Kṛṣṇa's Tapas on Kailāsa

A new book, and a visitor on Kailāsa

The Umā Saṃhitā opens with a verse of meditation on Śiva, who holds the worlds through sattva, creates through rajas, dissolves through tamas, and yet stands beyond that māyā of three qualities. The sages thank Sūta for the Koṭirudra Saṃhitā and ask him now for the stories of Śiva together with Pārvatī. Sūta answers that Vyāsa once put the same question to Sanatkumāra, and that he will repeat what Sanatkumāra said: the account of Śiva that was once given to Kṛṣṇa.

Long ago, Sanatkumāra says, Kṛṣṇa the son of Vasudeva wished for a son, and to do tapas to Śiva he went to Kailāsa, Śaṅkara's own home. On a high peak of the mountain he saw the sage Upamanyu sitting in tapas. Kṛṣṇa bowed to him with devotion, folded his hands and spoke.

Wise one, best of Śiva's devotees, he said, I have come here to do tapas to Śaṅkara for the sake of a son. Tell me the greatness of Śiva, which always gives joy, so that having heard it I may do my tapas with devotion. Upamanyu was pleased. Remembering Śiva, he began to speak — not from hearsay, he said, but of the greatness he had seen with his own eyes. (How he first came to that tapas as a boy is told in “Upamanyu and the Ocean of Milk”.)

The weapons that stand beside Rudra

While I was in tapas, Upamanyu said, I saw Śaṅkara face to face, with his weapons, his whole household, and Viṣṇu and the other gods. I saw the Pāśupata weapon standing near him: imperishable, blazing with the light of thousands of rays, with great fangs, mouths that seemed to pour out fire, a thousand feet and many eyes, overpowering every other weapon. It is this, he said, that destroys the universe at the end of a kalpa. Nothing in the three worlds is beyond its reach; released from Maheśvara's arm, it could burn all that moves and does not move in half a moment. There is no weapon equal to it or greater.

I saw the trident, the weapon of victory that the worlds call the Śūla. It is fierce beyond measure: it can split the whole earth, dry up the ocean and bring down the circle of the stars. It was this that destroyed Māndhātā, son of Yuvanāśva, the emperor who had conquered the three worlds; this that brought about the end of the proud Haihaya; this that called Śatrughna out to battle and so brought about the death of Lavaṇa — and when that daitya was dead, it returned to Śiva's hand. Three-pronged, as if frowning in three places at its enemies, bright as a smokeless fire or the rising sun, wound about with a serpent — it stood there, and he could not describe it.

The axe was there too, sharp-edged, adorned with serpents, like the fire of dissolution, standing beside Śiva in the body of a man. This was the axe that cut down the kṣatriya enemies of Paraśurāma of the Bhṛgu line; relying on its strength, given by Śiva, Paraśurāma destroyed the kṣatriyas twenty-one times.

And I saw the Sudarśana discus, Upamanyu said, also in a man's form, with a thousand faces and thousands of arms, eyes and feet, bright as crores of suns and able to burn the three worlds. I saw the shining thunderbolt of a hundred joints, the bow Pināka with its quiver, the spear, the sword, the noose, the radiant goad, the great divine mace, and others. The weapons of the guardians of the directions, and every other weapon that exists — I saw all of them standing beside Lord Rudra.

The court around him

Brahmā, grandfather of the worlds, sat on Śiva's right in a divine vehicle drawn by swans; Nārāyaṇa, with conch, discus and mace, sat on Garuḍa on his left. The Manus beginning with Svāyambhuva, the sages beginning with Bhṛgu, and Indra with all the gods had come with them. Kārttikeya, riding his peacock and holding spear and bell, stood beside the goddess Pārvatī like a second fire. Nandī stood before Sadāśiva holding a trident, and all the bhūtas and the Mothers were present. The gods ringed Mahādeva on every side, bowing and praising him with hymn after hymn.

Whatever is seen or heard of in the world, Upamanyu said, I saw there, close to the Lord, and I was struck with wonder. I gathered my courage, folded my hands, praised him with many hymns and sank into the deepest joy. Seeing Śiva before me, my voice choked with tears, I worshipped him in the proper way.

What Upamanyu asked for

Then Sadāśiva, greatly pleased, laughed and spoke to me lovingly. I tested you again and again, he said. You are firm, and full of devotion; I could not shake you. May you be well. I am very pleased — ask for a boon that even the gods find hard to obtain. There is nothing I will not give you.

I folded my hands, Upamanyu said, and answered: Lord, if you are satisfied with me, and if my devotion to you is firm, then by that truth let me know past, present and future. Give me unwavering devotion to you alone. Let me and my descendants always have enough milk and rice. Let me have your presence in this hermitage always. Let there be friendship between me and your devotees, and let me be indifferent to everyone else.

Śiva laughed, looked at him with kindness, and granted more than he had asked. You will be free of old age and death, he said, and all your wishes will be fulfilled. You will be honoured by all the sages, with fame and wealth, and at every step you will gain character, beauty, virtue and lordship. Wherever you wish it, the ocean of milk will be near you; until this kalpa of Vaivasvata Manu ends, you and your kin will go on seeing it. Your line will never fail. I will live in this hermitage of yours always, my devotion will stay steady in you, and whenever you remember me I will show myself to you. Live happily and long for nothing. With that, blazing like crores of suns, the Lord vanished on the spot.

“Worship him for your son”

So, Kṛṣṇa, said Upamanyu, I have seen Sadāśiva with all his household, and everything he promised I have received by meditating on him. Look at the gandharvas, apsarases, sages, vidyādharas and siddhas who stand before you here. Look at these lovely trees, glossy-leaved and fragrant, flowering in every season and always heavy with blossom and fruit. This whole varied universe has come from the grace of the god of gods.

By his grace I have complete knowledge, he went on; I know what has been, what is and what will be, as it truly is. I have seen the Lord whom even Indra and the gods cannot see without worship — who could be more fortunate than I? The wise meditate on that eternal highest reality, known as the twenty-sixth principle. Sadāśiva is the one who knows the ordering of all the principles. He brought forth Brahmā from his right side to create the world and Viṣṇu from his left to protect it, and when the end of the kalpa came he made Rudra from his heart and through him dissolved all that moves and does not move. At the end of the age it is Mahādeva who, as Time, like the fire of dissolution, consumes all beings. He is all-knowing, the self of all beings, present everywhere.

Therefore, Kṛṣṇa, worship Śiva for the sake of a son. He loves his devotees, and he will soon be pleased with you.

Those who asked and received

Devotion to Mahādeva had now risen in Kṛṣṇa, and he asked the sage to be kind and tell him who had worshipped Śiva and gained what they wished for. Upamanyu praised the question and began a long roll of names.

He started with the enemies of the gods. Hiraṇyakaśipu worshipped Śiva for a million years and received from him the lordship of all the gods. His son Nandana, with a boon from Śiva, fought Indra for ten thousand years, and in that great war Viṣṇu's dreadful discus and Indra's thunderbolt struck his limbs and broke into pieces. The gods whom such enemies oppressed drove the daityas back only after they too had won boons from Śiva. Śiva was pleased with a rākṣasa named Vidyutprabha and gave him rule over the three worlds for a hundred thousand years, a crore of sons, a place as his own permanent attendant and a fine kingdom in Kuśadvīpa. A daitya named Śatamukha did tapas for a hundred years and obtained a thousand sons.

Then the sages. Yājñavalkya worshipped Mahādeva and gained the highest knowledge. Vedavyāsa worshipped Śaṅkara and gained matchless fame and knowledge of the three times. The Vālakhilya sages, insulted by Indra, received from Sadāśiva the unconquerable Garuḍa, who carried off the soma. Once, when Śiva was angered and all water disappeared, the gods brought it back by worshipping him with the saptakapāla offering. Atri's wife Anasūyā fasted for three hundred years, sleeping on pestles, and obtained from Śiva sons like Dattātreya, Candramā and Durvāsā; she also made the Gaṅgā appear at Citrakūṭa.

Then people of every kind, many of whom the Purāṇa tells of elsewhere. Vikarṇa won great success. King Citrasena pleased Śiva and was freed from fear of all other kings, and the cowherd woman's son Śrīkara, moved to devotion by watching the king's worship, reached the highest attainment. Prince Citrāṅgada, husband of Sīmantinī, did not die though he sank in the Yamunā; he went to Takṣaka's home, made a friend of him and came back rich, and Sīmantinī gained her good fortune through the Monday vow. A brahmin's son who, out of greed, deceitfully dressed as a woman at that vow became a woman by its power. At Gokarṇa the wayward Cañculā heard Śiva's story from a brahmin and reached the highest state, and through her kindness her sinful husband Binduga heard the Śiva Purāṇa and reached Śiva's world. The courtesan Piṅgalā and the fallen brahmin Madara, the courtesan Mahānandā who pleased Śiva by keeping her word, a brahmin girl of Kekaya who kept Śiva's vow, King Vimarṣaṇa, the dissolute King Durjana, the Bhīl devotee Śaṃbara who with his wife smeared himself with ash from the pyre, Sauminī the caṇḍāla woman who worshipped without even knowing it, the kirāta hunter Mahākāla — all of them, Upamanyu said, reached a good end through Śiva.

He went on to the greatest names. Durvāsā spread devotion to Śiva in the world. Viśvāmitra, born a kṣatriya, became a brahmin. Brahmā became the creator by worshipping Śiva; Mārkaṇḍeya became long-lived; Indra enjoyed the three worlds; Bāṇa, son of Bali, became a lord of the universe. Viṣṇu, the sage Śakti, Dadhīci and Rāma became great devotees of Śiva by his grace, and Kaṇāda, Bhārgava, Bṛhaspati and Gautama gained their power through devotion to him. The sage Śākalya worshipped Śiva with a sacrifice performed in the mind for nine hundred years, and Śiva told him he would be an author of lasting fame, with an unfailing line and a son who would compose sūtras. In the Satya age a sage named Sāvarṇi did tapas for six thousand years in this very place, and Rudra himself told him he would be a renowned author, free of old age and death. Mahādeva gives whatever good thing is wished for, Upamanyu concluded; with one mouth I could not describe his qualities in hundreds of years.

Nine days, a mantra and one toe

Kṛṣṇa was astonished. You are blessed, he told the sage; who is able to praise you, in whose hermitage the first of the gods lives? Tell me the way by which Sadāśiva may show himself to me too, and be gracious to me.

You will see Mahādeva before long, by his own grace, Upamanyu replied; there is no doubt of it. In the sixteenth month you will receive the highest boons from Sadāśiva together with Pārvatī. Why would he not grant them to you, who are worthy of the worship of all the gods? I will give you a mantra to repeat. By the power of that japa you will certainly see Śiva and obtain from him a son as strong as yourself. “Oṁ namaḥ śivāya” — this divine king of mantras gives every wish, and both enjoyment and liberation.

Eight days passed like a single hour while Upamanyu went on telling stories of Mahādeva. On the ninth day the sage gave Kṛṣṇa initiation and taught him the great mantra of the Śiva Atharvaśīrṣa. Kṛṣṇa at once shaved his head and took up the staff, and with his mind gathered to one point he began his tapas, standing on one big toe with his arms raised.

The sixteenth month

When the sixteenth month came, Śambhu, pleased, showed himself to Kṛṣṇa together with Pārvatī. He was three-eyed, with the moon on his head, praised by Brahmā and the gods, worshipped by crores of siddhas, wearing divine garlands and robes and many ornaments, saluted by gods and asuras alike, and attended by his gaṇas and his two sons. Kṛṣṇa's eyes opened wide in wonder. He folded his hands and bowed with joy, worshipped Śiva as the scriptures lay down, and with his head lowered praised him with many hymns and with the thousand names.

Gods, gandharvas, vidyādharas and great nāgas rained flowers on Kṛṣṇa and called out their approval. Then Rudra, who loves his devotees, glanced at Pārvatī's face and said, well pleased: Kṛṣṇa, I know you as a devotee firm in your vow to me. Ask me for boons that are rare and holy in all three worlds.

Kṛṣṇa bowed again and again and asked for eight. Let my mind stay always in Śiva's dharma. Let my fame be great and unshaken. Let me always be near you. Let my devotion to you never cease. Let each of my chief wives have ten sons. Let me be able to kill every enemy who is proud of his strength in battle. Let me never be humiliated by my enemies. And let me be dear to all the yogīs. Grant me these eight, he said. You are the Lord of all, and in a special way you are my Lord.

All of this will be, said Śiva. And he added: you will have a son of great strength, named Sāmba. Long ago the sages cursed the fearsome Saṃvartaka Āditya to take a human body; it is he who will be born as your son. Everything you have asked for is yours.

Pārvatī's boons

Kṛṣṇa gladdened Śiva with many more hymns. Then Pārvatī, who also loves her devotees, spoke to him: Vāsudeva, sinless one, I am pleased with you. Now take from me boons that are beautiful and hard to find on earth.

Kṛṣṇa answered with a full heart. Goddess, if you are pleased with this tapas of mine, let me never feel ill will towards brahmins, and let me always honour them. Let my mother and father always be pleased with me. Wherever I go, let me be well disposed to every living being. Because I have seen you, let my birth be in a good family. Let me satisfy Indra and the gods with hundreds of sacrifices, and let me always feed thousands of ascetics and guests in my house with pure food offered in faith. Let there be affection between me and my kinsmen, and let me be happy. Let me be dear as life to my thousands of wives, let my love for them never fade, and let their parents be truthful people. The eternal goddess, who fulfils all wishes, was amazed at what he asked, and said: so be it. Having shown him this grace, Śiva and Pārvatī vanished on the spot.

Back to the hermitage, and home to Dvārakā

Kṛṣṇa felt that his purpose was fulfilled. He hurried back to Upamanyu's hermitage, bowed his head to the sage and told him everything. Upamanyu said: Janārdana, who in the world is a greater giver than Sadāśiva, and whose anger is harder to bear? Who exceeds him in knowledge, tapas, valour, steadiness or rank? Kṛṣṇa, full of faith, asked to hear more of Śiva's greatness.

Long ago in Brahmā's world, the sage said, the great yogī Taṇḍi praised Śiva with the Śiva-sahasranāma. That hymn is recited by those who know Sāṅkhya; it is hard for people to master, and it fulfils every wish. Now go home in happiness, Kṛṣṇa, remembering Śiva. You will always be foremost among his devotees. Kṛṣṇa bowed to the sage and, with Śiva in his mind, went back to Dvārakā. Thus, Sanatkumāra tells Vyāsa, by worshipping Śiva Kṛṣṇa gained his end and became unconquerable by anyone.

Others who were answered

Sanatkumāra then adds more names of his own. Rāma, son of Daśaratha, in the same way worshipped Śiva and became unconquerable: he first did great tapas on a mountain and received from Śiva the highest knowledge and a bow and arrows, and afterwards bridged the ocean, killed Rāvaṇa with all his kin, brought Jānakī home and ruled the earth. Paraśurāma, grieving for his father killed by kṣatriyas, worshipped Śiva with tapas and received the sharp axe with which he destroyed them twenty-one times. He is undefeated and deathless; even now he is seen worshipping the Śiva-liṅga among siddhas and cāraṇas, doing tapas on Mount Mahendra, and at the end of the kalpa he will again take a place among the ṛṣis.

Devala, younger brother of the sage Asita, worshipped Śiva in his grief after his brother took everything he had. An ascetic cursed by Indra for an unrighteous act worshipped the liṅga and regained a firm footing in dharma. Gṛtsamada, son of Cākṣuṣa Manu, became a beast in the desert of the Daṇḍaka forest through Vasiṣṭha's curse; wandering alone, he kept remembering Śiva's mantra with the praṇava, and Śiva lifted the curse, made him ageless and deathless, and made him a gaṇa called Mṛgamukha, a follower of Gaṇeśa. To Gārgya Śiva gave liberation, a great and prosperous holy place, knowledge of time, the four aims of life, lasting mastery of learning and a thousand sons. To Parāśara he gave the son Vedavyāsa, a lord of yoga. And he gave life and release to the sage Māṇḍavya, who had been on the point of a stake for a million years.

The last story is a small one. A poor brahmin householder left his son Gālava at his teacher's house and hid himself, because beggars kept coming to his door and he had nothing to give. He told his wife to say to any who came that her husband was not to be seen. One day a guest arrived, weak and desperate with hunger and thirst, and asked where her husband was; she gave the answer she had been told to give. But the beggar was a great sage. Seeing with divine sight, he said: your husband is sitting hidden in this house. And the brahmin died where he was.

Gālava heard the whole matter from Viśvāmitra, came home, learned of the terrible curse from his mother, and worshipped Śiva according to the Śaiva rite. His father then walked out of the house with Śaṅkara in his mind, folded his hands before his son, and said: by Mahādeva's grace I have all I need. I am rich, I have a son, and having died I am alive again. Sanatkumāra ends there: he has told it only in brief, he says, for even Śeṣa with all his mouths could not describe Sadāśiva's qualities in full.