Rudra-Shiva concept (Study)

by Maumita Bhattacharjee | 2018 | 54,352 words

This page relates ‘Rudra as Sahasraksha’ of the study on the Rudra-Shiva concept in the Vedic and Puranic literature, starting with the concept of God as contemplated by the Rishis (Vedic sages). These pages further deal with the aspects, legends, iconography and eulology of Rudra-Shiva as found in the Samhitas, Brahamanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads Sutras and Puranas. The final chapters deal with descriptions of his greatness, various incarnations and epithets.

2.6. Rudra as Sahasrākṣa

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God Rudra is known by this name.

Vedic commentator, Uvaṭa construes the term sahasrākṣa as:

sahasrākṣāya bahvakṣāya

“one who has many eyes.”^[1]

In the same mantra, Mahīdhara elaborates the term sahasrākṣa as—

sahasrākṣāya sahasramakṣīṇi yasya indrasvarūpiṇe^[2]

“He who is described as having thousand eyes like Indra.”

Here, In the Atharvaveda, the word sahasrākṣa is often used to designate Rudra as the possessor of thousand-eyes.^[3]

Sāyaṇācārya gives an interpretation of this term sahasrākṣa as:

sahasrākṣaṃ sahasrasaṅkyākaiḥ akṣibhiryuktam.^[4]

In another mantra, the term sahasrākṣa is explained in a different way as:

sahasrākṣāya sahasraṃ akṣīṇi darśanaśaktayo yasya sa tathoktaḥ.^[5]

That means one who can see with his thousand eyes. According to Sāyaṇa and Mahīdhara, Rudra is similar to Indra in terms of this characteristic feature, i.e. thousand-eyes.

M.C. Rao opines that:

“Sahasrākṣa is the macrocosm, the Rudra, is the universe with several tiny beings each with a pair of eyes, pair of legs, pair of hands and a single head.”^[6]

In the Puruṣa Sūkta of the Ṛgveda, Puruṣa is called Sahasrākṣa.^[7] The same epithet Sahasrākṣa is also applied to Indra and Vāyu jointly^[8] as well as to Agni in the Ṛgveda.^[9] In later literature, Śiva is known by this name Sahasrākṣa.^[10] He is described as having thousand eyes.