17. The esoteric significance of Five Faces of Lord Śiva

Thou Śaiva Upaniṣads do not directly discusses this significance of the faces, there are informations given from other sources.

1. Sadyojāta (West Face)

West is called as “Paścima or Pratyak”. The soul is called as “Pratyagātma”. “Sadyaḥ which means just now and Jātaḥ means now born. Śiva makes his presence felt through the countless souls being born. Hence, the apt name ‘Sadyojāta’. This shows the creative aspect of Parameśvara. Since the very existence of any being starts from its birth, the Sadyojāta aspect of Lord Śiva is prayed first.

The essence of the Sadyojāta Mantra is:

“O! Lord! Sadyojāta, never give me desires which are the reason for this countless births and deaths. Please bless me with the passion for liberation. My prayers to Sadyojāta”.

This Sadyojāta aspect is correlated with the following;

To “Śi” Bijākṣara in Pañcākṣara Mantra;
To “Manomayakośa” amongst the five Kośas;
To “Agni” principle among five principles “Pañca Bhūta”.
To “Manipūraka” among Six Cakrās;
To “Pañcama (Pa)” Svara among the Seven Svaras^[1];
To “Ma” in ‘Oṃkāra’

2. Vāmadeva (North Face)

The term Vāma means Left or innocent. If we stand facing east, North direction is to our left. Hence, the north facing Śiva is worshipped as “Vāmadeva”. The left of a person is representative of the Śakti aspect. It represents “Māyā and the feminine strength and beauty”, Hence, in Ardhanāreśvara aspect, we find the goddess on the left side. The beautiful Vāmadeva is more ancient that the world’s creation. Hence, he is the eldest. Since he is more worthy than others, he is the best. In catastrophic times, he is Rudra. He is Kāla in creation and causes the erosion of one’s age.

This Vāma Deva aspect is correlated with the following;

To “Vā” Bījākṣara in Pañcākṣara Mantra;
To “Vijñānamayakośa” amongst the five Kośas;
To “Vāyu” principle among five principles “Pañca Bhūta”;
To “Anāhata Cakra” among Six Cakras;
To “Daivata (Dha) “Svara among the Seven Svaras;
To “Bindu” in ‘Oṃkāra’.

3. Aghora (South Face)

If we stand facing east, south is our right. Hence right side is called as “Bala”. As strong as right hand is for humans, The South face is important to Lord Śiva. This is also famously known as “Dakṣiṇā mūrti”. To know about the essence of the Aghora principle of Lord Śiva, one has to understand the meaning of the Aghora Mantra among the Pañcabrahma mantra.

Those who worshipped the Aghora form of Śiva were called as “Aghoris”. Their main belief is that there is no such thing called “inauspicious” in this world because all that exists in Śiva himself. They generally live in graveyards and are naked. They use those things which the world has branded as “inauspicious”. They perform hard penance. Those who worship Aghora form of Śiva are saved from natural catastrophe, water hardships and life threats.

This Aghora aspect is correlated with the following;

To “Ma” Bījākṣara in Pañcākṣara Mantra;
To “Prāṇamayakośa” amongst the five Kośas;
To “Jala” principle among five principles “Pañca Bhūta”;
To “Svādhiṣṭāna Cakra” among Six Cakras;
To “Madhyama (Ma)” Svara among the Seven Svaras;
To “U” in ‘Oṃkāra’.

4. Tatpuruṣa (East Face)

The word “Tat” represents Paramātma. Tatpuruṣa means Saguṇa filled Parabrahma form. This is an important face of Paramaśiva. The form of Śiva that is in meditation and Blessing the world is this face. Hence, this eastern face is considered as the first face. The word “Tatpuruṣa” means “his person”. One who is always behind a person to protect is Tatpuruṣa.

This Tatpuruṣa aspect is correlated with the following;

To “Na” Bījākṣara in Pañcākṣara Mantra;
To “Annamayakośa” amongst the five Kośas;
To “Earth” principle among five principles “Pañca Bhūta”;
To “Mūlādhāra” among six Cakras;
To “Ṣaḍja (sa), Ṛṣabha (ri) And Gāndhāra (ga)” Svaras among the Seven Svaras;
To “A” in ‘Oṃkāra’.

5. Īśāna-Skyward Face:

The word Īśvara is form the root “Aiṣa-Aiṣvarye”. Total wealth means the total control and ownership of all the fourteen worlds. Such form of Śiva, who is the total owner of the fourteen worlds, is called as Īśāna.

This face is skywards. Which means it is on top of the other four faces which face the four directions. This fifth face of Śiva represents the creation -balance -annihilation energies and control and chaos energies. Īśāna face of Śiva which is skywards indicates the total encompassing energy of Lord Śiva.

This Īśāna aspect is correlated with the following;

To “Ya” Bījākṣara in Pañcākṣara Mantra;
To “Ānandamayakośa” amongst the five Kośas;
To “Ākāśa (ether)” principle among five principles “Pañca Bhūta”;
To “Viśuddhi, Ejña and Sahasrāra Cakra “among Six Cakras;
To “Niṣāda (ni)” Svara among the Seven Svaras;
To Nāda aspect in ‘Oṃkāra’.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ma.pu.verse 1-5.—Nāradīya Śikṣa (1.5.3; 1.5.4) explains that each sāma-svara was derived from the sounds made by a bird or an animal in its appropriate season. For instance, bulls roar was Ṛṣabha; krauñcaka's (heron) cry was Madhyama; elephant's trumpet was Niṣadha; and koel's (cuckoo) melodious whistle was Pañcama and so on. Please see the table below.—Name in Sāma Symbol Sāma Veda Bird/animal Music Svara Sound accociated Madhyama Ma svarita Heron Gāndhāra Ga udātta Goat Ṛṣabha Ri anudātta Bull Ṣaḍja Ṣa svarita Peacock Nisāda Ni udātta Elephant Daivata Dha anudātta Horse Pañcama Pa svarita Koel