hymns also say that agni lives in the centre of the sea or contained by the waters. ibid., pp.99-100.

[14]:

There are also blazed the asura fire, known as the fire mare, Vaḍavā, the submarine fire that feeds on water (Mahābhārata. 5.97.3). It had left Siva as his wrath, though the origin of the submarine fire outside the śaiva tradition was also differently accounted for an asura fire. Here it also says that, the entrance to hell was at the mare’s head, Vaḍavāmukha, where the submarine fire, Vaḍavānala, issued from her mouth, in the southern ocean. Stella Kramrisch: The Presence of Śiva, p.403.

[15]:

Mahābhārata, 7.135.22; 1.170. 53; 180.22.

[16]:

Mahābhārata, 12.343.60.

[17]:

Hopkins, E Washburn: Epic Mythology, p.

[18]:

ibid., pp.99-100.

[19]:

Ṛgveda, 2.35.3.

[20]:

Manansala, Paul Kekai: Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan, p. 398.

[21]:

Manansala, Paul Kekai: ibid., ‘loc. cit.’ p. 398.

[22]:

Mahābhārata. 5.97.3.

[23]:

O’Flaherty. Wendy Doniger: Siva: The Erotic Ascetic, p.291.

[24]:

“Vabhūva vadane netraṃ tṛtīyamanalākulaṃ/
Rudrasya raudravapuṣo jagatsaṃhārabhairavaṃ//
Tadastikasthe madane vysphārayata dhūrjjaṭiḥ/
taṃ netravisphūliṅgena krośatāṃ nākavāsināṃ//
Gamito bhasmasyāt tūrṇaṃ kandarpaḥ kāmidarpakaḥ/
Sa tu taṃ bhasmasyāt kṛtvā haranetrodbhavo’onalaḥ//
Vyajṛmbhata jagaddagdhuṃ jvālāhūṅgkāraghasmaraḥ/
Tato bhavo jagaddhetorvyabhajajjātavedasaṃ//
Sahakāre madhau candre sumanaḥsu pareṣvapi/
Bhṛṅgeṣu kokilāsyeṣu vibhāgena smarānalam//
Sa vahyāntaraviddhena hareṇa smaramārgaṇaḥ/
Rāgasnehasamiddhantardhāvaṃstīvrahutāśanaḥ//
Vibhaktalokasaṃkṣobhakaro durvvārajṛmbhitaḥ/
Samprāpya snehasampṛktaṃ kāmināṃ hṛdayaṃ kila//
Jvalatya’aharniśaṃ bhīmo duścikitsyamhukhātmakaḥ/
Vilokya harahūṅkāra-jvālābhsmakṛtaṃ smaraṃ//” Matsya Purāṇa, 154.250-255.

[25]:

“Tava kuśumaśaratvṃ śītraśmitvamindor/
Dvayamidayathārthaṃ dṛśyate madvidheṣu/
Visṛjati himagabhairragnimindumayūkhair/
Tvamapi kusumavāṇān vajrasārīkaroṣi//” AbhiS, 3.3.

[26]:

O’Flaherty. Wendy Doniger: Women Androgynes and Other Mythical Beasts, pp.234235.

[27]:

Mahābhārata, 5.97.3.

[28]:

Kramrisch. Stella: The Presence of Śiva, p.403.