Ekadash Rudra

(SHIVA)

Written, compiled and published

By

H.K. Jain
7-A, Saheli Marg
Udaipur(Rajasthan) 313004, India
Web: www.rudraksham.com E-mail:info@rudraksham.com

Copyright 2005 by H.K. Jain

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, Recording, or otherwise, without written
permission from the author.
 Dedication

This book is dedicated to the lotus feet of my great guru

Yogi Shri Santosh Nath ji
 Blessings

Shree Shree Hat Hat Yogacharya Shambhojati Guru Goraksha Nath ji

JAP AADESH SHAMBHU JATI MAHARAJ GURU GORAKSHNATH KA!

Guru Gorakshnath is the lord of this universe. He made this universe from his
eternal fire named as "Dhuni". Guru Gorakshnath is a creator in the form of
Lord Brahma. He is a preserver in the form of Lord Vishnu and He is a destroyer
in the form of Lord Shiva.
Goraksh Nath ji is considered to be an avatar (form) of Shiva, and therefore
neither had birth nor death. He is believed to be ever existent in all Yugas. It is
also believed that Shiva took the form of Shri Gorakshnath after an argument
with Shakti. Shakti told Shiva that she had the power to awaken desire in
anyone, while Shiva disagreed. In his form as Gorakhnath, he showed complete
freedom from all desires through yoga.

Three prime forms of Guru GorakshNath are:

1. Adi GorkshaNath
2. Anant Gorkshanath
3. Guru Gorakshnath

Adi Gorakshnath - In this form he discovered and created the Universe.

Anant Gorakshnath - In this form he always resides in every living being in the
form of supreme power.

Guru Gorakshnath - In this form he is a teacher of all Siddha Vidhyas.

The power (Shakti) which cannot be seen by the eyes but the eyes can see only
with the help of this power (Shakti) is Guru Gorakshnath.

Gorakh Nathji was the originator of yoga and meditation and founder of the
Nath Sampradaya. Gorakh Nath literally means a person who has mastered his
indriyas (senses) and has complete control over the five vikritis or negative
characteristics in human nature - that is kaam (sexuality), krodh (temper),
mad (ego), lobh (greed) and moh (worldly attachment). By doing so, wants and
desires get stabilized, leading to peace and contentment within. He believed
that God existed in oneself, the five elements i.e. Jal (water), Vayu (air), Akash
(ether), Agni (fire) and Prithivi (earth), by which the body is made, become a part
of the cosmos through meditation and proper conduct.

He was the originator of Hatha Yoga and initiated the process of teaching it to
the mankind to improve the mind and body, thoughts and actions, focused on
leading a better quality of life, to save them from terrible diseases and
misfortunes. For the welfare of humanity, he preached yoga through all ages.
He was the creator of 8400 million Asans in Yoga. Only 84 have been in
existence in present time.

Goraksh Nath ji taught the world how to develop and realize the super powers
existing in the human mind and body through yogic practices. To maintain the
tradition of Guru-Sishya relationship, Goraksh Nath became the disciple of
Baba Shri Matsyendra Nath ji. Till eternity they clear all the doubts arising in a
yogis mind through the medium of question- answers between the guru and
the disciple. Gorakh Bodh, a book written by Goraksh Nath is an example. He
wrote many books on the subject of yoga in Sanskrit language. Many have
been published and many manuscripts still remain with the yogis at their
ashrams.

Impressed by his super human feats and teachings, many kings became his
disciples. They gave up all the luxuries in life and became completely devoted
towards Sadhana for the betterment of humanity. After performing many
austerities and penance, they mastered yoga and gained various Siddhis. They
attained sainthood and performed extraordinary deeds during their life times.
It is believed that 990 Million Kings became his disciples in all Yugas'.

Guru Gorakhnath Ji had Nav Naths and 84 Siddhis (accomplished beings), as

disciples who are human forms created by his own yogic powers to spread his
message of yoga and meditation to the world. The Nath Sampradaya spread,
through the centuries, all over the world.

References have been found in the Vedas (holy books of the Hindu scriptures
over 5000 years old), the Dabistan I Mazahib, the prophet Mohammad is
reported as meeting him, Buddha (6th to 7th century), the kings Gopichand
and Baratari (8th to 11th century) were disciples, Kabir Das (14th century)
mentions Gorakhnath in the Kabir Granthvali and through all the ages.

No Samadhi (tomb) has ever been found, though the caves where he meditated
Gorakh Gufa (now in Nepal), Gorakh Tilla (now in Pakistan), and Girnar, where
Guru Gorakhnath's dhooni still exists, (in India) are places of worship.

He is considered to be ever existent by Nath Yogis and their followers, and the
Nath Ashrams continue to practice his teachings. Great epics like Padma,
Skanda, Shiva and Bramhand Puranas, books on Tantra such as Tantra
Mahanarva, Brahadaranyak Upnishads and other ancient scriptures have well
described stories of Guru Gorakshnath.

The present form and rules set in the Nath Sampradaya is supposed to be 200
years before Lord Shankaracharya's birth. This is mentioned in the Hindu epic
Shankar Digvijaya.
 Acknowledgement

There are many people who deserve credit for their contribution in the writing
of this book. First of all I will be forever grateful to my great guru Yogi Shree
Santosh Nath ji for lighting the torch of meditation that enabled me to have first
glimpses of those silent gaps between thoughts & the transcendental value of
life.

Next I owe it to my wonderful wife who played indispensable role in the

evolution and shaping up of this life.

I would like to immensely thank my dearest friend Mr. Hemendra Seth who
played a key role in planning, designing and shaping up of this book. His
continued and great support has made this enviable piece of writing possible.

This book would never have reached its current state of evolution without a
commendable work done by the genius artist Shree Kamal ji Sharma who
devoted a major time out of his very busy schedule of work for this book. He has
done a wonderful job in making such a nice collection of paintings of lord Rudra
(Shiva). His unflagging and persistent attention to clarity and quality has made
this book a class of its own. These superb paintings of the various forms of lord
Rudra will definitely be liked by the devotees of Shiva and help them discover
his true love and blessings.

Shri Ved prakashji and his wife were so kind to me like lord shiva and parvati
themselves, who came up to me and helped me. They helped reshape this book
through their perspective translation, reading and editing of some of the
ancient scriptures in Sanskrit language. They worked really very hard to make
this book so simple and easy to understand by all devotees. I am very grateful
for their kind support.
 Table of Contents

Preamble
SHAMBHU
Nandeeshwar Incarnation of Lord Shambhu
PINAKI
Birth of Shiva from Shuchimati's Womb in the form of
Grahaspati

GIRISHA
Durvasa Incarnation of Shiva
STHANU
The Story of Shiva's Pipplad Incarnation

BHARG
Yatinath and Hansa Incarnations of Lord Shiva
SADASHIVA
Krishnadarshan Manifestation of Bhagwan Shiva

SHIVA
Avdhuteshwar Incarnation of Bhagwan Shiva

HARA
Bhikshuvaryavtar of Bhagwan Shiva

SHARVA
Sureshwaravtar of Bhagwan Shiva

KAPAALI
Shiva Appears in the Guise of a Kirat

BHAVA
Incarnation of Shiva as Hanuman
The Gangaavtaran Shiva (Descent of Ganga)

The Odhardani Shiva (Compassionate Bhagwan Shiva)

The Hariharatmak Shiva

Ardhnarishwar Shiva
Panchmauki Shiva (The five faces and five images of Shiva)

Mahamrityuanjaya
 Preamble
The practice of worshiping the five deities in Sanatan Dharma has been
in existence since times immemorial. Accordingly, the five sects known as
Vaishnav, Shaiv, Shakt, Saur and Ganpatya are found all over the world but
the Shaivas outnumber the others because out of the five deities, the three -
Shiva, Shakti and Ganesha belong to the Shiva family alone.

According to Puranas, Shiva has the largest number of devotees because

even the Asuras (demons) worship him. Ghosts and spirits are also believed to
be the members of Shiva's clan, which means Shiva's worshipers, include all
types of devotees. And why should it not be so? After all, Bhagwan Shiva does
well to all. The whole universe, including living and non-living beings, is a
manifestation of Shiva.

Anastamo baheesatvastrijagatpalko Hari |

Anhahsatvastamobahyastrijagalaykridhrarah||
Antarbahirajshchaivtrijagatsrishtikridwidhih |
Evam gunastrideveshu gunabhinnah Shivah smritih ||

That is, Bhagwan Hari who sustains the three lokas (worlds) is
internally tamoguni and externally satoguni. Bhagwan Hara, the destroyer of
the three lokas is satoguni inside and tamoguni externally. Brahma, the
creator of the three lokas is rajoguni both in and out whereas Parbrahmn
Shiva is beyond the three gunas. The reason behind this is that satoguna is a
form of "sukha"; tamoguna a form of "dukha" or suffering and rajoguna
denotes "action". Lord Vishnu looks after the universe, which seems to be a
form of "sukha" or joy but in reality it is a form of "dukha" or suffering.
Therefore, Lord Vishnu's task seems to be joyful from outside but actually
leads to suffering. Hence, Lord Vishnu is decked in beautiful clothes but has
black complexion despite being satvik.

Bhagwan Shiva destroys the creation. So apparently, he seems to

symbolize "dukha" but in reality he causes integration of the universe with God
through destruction, which ultimately proves to be a cause of "sukha".
Therefore, though he is decked in a tamoguni ensemble outwardly, yet
essentially he is satoguni by nature. He is called "Ashutosha", which means he
is the one who gets pleased very soon which is a satguni virtue.

Bhagwan Brahmdev is ever busy in creation therefore his complexion is

red. Shastras have ascribed this colour to action. So worshiping Shiva
automatically amounts to worshiping Bhagwan Brahma and Vishnu. In
actuality, there is no difference in the activities of the trinity. Whatever
difference is visible is in fact illusory.

In Shivapurana, the greater than the manifest nirgun form of Shiva is

called 'Sadashiva', the sagun form is Maheshwar; the form that creates the
world is Brahma while the form that sustains is called Vishnu and the one that
destroys the world is called Rudra. Another meaning of Rudra is the one who
delivers from all suffering. 'Rujam dukham dravayatiti Rudrah'.

When gods and demons together worked hard to obtain amrit and
churned the ocean, unfortunately halahal, the deadly poison came out first.
This deadly poison proved to be destructive not only for the gods and demons
but also for the whole universe. The entire universe cried out for help. The
creator Brahma and the sustenance provider Vishnu both got worried. They
began to wonder how it was possible to redeem the universe of this untimely
calamity. Unable to find out any solution, they finally went to Bhagwan
Shankar, the loved one of all spirits and the one who is readily pleased and is
called Ashutosha. Bhagwan Shankar who ever remains in a state of permanent
bliss, took the halahal and held it in his throat to redeem all the beings of the
universe. As soon as Bhagwan Shankar put it in his throat, the entire world felt
greatly relieved.

Though Ganapati's vehicle, the mouse and the snake that adorn Shiva's
head are archenemies, yet they live in peaceful coexistence. The snake that
adorns Shiva's head is also inimical to Commander-in-Chief's vehicle, the
mayura (peacock). Similarly, there is a contradiction in Neelkantha poison and
the Amrit of the moon that adorns Shankar's forehead. The vehicle of Bhawani,
the lion is hostile to the ox, the vehicle of Shiva. There are other contradictions
also. Shiva burnt Kamdev to ashes, yet lived with a woman. Shiva's third eye
spits destructive fire, yet his head is cool because of the streams of the Ganga,
which he holds in his tresses. This dexterous son-in-law of Daksha is an expert
politician yet in reality is very simple and innocent; but in these mutual
contradictions there is a certain natural balance and feeling of peaceful
coexistence. This is indicative of the exquisite power of coordination of
Mahadeva, the beloved of all spirits and the God of gods.

The destructive form of Bhagwan Sadashiva known as Rudra has

unlimited attributes. They cannot be counted even in three ages. They are all
Neelkantha. The story of the eleven Rudras finds place not only in the
Mahabharata and Puranas but is referred to in Rigveda also.

All the gods share the grandeur of the eleven Rudras. Ordinarily, it is
beyond the power of a normal human brain to give an accurate description of
Rudradeva, yet a humble effort has been made here to introduce to the people
the eleven Rudra - Shambhu, Pinaki, Girish, Sthanu, Bharg, Sadashiva, Shiva,
Hara, Sharva, Kapali and Bhava. We hope and believe that this booklet will be
quite useful for the devotees of Shiva.

Tav tatvam na janani keydrishoasi Maheshwar |

Yadrishoasi Mahadev tadrishaye namo namah ||

[O Lord! What is your nature? I do not know your nature. Whatever be your
nature, I offer salutations to you who is of that nature. ]
- H.K. Jain
 Shambhu
Brahmavishnumaheshandevadanavrakshsah |
Yasmat prajgire devastam Shambhu pranamamyham ||
[Shaivagam]

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The one who has created Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, deities, demons, fiends and all the
gods, I offer my salutations to that worshipful Shambhu.

Bhagwan Rudra is the One who creates, sustains and destroys this universe. The
names - Shambhu, Shiva, Ishwara, Maheshwar are synonyms of the same name.
According to Shruti there is only one Rudra, who regulates all the worlds with his power.
So he is the Ishwara; he resides inside everyone. But from the spiritual, adhibhautik and
adhidaivic point of view he has been recognised with eleven names as mentioned in the
Shruti, Puranas, etc. In the fourteenth chapter (Vrihidaranykopnishad) of
Shatpatbrahman, Purusha has been described as having ten pranas with eleventh as
atman or spiritual Rudra. The cosmic air that enters our body is the life force and
functions at ten different places in the body therefore it is called Rudraprana. The
eleventh atman is also known as Rudra Pranatman. Adhibhautik Rudra manifests as the
earth, water, energy, air, space, the sun, the moon, yajman, pavman, fire and shuchi. Out
of these the first eight are known as images of Shiva, the remaining three - pavman, fire
and shuchi are the intense forms. Adhidaivik Rudras live in constellations. They have
been addressed by different names and varied reasons have been given for their origin in
the various puranas. Thus Bhagwan Rudra is the primary cause of the universe and is all-
pervading. "Eka eva Rudrovatasthe na dwitiyah", and "Asankhyatah sahasrani ye Rudra
adhibhoomyam". Thus descriptions of one Rudra and numberless Rudras are found in
Tantra-books. It means that one Rudra is the supreme leader and the remaining Rudras
are his subjects. According to Puranas, they were born out of Parjapatis anger and tears
shed at his inability to create the universe. Shivapurana says that they came into being on
Kashyap's request through Kashyap and Surabhi when gods were overpowered by
demons. In Shaivagam, they have been described as eleven Rudras, namely, Shambhu,
Pinaki, Girish, Sthanu, Bharga, Sadashiva, Shiva, Hara, Sharva, Kapali and Bhava.

Once while dallying in Anandavan the first and the Adi-Rudra felt the desire to
multiply. He created Vishnu by rubbing Amrit on the tenth part of his left side and
similarly created Brahma from his right side. A little later when under the spell of
Rudramaya, Vishnu and Brahma tried to find out the cause of their origin, they saw a
Jyotirlinga, which had no beginning and no end; they were unable to find its boundaries.
Vishnu and Brahma then worshipped Bhagwan Shambhu who appeared before them
with goddess Uma who symbolizes his power or shakti. He assigned the job of creating
the universe to Brahma and asked Vishnu to sustain it. He said that Rudradev would
originate from another part of his body and would be the destroyer of the world. Shambhu
told them that he alone was the prime cause of this universe and the creator of both of
them, Rudras and all the gods and demons and monsters. He had created Bhagwan
Vishnu from the left side of his body and Brahma from the right side; similarly, he would
create Rudra from his heart. Saying this, Bhagwan Shambhu disappeared.

The adhibhautik Prithvi-statue of the first Rudra Bhagwan Shambhu known as

Ekamranath (Kshiti-linga) is situated at Shiva Kaanchi. Water is not poured on this
divine idol; instead it is bathed in jasmine oil. Lord's procession is taken out every
Monday. Goddess Parvati had set up this Kshiti-linga and worshipped it to propitiate
Shambhu-Rudra. One can obtain prosperity and eternal glory by having a darshan of this
linga.
Nandeeshwar Incarnation of Lord Shambhu

In olden times, there was a religious saint named Shilad. He was urged by his
ancestors to perform rigorous tapa to please Indra in order to have an immortal son not
born out of the womb of a woman. Indra asked him to do tapa and propitiate Shambhu to
get such a son. Pleased by his tapa, Mahadeva appeared and asked him what boon he
wanted to have. Shilad Muni said, "O Lord! I want an immortal son like you who is not
born out of a woman's womb".

Shiva said, "Tapodhan Vipra! In ancient times Brahmaji alongwith sages and
gods had worshipped me by performing great tapa for my incarnation on the earth.
Though I am the father of the whole universe, yet I shall take birth as your immortal son
and I shall be named Nandi". Having said so, the merciful Lord Shiva disappeared. After
sometime, Shilad, the great yajna performer was ploughing a field for performing a
yajna. At that moment, a son was born out of a drop of his sweat. That child appeared
lustrous as the ever-renewing fire. When Shilad Muni saw that the boy was bright like the
sun, had three eyes, a crown of tresses, was armed with a trident and other weapons and
looked like Rudra with his four arms, he was in a state of pure bliss. When they reached
Shilad's cottage, the child gave up the form of Rudra and acquired the human form. The
affectionate father performed the Jaatkarma ceremony and named him Nandi. In his
fifth year he taught him all the Vedas and Shastras. When he had completed the seventh
year two munis, Mitra and Varma came to see him at Shiva's behest. They told Shilad that
though his son was highly knowledgeable about the Shastras, he has only one year to live.
When Nandi saw that his father was worried, he said, "Father, please don't worry. Even if
Yamraja, the God of death wants to kill me, he will not be able to do so. I shall overcome
death by the grace of Bhagwan Shambhu". In this way, Nandi consoled his father and
took to the forest to do tapasya to propitiate Bhagwan Shankar.

In the forest, Nandi concentrated on the form of Sadashiva that has three eyes, ten
arms and five faces and started chanting Rudra-mantra. Nandi did such rigorous tapa that
Mahadeva appeared there along with Uma. He said to Nandi, "O son of Shilad! You have
performed great tapa. I am highly satisfied with your tapasya. You may ask for the boon
which will satisfy you". When Mahadeva spoke thus, Nandi was overwhelmed and sang
his praises and fell at his feet.

Bhagwan Shambhu lifted him up and said, "Son, it was me who had sent those
vipras to you. You don't have to fear death; you are just like me. You will not be afflicted by
old age, death, sufferings and decay and will become my Gananayaka. You will be
powerful like me and take a position at my flanks. By my grace - birth, old age and death
will not affect you". Thus saying Shankara, the all merciful, took out the lotus garland
from his neck and put it around Nandi's neck. No sooner did he garland him; Nandi was
equipped with three eyes and ten arms and started looking exactly like Shankara. After
that, Bhagwan Shambhu anointed him with great affection as his ganadhyaksha.
 Pinaki
Kshmarathsmaroodham Brahmsutrasmanvitam |
Chaturvedaishcha sahitam Pinakinamaham bhajey ||
[Shaivagam]

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The One who rides the chariot of forgiveness coordinated by Brahmsutra and holds the
four Vedas, I offer my worship to such a Bhagwan Pinaki.

In Shaivagam the second Rudra is called Pinaki. Shri Brahmaji tells Narad, "When
I and Bhagwan Vishnu offered our prostrations to Rudra - the physical incarnation of
verbal form, we saw the manifestation of the mantra that originated from Onkara. After
that, the sacred words "Om Tatvamasi" became visible. Then we saw Gayatri Mantra
that helps in attaining Dharma and Artha. After that, the all-merciful Bhagwan Pinaki,
my master appeared all of a sudden. The four Vedas are the forms of Pinaki Rudra only.
When Bhagwan Vishnu saw Bhagwan Pinaki Rudra, he once again sang devotional
hymns in his praise. Bhagwan Pinaki was pleased and first of all he taught the Vedas
verbally, to Bhagwan Vishnu. After that he gave him his secret knowledge. Then the
almighty Bhagwan Pinaki very kindly gave that knowledge to me also. Having received
the knowledge of the Vedas we both offered salutations to Bhagwan Pinaki and bowed
before him in gratitude".

Bhagwan Pinaki Rudra said to Naraindev, I am greatly pleased with your devotion
and want both of you to ask for a boon of your liking. O Vishnu! It is me who has taken the
three forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra to facilitate the three functions of creation,
sustenance and destruction. In fact, I am always indivisible. The trinity cannot be split.
Those who consider them to be separate are living in ignorance. I am the truth,
knowledge and Eternal Brahmn. Therefore, keeping this fact in mind, you should
contemplate my true form". In this way, Bhagwan Rudra imparted the knowledge of
Vedas in his second form of Pinaki Rudra to Vishnu and Brahma and then became
invisible.

The adhibhautic form of the Jalamoorti of Rudra Pinaki, the second Rudra, is
located in South India in the state of Tamilnadu in Trichinapalli, a mile away from Shri
Rangam. It is known as "Jaltatvalinga" or "Jambukeshwara Linga". Water keeps
constantly springing up from beneath the Ling statue. Behind the temple there is an
ancient jamun (rose apple) tree on a platform. Because of this tree this Lingam has been
named Jambukeshwara. Previously, there were many jamun trees there and a rishi used
to worship Bhagwan Shiva. Since he lived and did tapasya in 'Jambuvana', he came to be
known as Jambu Rishi. Pleased by his rigorous tapa, Bhagwan Shankara graced him with
his darshan and on his request established himself there in the form of Jalamoorti of the
second Rudra. It is said that Adi Shankaracharya also attained knowledge by
worshipping this Jalmoorti of the second Pinaki Rudra.

According to a legend, jamun leaves used to fall on Shivalinga and a spider would
daily weave a web on the Linga to save it from the falling leaves. An elephant used to
bring water in his trunk to anoint the Lingam. He took a dislike for the web woven over
the Lingam. On the other side the spider also felt bad that the web was swept away by
water everyday. One day, the elephant tried to kill the spider with his trunk but the spider
entered the trunk. As a result both of them died. But since both of them were pure-hearted,
Bhagwan Shankar liberated them.

Birth of Shiva from Shuchimati's Womb in the form of Grahaspati

In ancient times, there was a city called Narmpur on the idyllic banks of Narmada.
There lived a sage named Vishvanar . He was pure hearted, a great devotee of Shiva and
had mastered his senses. He was leading a happy married life. After a long time, one day
his devoted wife spoke to him thus, "My Lord! I have enjoyed all the pleasures of married
life with you, which a woman can think of, but I have a long cherished desire. I want to
have a son from you as bright as Bhagwan Maheshwara. Please help me in the fulfillment
of my desire".

On hearing these words of his wife, Vishvanar went into deep thought for a
moment. He said to himself, "Today my wife has asked for such a rare boon. It seems
Pinaki Bhagwan Rudra himself has inspired her. He is competent to do whatever he
likes". Having thought thus, he assured his wife and went to Varanasi and began
performing tapasaya and worshipping Vireshlinga of Bhagwan Shankar. In the thirteenth
month, just as he was walking towards Vireshlinga after taking bath in the Ganga, he saw
an eight-year-old boy in the middle of the Linga. His forehead was adorned with matted
tresses of yellow colour and he was smiling. This unique boys' body was smeared with
sacred ashes and he was chanting Shruti suktas. Sage Vishvanar felt that his purpose had
been accomplished and he was overwhelmed with joy. He recited the eight verses related
to the fulfillment of one's wish and sang songs in praise of Bhagwan Shiva. Shankara who
had appeared in the form of a child was pleased, "O great wise man, be assured and go
home now. When the time comes I will fulfill your wife's desire and be born as your son.
My name will be Grahpati. I will appear as a holy and austere man and will be the loved
one of all gods".

Vishvanar offered his obeisance to Bhagwan Shiva and went home happily. At an
appropriate time Shuchimati gave birth to the incarnation of Bhagwan Rudra who brings
happiness to all the three lokas and destroys demons. Brahma himself went to
Vishvanar's home and performed the Jatakarma ceremony of the child and named him
Grahpati. Vishvanar performed all the sanskaras at the appropriate time and taught him
Vedas according to prescribed disciplines. When he was nine years old Devrishi Narada
came to see him. After welcome had been accorded to him, he said, "O sage Vishvanar!
This son of yours is very lucky but I am afraid he may be struck by lightening or fire at the
age of twelve".

When Grahpati saw that his father was worried about him, he decided to go to
Kashi to worship Bhagwan Shiva and sought his father's permission for it. On reaching
Kashi, he daily anointed Bhagwan Shankar with hundred and eight kalash (pots) filled
with Ganga water and chanted Shivamantra. When he was in the twelfth year, Indra
appeared before him and said, "O revered Vipra! Ask for a boon as per your heart's
desire". Grahpati responded, "You are the one who is inimical to mountains and you are
the one who molested Ahilya and defiled her chastity. Go back, I do not seek any boon
from any one except Pashupati - the Lord of all animals". Indra was infuriated by his
reply and threatened to kill him with his vajra. Grahpati was so scared that he fainted.
Then Lord Shankar appeared and said, "Son, do not worry about Indra, even Yama
cannot harm a devotee of mine. From today onwards, I bestow on you 'Agnipada'. The
Lingam established by you at Kashi shall be known as Agneeshwara”.
 Girisha
Kailasashikharprodyanmanimandapmadhyagah |
Girisho Girijapraanvallabhostu sadamude ||
[Shaivagam]

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Let Bhagwan Girisha who sits on the middle of manimandapa on the highest peak of
Kailash and is dear to Girija provide us with happiness.

It is said that Bhagwan Shiva has his abode at three places. The first one is
Bhadravat, which is situated to the east of Kailasha above Lohityagiri: The second is on
the mountain of Kailash and the third is on the mountain of Moonjvan. Though Bhagwan
Shankar is an embodiment of detatchment and self-control, yet Kailash is very dear to
him, for most of his leela takes place on this mountain. On Kailash Mountain, Bhagwan
Rudra is known by his third form Girisha. In Shaivagam also, Rudra has been described
by the name of Girisha. There are two reasons for his preference for Kailash. The first one
is that he had granted a boon to his friend and devotee Kuber that he would reside near his
place at Alkapuri. The second reason is that his dear consort Uma was born as the
daughter of Giriraj Himavan.

According to Shivapuran and Kalidas, when Goddess Sati, the embodiment of

Prembhakti took birth as the daughter of queen Menaka, the wife of the king of
mountains, Himalaya and acquired a form suited to her revered god Girisha and was
growing like the moon of the bright phase, 'Shuklapaksha', just then Mahadev Girisha
came to the Himalayan region to do tapasya. Bhagwan Girisha is the one who grants
boons to all those who undertake tapasya. Then why should he be required to do tapasya?
Kalidas has said that Rudra had started tapoleela there at Himalaya to fulfill the desire of
his great devotee Uma, the embodiment of love.

When Himvan heard that the one who is worshipped by all, even by the gods, has
come to Himalaya to perform tapasya, he appointed his dear daughter Parvati to serve
him and to facilitate his tapasya. Parvati who had beautiful hair, herself picked flowers
for Mahadev Girish Rudra's pooja, cleaned the seat and the altar and brought water and
Kusha, i.e. the green grass. Bhagwati Parvati served Bhagwan Girish Rudra out of pure
and loving devotion; there was no tinge of desire in it. The selfless service by Goddess
Parvati has been very beautifully depicted in Kalidasa's epic Kumarsambhav and in
Shivapurana. Though Bhagwan Shankar is averse to Kamdev yet he undertook tapasya
in order to fulfill the devotional desire of Parvati because actually he is not different from
the compassionate form of Girisha Rudra.

In the adhibhautik form, the Agnimoorti (fire statue) of Bhagwan Girisha is

situated in Arunachal. It is said that once playfully Parvati closed the eyes of Bhagwan
Shankar with her hands, which resulted in, total darkness because the sun and the moon
are the eyes of Bhagwan Rudra. As a result, there arose a crisis for all the creatures of the
universe. At this, Parvati performed a rigorous tapasya in Shivakanchi and Arunachal to
atone for her lapse. After that, a unique and bright Linga emitting exquisite light appeared
which drove away the darkness from the world. This fire form is the Tejolinga (luminous
linga) of Girisha. Devotees in large numbers flock to this place the day of the full moon in
the month of Kartika.

Durvasa Incarnation of Shiva

Anusuya's husband, sage Atri who was endowed with Brahmnjnana, once went
to Rikshakool Mountain along with his wife and performed a rigorous tapasya in order to
get a son. All the three gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, pleased by his tapasya
appeared before him and said, "Atri! We are greatly pleased by your tapasya. You can ask
for the desired boon for there is nothing that we the Trinity cannot grant you". Atri said
that he wanted a son just like them. The three gods promised that at an appropriate time he
would be blessed with a son like them and became invisible.

The Moon was a product of Brahma and Dutt was born by the blessings of Vishnu.
Dutt is said to be the proponent of sanyas system. Durvasa was born by the blessings of
Rudra. In order to prove the supremacy of God's devotees, he once tested the
steadfastness of Maharaj Ambrish, a great devotee of Bhagwan Vishnu. Once he invited
Durvasa to a meal at his place at the conclusion of his Ekadashi fast. Durvasa could not
come on time. As the time for conclusion was slipping away, Maharaj Ambrish
concluded his fast with God's holy water and basil leaves on the advice of Brahmins.
When Durvasa learnt that Ambrish had concluded his fast without first offering food to
him, he was infuriated and created Kritya and ordered her to burn Ambrish to ashes. But
the Sudarshan Chakra guarding Ambrisha burnt Kritya to ashes. Then at Ambrisha's
request Shiva ordered the Sudarshan Chakra to calm down.

Durvasa tested the steadfastness of Bhagwan Rama also. Once Yamaraj appeared
before Shri Rama in the guise of a muni. He asked Rama that no third person should be
present or come in while they were talking. He asked him to issue an order that if any one
came and disturbed their discussion he would be put to death. Suddenly, Durvasa came
and insisted on seeing Rama and sent Laxman to Rama to convey the message of his
arrival. As soon as Laxman entered the room, Rama renounced Laxman at that very
moment. Durvasa also tested the steadfastness of Shri Krishna and harnessed him and
Rukmani to a chariot.

Once Durvasa went to meet Duryodhana. He entertained him lavishly for a

number of days. Pleased by his hospitality, Durvasa told him to ask for a boon. He asked
him to go to Pandavas in the forest and ask for food when all of them along with Draupadi
have their meals. Durvasa promised to do exactly the same. So one day he went to the
Pandavas after the meal time when all of them including Draupadi had eaten. He said to
them, "I am coming to you along with my disciples after taking my bath. Please make
arrangements for our meals immediately".

As Draupadi had also eaten, the "Akshay Paatra" (the pot that never became
empty until Draupadi had eaten) given by the Sun God was empty at that time. The
Pandavas did not know how to escape the wrath of Durvasa. Finally, Draupadi thought of
Shri Krishna who arrived and saved the Pandavas from Durvasa's wrath. Thus Durvasa
acted in a strange manner on many occasions.
 Sthanu
Vamangkritsamveshgirikanyasukhavaham |
Sthanum namami shirsa sarvadevnamaskritam ||
[Shaivagam]

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¼'kSokxe½
The One who provides pleasure to Parvati who is seated on his left side, the One who
is worshipped by all the gods, I offer my salutations to this Bhagwan Sthanu Rudra.

The fourth form of Bhagwan Rudra has been described as Sthanu in Shaivagam.
He is ever absorbed in profound meditation, is self-pleased and fully devoid of desire.
Even then, on the request of the gods and for the welfare of the people he has the daughter
of Giriraj Himvan, his Adishakti seated on his left side as his wife and performs various
acts for the happiness of his devotees.

Once, terrorized by Tarakasur, all the gods sought shelter with Shri Brahamaji and
said, “O Lord! We all are being terrorized by the cruel demon Tarakasur. He has ousted us
from our abode and rendered us homeless. He has usurped the throne of Indra. You are
our sustainer and redeemer. He has become so powerful because of the boon you gave
him and now he is misusing that power. He is proving to be a menace to the whole
universe. So please tell us how he can be destroyed”.

Brahmaji said, "Tarakasur can be killed only by the one who is born out of
Bhagwan Shankar's sperm. I am helpless because of the boon I granted him. Bhagwan
Shankar is sitting in Samadhi at Himalaya in his Sthanu form. Sati who had discarded her
body at the time of the Yajna performed by her father Daksha has taken birth as the
daughter of Himvan and is now rendering service to Bhagwan Shankar Sthanu, the
fourth form of Rudra who is absorbed in meditation; he is so deeply engrossed in
meditation that it is not possible to wake him out of the Sthanu form. Gods! Try to make
efforts to bring him out of his samadhi so that he agrees to marry Parvati".

The gods sent Kamdev, the god of desire and the husband of Rati to arouse the
feelings of love in the mind of Bhagwan Sthanu Shiva. He released an arrow on Sthanu
Rudra. But a destructive flame of death emanated from Rudra's forehead and at once
reduced Kamdev to ashes. Later, on the request of the gods, Bhagwan Sthanu Rudra
married Parvati and begot a son named Kartikeya who killed Tarakasur. In this way,
Bhagwan Sthanu Rudra, though in a state of great ire, brought Kamadev, the husband of
Rati, back to life and brought an end to the atrocities of Tarakasur. All the gods, after
singing praises of Sthanu Rudra and Parvati who sits pretty on his left side, went to their
respective lokas.

The Vayumoorti (air statue) of Bhagwan Sthanu Rudra, the fourth form of
adhibhautic Rudra, is situated north of Balaji in Arkat district on the banks of river
Swarnmukhi. This statue is known as Kaal-Hasteeshwar Vayulinga. According to a
popular belief, Bhagwan Sthanu Rudra is always present here in the form of a special
breeze. The Shivamoorti here is quadrangular. In front of this statue, there is a statue of
Kannapp Bhil. This great and ardent devotee of Shiva sacrificed and offered both of his
eyes to Ashutosh and got a boon that he would always remain in front of him. It is said, as
in Varanasi, here also Bhagwan Rudra chants the Tarak (redeeming) mantra in the ears of
a dying person and redeems him.

The Story of Shiva's Pipplad Incarnation

Once the demons defeated the gods with the help of Vritrasur. All the gods
together went to Brahma and told him the tale of their woes. Brahma said, "Gods!
Twashta has produced this mighty Vritrasur to destroy you. This demon is endowed with
supreme strength of self-confidence and holds authority over all the demons. Mahrishi
Dadhichi has acquired bones as strong as a diamond. Go and ask him to give you his
bones. Then prepare a thunderbolt with those bones. You can destroy this demon only
with that weapon". When Indra and other gods went to Dadhichi, the good sage
understood their motive. He sent his wife Suvarcha out of the ashram. After that he
contemplated Bhagwan Shiva and embraced death for the sake of the welfare of the gods.
Indra got the thunderbolt made by Vishwakarma out of Dadhichi's bones and destroyed
Vritrasur.

When Dadhichi's wife Suvarcha came back to the ashram and learnt how her
husband had sacrificed his life for the gods, she was angry and cursed Indra and the other
gods. Then she got a pyre ready to perform sati. Just then she heard a celestial voice from
heaven, which said, "Devi! You are carrying the sage's child in your womb. Therefore,
you should give up the idea of performing sati. A pregnant woman should not destroy her
body by burning it". Hearing the celestial voice, the sages' wife was dismayed for a
moment, but her only desire was to go to the place where her husband had gone. She tore
her stomach with a piece of stone and the embryo came out of it. It was so bright that all
the three lokas were lit up with its brilliant light. Begotten by Dadhichi, this was an
incarnation of Rudra. The beloved of the Muni Suvarcha at once knew that this son of
hers in the divine form was Rudra himself. She offered prayers to Rudra in the form of her
son and said, "Dear Son! I leave you near this fig tree. May you grow into a person who
will bring happiness to one and all? Now allow me to proceed to the world where my
husband has gone". Thus saying, Suvarcha followed her husband through samadhi of the
highest order. After that Brahma and all the other gods came there and offered prayers to
the infant incarnation of Rudra. Brahmaji named him Pipplad. The Rudra incarnation
Pipplad performed tapa for a long time under that fig tree for the welfare of all. He was
married to Padma, the daughter of king Aranya and had ten children from her. They were
all great sages and rigorous performers of tapasya like their father. Rudra incarnation
Pipplad came to the rescue of people being tormented by Shanichar. He ordained that
Shani would not torment the devotees of Shiva and all others till the age of sixteen. If
Shani would violate his declaration, he would be reduced to ashes. That is why out of that
fear of being reduced to ashes; Shani never torments devotees of Shiva or those who are
below the age of sixteen. In this way, this great and powerful sage Pipplad performed
various acts.
 Bharg
Chandravatanso Jatilastrinetrobhasmpandarah|
Hridayasthah sadabhooyad Bhargo bhayavinashnah||
[Shaivagam]

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May the One whose head is adorned with the moon and matted tresses, who has three
eyes and is resplendent with the sacred ashes and drives away all fears, find abode in our
hearts forever.

The fifth Rudra - Bhagwan Bharg has been called the dispeller of fear. It is only
Mahadev Bhagwan Bharg Rudra who relieves the suffering world of its sorrows and
fears at a fast pace. Bharg Rudra is knowledge incarnate and provides liberation to
devotees and redeems them from the fears of Bhavsagar - the ocean of life.

Once upon a time, gods and demons churned the ocean to obtain Amrit. But the
first thing that came out was Halahal, that is, poison. The devastating flames that came
out of the terrible poison sent the people of the three lokas (worlds) helter-skelter crying
for mercy. Death seemed to be imminent. Even Lord Vishnu could not do anything to
save their lives. At last, all the gods together with Lord Vishnu went to Bhagwan Bharg
Rudra to seek help. At that time Bhagwan Bharg Rudra was seated at Mount Kailash
along with his consort Parvati. The gods prostrated before him and said, "O Mahadev!
The deadly fire emanating from Kaalkut poison that has emerged as a result of the
churning of the ocean is out to destroy the gods as well as all the other creatures of the
universe. Bharg Rudra! You are the one who redeems all creatures from fear. Hence, we
pray to you to redeem us from the fear of this Kaalkut poison.

Having heard their entreaties Bhagwan Rudra spoke to Parvati, "Look dear! How
everyone including gods is terrified because of the Kaalkut poison that has came out of
the milky ocean. Everyone is in great distress and wants to save his life. It is my supreme
duty to provide relief to them. Considering their own life ephemeral, virtuous men
sacrifice everything they have in order to save the lives of others. Therefore, to relieve the
creatures of the universe from this terrible fear, I will drink this kaalkut poison". Having
said that, the merciful Bharg Rudra gathered that all pervading deadly poison into his
palm and drank it up. That terrible poison got lodged into Rudra's throat and taking blue
colour became an adornment of Lord Shankar. Because of this sacrifice for the sake of the
welfare of all living beings, the fifth form of Rudra was called Bharg. In order to quench
the poisonous fire and to give a cooling effect he always wears on his forehead the moon
that also emerged from the ocean.

Bhagwan Bharg Rudra as a symbol of the one who does well to others has his sky
statue in this physical world in the form of an aakaashlinga and is situated in
Chidambaram on the banks of the river Kaveri. There is no statue in the main temple here.
In another temple, however, there is a beautiful statue of Chidambaram Natraj
performing the dance of dissolution. The word Chidambaram means 'horizon of mind'. In
an adjacent temple you can see the statue of Lord Vishnu reclining on Sheshnag. In the
temple of Shankar, there is a dakshinavrat gold plated conch shell, which is considered to
be invaluable and rare like gajmukta, nagmani and single faced rudraksha. There is a
curtain on one side of the temple. If you lift the curtain, you will see some gold necklaces.
This is the aakaashlinga of Bhagwan Rudra. Otherwise also, the abode of Bhagwan
Rudra is said to be the mind, which represents the sky.

Yatinath and Hansa Incarnations of Lord Shiva

There lived a Bhil near Arbudachal Mountain. His name was Ahuk. People called
his wife Ahuka. She was an austere woman and observed fasts and other religious rites
regularly. Both of them were great devotees of Lord Shiva. One day, the Bhil went far
away from home in search of food for his wife. On that occasion, in the evening Lord
Shankar came to his home in the guise of a sanyasi (ascetic) to test his steadfastness. In
the meantime, the Bhil also came back home. With great devotion he worshipped the
Yatiraj. In order to test the Bhil's steadfastness, he asked him to let him stay overnight in
the hut. He said he would go away the following morning. With that he wished him God's
grace.

The Bhil said, "Swamiji! You are quite right. But the hut is so small that it can
accommodate only two persons. I don't know how we can accommodate you". At this,
Swamiji got ready to leave. Then the wife of the Bhil said, "O Lord of my life! Do not turn
away a guest from home like this. It amounts to flouting the grahasth dharma. You stay
inside the hut with Swamiji comfortably. I shall stay outside and guard the house during
the night". The Bhil thought it would be improper to let the woman stay out, so he decided
that he himself would stay out. He asked the Swamiji to stay in and himself stood guard
outside. But during the night beasts of prey killed him and ate him up. The sanyasi was
sorry about it. When the Bhil's wife saw the sanyasi was feeling sorry about it, she said to
him with great patience, "Please do not feel sad. The Bhilraj has sacrificed his life while
performing his duty. He has thus achieved fulfillment. I shall perform sati and follow
him. Kindly prepare a pyre for me without any lamentations". The sanyasi prepared a
pyre for her. The Bhil's wife climbed into the pyre in keeping with her duty to her
husband. At that moment Lord Shankar appeared and revealed his true identity to her. He
praised her steadfastness in dharma. He granted her a boon that in her next birth he would
appear in the form of a swan and help in bringing the husband and wife together. Her
husband would be born as a virtuous son to king Veersena in the capital of the country
called Nishadh and she would be born as a daughter to king Bheemraj in the city of
Vidarbh and her name would be Damyanti. After leading a royal and luxurious life they
would go to the holy Shivlok, which is not accessible even to great yogis.

Having spoken thus, Shiva set himself up at that very place in the form of a Linga.
That Bhil had remained steadfast on his dharma so this Linga was known as
Achaleshwara after his steadfastness. In his next life he was born as the son of Veersen in
Nishadh by the name of Maharaj Nala and his wife was born as the daughther of Raja
Bhim of Vidarbh and was named Damyanti. Yatinath Shiva appeared in the form of a
swan. He helped them in their marriage. Due to their virtuous deeds in their previous life,
Shiva in the form of the swan provided them joy by carrying their messages to each other.
After their death, both of them attained Shivalok.
 Sadashiva
Brahma bhutvasrinjallokam Vishnurbhutvath palayan|
Rudro bhutvaharanante gatirmeiastu sadashivah||
[Shaivagam]

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The One, who creates all the worlds in the form of Brahma, sustains them in the form of
Vishnu and finally destroys them in the form of Rudra, let that Sadashiva be my ultimate
goal.

The sixth form of Rudra has been described as Sadashiva in Shaivagam.

According to Shivapurana, first of all, the nirakar (formless) Supreme Brahmn Rudra
conceived an image for himself by his own power. That image was complete with all the
grandeur of divine majesty and all virtues, was meant to be worshiped and pure white in
colour, complete in form and the centre of all cultures. Having conceived that image, the
unique Brahmn disappeared. Thus the formless Supreme Rudra in his true conceptual
form is Sadashiva. The modern as well as the ancient scholars also call him Ishwar, that
is, the Supreme One. The Sadashiva who disports himself all alone, created out of his
own embodiment a Shakti in the likeness of his own image. The Shakti is called Ambika.
That is also known as the mother of the Trinity, Nitya (ever existing) and Moolkaran (the
prime cause). Revealed by Sadashiva, this Shakti has eight arms. She alone shines bright
with the brilliance of a thousand moons. She is the source of all. Though she is alone, she
can take several forms through her maya.

Sadashiva is called Param Purush Ishwara and Maheshwara. According to

Shivapuran, he adorns his head with Aakash-Ganga and forehead with the Moon. He has
five faces and every face has three eyes. He has ten arms and carries a trident. His limbs
are besmeared with sacred ash and their fragrance and brilliance is like that of camphor.
This kaal form of Brahmn once created Shivalok in union with Shakti. This sacred region
is known as Kashi. It is the place that leads everyone to ultimate liberation. Shakti and
Sadashiva, the embodiment of pure bliss, forever reside in that idyllic region. Bhagwan
Sadashiva and Ambika, the provider of ultimate bliss, never leave this beautiful place.
Therefore, scholars term this region as the place of liberation or emancipation. This place
is a synonym for bliss. That is why Sadashiva first named it as 'Anandvan'. After that it
came to be known as a place of liberation. Then Bhagwan Sadashiva took upon himself
the responsibility of creating the universe in the form of Brahma, of sustaining it in the
form of Vishnu and destroying it in the form of Rudra. In this way, Brahma, Vishnu and
Mahesh are the forms of Bhagwan Rudra. The devotees of Bhagwan Shankar look upon
the embodiment of blissful knowledge, Nirgun Brahmn as Sadashiva, and the all
pervading, formless sagun Brahmn as Maheshwara. The one who creates the universe is
termed as Brahma, the one who sustains the world is Vishnu and the destroyer is Rudra
and all the five are the manifestations of Rudra.

In the Adhibhautik form Bhagwan Surya is also a manifestation of Sadashiva

Rudra. According to the scriptures and religious books Surya is a direct manifestation of
God. There is no difference between Sadashiva and Surya.

Adityam cha Shivam Vidyachhivmadityaroopinam.

Ubhyorantaram naasti hyadityasya Shivasya cha.

Even otherwise, Surya and Chandra are the eyes of Bhagwan Sadashiv and
Bhagwan Sadashiva is always identified with Surya. They are indistinguishable.
Therefore, every Sun temple is the manifestation of Bhagwan Sadashiva's Sun-statue.
Krishnadarshan Manifestation of Bhagwan Shiva

The name of the youngest son of Manu called Shradhde was Nabhag. Bhagwan
Shiva had blessed him with knowledge. The son of Manu was highly intelligent. While
Nabhag was studying at Gurukul, his brothers Ikshwaku and others divided all the wealth
of their father among themselves and left nothing for Nabhag and began to rule their
kingdoms. After sometime, when Nabhag came back after completing his study of the
Vedas he found that his brothers had usurped his share of the property. He talked to them
about it and said since it was their fathers' property; he too should get his due share. He
asked them to settle the matter amicably and give him his share. Nabhag's brothers were
in no mood to oblige him. They simply told him that at the time of the division of the
property they had forgotten about him. Now it is too late to divide the property again, but
we give our father to you as your share.

Nabhag was greatly astonished by this reply. He went to his father and told him
everything about what his brothers had said. Shradhdev said, "My son, your brothers
have said all this to cheat you. However, I shall tell you how to make your living. These
days the Brahmins of Angirus gotra are performing a great yajna. On every sixth day of
the yajna, they commit a lapse. Go there and tell those Brahmins about the two Vedic
hymns pertaining to Vishvadeva. On the completion of the yajna when they leave for
heaven, they will give you all the money left with them".

Obeying his father's instructions, the truthful Nabhag went to that sacred yajna
and on the sixth day he clearly recited the two Vedic hymns about Vishvadeva. On the
completion of the yajna, Angiras Brahmins gave all the money left with them to Nabhag
before leaving for heaven. When Nabhag was collecting this remnant wealth, Bhagwan
Shiva who performs enchanting leela, appeared in the form of Krishnadarshan. He asked
Nabhag, "Why are you taking this wealth? This is my property". Nabhag said, "This
remnant money from the yajna was given to me by the Rishis. Who are you to prevent me
from taking it?"

Krishnadarshan said, "Son, your father will arbitrate between us and tell us who
this wealth belongs to. Go and ask him about it and then report back to me exactly what he
has said". When Nabhag asked his father about it, he said, "Son, he is none other than
Bhagwan Shiva himself. We know the entire world belongs to him and in that sense the
remnants from the yajna belong to him only. But he has come to that place in order to
bestow special grace on you. Go and sing praises in his glory and ask for forgiveness for
your misdeed".

In keeping with his father's advice, Nabhag went back and said with folded hands,
"O Maheshwara! You are the master of all the three lokas, not to speak of the remnants of
the yajna. Certainly, they belong to you only. This is also my father's opinion. Master! I
did not know the reality, therefore, please forgive me for what I said earlier".

Bhagwan Krishnadarshan said, "I am greatly pleased by your father's fair

judgment and your truthfulness. I bestow on you the eternal true knowledge of Brahma
and give you entire wealth of yajna”. Having said this, Bhagwan Rudra disappeared.
 Shiva
Gayatripratipadyaj apyonkarkrit sadmane|
Kalyangundhamneastu Shivai vihitanatih||
[Shaivagam]

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The One who is expounded by Gayatri, has his abode in Onkar, I offer my salutations to
such a Shiva who is the source of all well-being and virtues.

The seventh manifestation of Rudra has been called Shiva in Shaivagam. Shiva
signifies Parmatma who is the source of eternal knowledge and bliss. That is why
Shaivagam holds that Bhagwan Shiva is expounded by Gayatri and is the verbal meaning
of the single letter Onkara. The word Shiva has been derived from the base form 'vash
kanta' that means 'the one who is loved by all is Shiva'. Eternal bliss is the need of
everyone. Therefore, Shiva denotes eternal bliss. Where there is bliss, there is peace and
supreme bliss is nothing but supreme wellbeing. Thus, by the word Shiva we mean
supreme wellbeing. Hence Shiva is known as the abode of supreme virtue of wellbeing.

It is only Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya who knows the essential nature of
Shiva. The dialogue between Uma and Shiva in the Shivapurana is highly informative
and delightful.

Parvati started performing intense tapa to seek Shiva though her mother Menaka,
out of motherly affection for her asked her not to do so. She uttered the sound 'u'
(daughter) 'ma' (don't do such a tapa). Thus she was named 'Uma'. She even stopped
eating dry leaves, so people started calling her 'Aparna'. To see her intense tapa, Bhagwan
Shiva himself went to the site of tapa in the guise of an old Brahmin and said, "O Devi!
After my prolonged discussion with you I have developed a friendly feeling for you.
Therefore, I want to tell you that your decision to marry Shiva is quite wrong. Just think
over it. You are endowed with exquisite beauty that has no parallel in the three lokas. On
the other hand, Shiva has matted locks, smears his body with ash from the funeral pyre
and is the king of outworldly spirits. Nobody knows his caste or the whereabouts of his
parents. He is so poor that he cannot afford clothes to wear. He remains naked, rides an
ox and covers himself with tiger skin. He has neither knowledge nor any sense of
purification. He is a loner and unusually detached, and wears a necklace of skulls. How
will you be happy by marrying such a person?"

Parvati couldn't put up with this Shiva baiting any longer. She got angry and said,
"Stop it. I do not want to listen to you any more. You do not know a thing about Shiva.
That's why you have been talking such nonsense. Shiva is infact nirgun (formless). It is
for the good of humanity that he manifests himself as sagun. One who is formless and yet
has a form, one who is the beginning of all, how can he have a caste or parents and how
can you calculate his age? He is the creator, so who can gauge his might? All knowledge
has emanated from him, Vedas are his breath and you call him illiterate? The divinity of
the gods is the fruit of the benevolence of Bholenath Shiva. Even a glance at those who
chant regularly the auspicious name of Bhagwan Shiva will dispel all evils, not to speak
of the darshan of Shiva. All the gods eagerly want to have the ash that falls off the limbs of
Bhagwan Shiva. Those who listen to Shiva baiting commit a great sin. Now I don't want to
stay here even for a moment". When Bhgawan Shiva saw Parvati's staunch devotion, he
came out of his disguise and revealed his true identity to her. In this way Parvati's wish
was fulfilled. The adhibhautik form of Shiva as the seventh manifestation of Rudra is
situated as Chandramoorti in Kathiawad and is popular by the name of Somnath.
Avdhuteshwar Incarnation of Bhagwan Shiva

Once upon a time, Indra, the king of gods went with other gods and Brihaspati to
Mount Kailash to have darshan of Bhagwan Shiva. At that time Bhagwan Shankar turned
himself into the guise of an Avdhoota (ascetic) in order to test them. He had no clothes on
his body. Since he was shining like burning fire, he rather looked terrible at that time.
Indra thought of him as a strange fellow standing in the way. Indra was arrogant because
of his mighty position. He asked the man standing in the way, "Who are you? Is Bhagwan
Shiva in his seat or he has gone somewhere? Along with all the gods and guruji I want to
have his darshan". But even the repeated queries of Indra could not elicit an answer from
Mahayogi Shiva. Driven mad by anger and arrogance he shouted, "O fool! You have not
answered my questions despite my repeated queries. Therefore, I am going to kill you
right now with my thunderbolt". Having said so, no sooner did Indra lift his thunderbolt to
strike him with; Bhagwan Shankar turned it into a statue. Indra's arm also became stiff.
On the other side, Avdhoot Shiva got infuriated. When Brihaspati saw his brilliance, he
understood that it was none other than Bhagwan 'Hara' himself.

He started singing his praises with folded hands. He made Indra prostrate before
him and said, "Mahadeva; Indra lies prostrate at your feet. Kindly be merciful to him and
me. Otherwise, the fire emanating from your forehead will burn him".

At this, the all-merciful Bhagwan Hara said, "How can I recall the fire that has
emanated from my third eye? Can a snake reuse the skin it has shed?" Brihaspati said
with folded hands, "Lord! Devotees always deserve mercy. Therefore, in keeping with
your image as a protector of devotees, direct this terrible fire to some other object".

Bhagwan Rudra said, "Devguru, I am pleased with you. I give you a boon. Since
you have saved the life of Indra, from now onwards you shall also be known as 'Jeeva'.
This fire that has emanated from my third eye is so fierce that even gods cannot face it. So
I will cast it at a far off place so that it may not hurt Indra".

Thus saying he held that marvelous flame in his hand and threw it into the salty
ocean. No sooner did he throw it into the ocean, that brilliant fire of Bhagwan Shiva
turned into a child. This same child later came to be known as Jalandhar - the son of the
ocean. Finally, at the request of the gods, Bhagwan Shiva himself killed Jalandhar who
had become the king of demons.

Having performed this leela as an avdhoot, Shiva disappeared. Indra and

Brihaspati also were relieved of their fear and experienced a divine bliss. Their motive
for which they had come to Bhagwan Shiva was fulfilled because of the grace of the
merciful Hara. In this way, Bhagwan Shankar, the benefactor of all, curbed the pride of
Indra. After that Indra, Brahaspati and other gods returned to their abode pondering over
that unique leela of Bhagwan Shankar in the guise of an Avdhoot.
 Hara
Ashivishaharkrite devaughpranatanghraye|
Pinakangkithastay Harayastu Namaskritih||
[Shaivagam]

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The One who adorns himself with snakes and before whom gods fall prostrate, I offer my
salutations to that Pinakpani Hara.

According to Shaivagum, the eighth manifestation of Bhagwan Rudra is known

as Hara. Bhagwan Hara is the one who adorns himself with snakes. It implies that good
and evil is in Ishwara's form. The other implication is that the destroyer Rudra must have
the instruments of destruction. Creation and destruction at the proper time is the function
of Lord Rudra. There is no creature that is deadlier than a snake because it has a tendency
to eat up its own young ones. Therefore, Bhagwan Hara wears snakes like a garland
around his neck. He adorns himself with kaal, yet is beyond kaal. He redeems the
devotees that seek shelter unto him from adhibhautik, adhidevik and spiritual afflictions.
Therefore, the Hara name of Rudra is much more meaningful. His bow, pinak is ever
ready to drive away fear from the hearts of his devotees.

When Bhagwan Shankar's son Skand killed Tarakasur, his three sons became
inconsolable after the death of their father. They went to a cave in Mount Meru and
performed a rigorous tapa for thousands of years to propitiate Brahma and get a boon
from him. Brahma was pleased with their tapa and ordered the demon Maya to built three
invincible cities of gold, silver and iron for them. The demon Maya, using his powers of
tapa build a city of gold for Tarkaksh, a city of silver for Kamalaksh and an iron city for
Vidyunmali with grand forts. No one except Bhagwan Hara could penetrate them. Due
to Brahma's blessings and their devotion to Shiva, the three demons became invincible
and started tormenting the gods. Indra and all other gods felt restless due to their
atrocities.

Deeply hurt by the atrocities perpetrated by the sons of Taraka all the gods went to
Hara along with Brahma. With folded hands, they sang divine songs in praise of the
trident bearing Bhagwan Hara and said, "Mahadev! The three sons of Taraka have
defeated Indra and other gods. They have destroyed all the sacred places. They accept
oblations from yajnas. Kindly think of some way to destroy them before they destroy the
whole universe".

Bhagwan Hara replied, "Gods! I know about your afflictions. But I can't kill the
sons of Taraka because they are my devotees. For their destruction you should go to Lord
Vishnu. When under the influence of Vishnumaya, they are led astray from my worship I
shall appear in the form of Sharv Rudra and kill them and thus relieve you from their
atrocities. The adhibhautik statue of the eighth Rudra has been manifested in the form of
Hara Rudra and is situated in Kathmandu in Nepal. It is known as Yajman statue."

Bhikshuvaryavtar of Bhagwan Shiva

Once there was a famous king named Satyaratha in Vidarbha. He ruled over his
subjects in accordance with the principles of Dharma and lived happily for many years.
Then suddenly the king of Shalva attacked his kingdom. His army was routed and he was
killed while fighting with the enemy. Satyaratha's queen, however, could manage to
escape the enemy forces and sneaked out of the city. She was pregnant at that time. The
grieving queen kept praying to Lord Shankara and proceeded towards the east. After
walking the whole night she reached the bank of a lake. As destiny would have it, she
gave birth to a child under a tree near the lake. Then she felt thirsty and went to the lake to
drink water. As she was drinking water, a crocodile swallowed her up. Thus the child lost
both the parents with his birth. In the mean time Bhagwan Shankara appeared there and
began to look after the child. At the same time a Brahmin widow came there carrying a
year-old child. She was surprised to see a newly born child lying all-alone there. She was
moved with pity and thought of adopting the child as her son. Lord Shankara who had
become invisible on the appearance of the Brahmin widow, made himself visible again in
the form of an ascetic and said to her, "O Brahmin woman, this is a highly sacred child.
Bring him up as your own child. He is the son of King Satyaratha - a devotee of Shiva. The
king has been killed by the Kshatriyas of Shalva and a crocodile has devoured the child's
mother after she had delivered the child. In his previous birth, this child had taken meals
without offering prayer to Bhagwan Shiva during pradosha time, so he incurred a curse
and as a result has lost both his parents after birth. The child will grow up and become a
great devotee of Shiva."

In this way, after giving the message to the Brahmin woman Bhagwan Shiva who
had appeared before her as an ascetic, revealed his true form to her. The Brahmin woman
sang songs in his praise with great devotion. After that Bhagwan Shiva, who always
shows a parental kindliness to his devotees, disappeared from the scene. The Brahmin
woman settled in a town named Ekchakra and began to bring up the child along with her
own child. At an opportune time, both the children underwent the upnayan sanskara.

Under the guidance of Shandilya Muni, both the children observed fast and
worshipped Bhagwan Shiva during the Pradoshakaal. One day the son of the Brahmin
woman went alone to the river to bathe. There he found a pot full of jewels and thus they
became rich. After a year, the prince went to the forest along with the son of the Brahmin
woman. There came a Gandharva-kanya with her friends. She was instantaneously
infatuated with the beauty of the prince. He married the Gandharva-kanya and became
the king of her father's kingdom. He anointed the Brahmin woman who had brought her
up as Rajmata. This prince ruled the state by the name of king Dharamgupt. Thus he was
truly rewarded for his devotion to Bhagwan Shiva.
 Sharva
Tisrirnam cha puram hanta kritantmadbhanjanah|
Khadagpanistikshandanshtrah sharvakhyoastu mude mum||
[Shaivagam]

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The One who is the killer of Tripura, the demolisher of Yama's pride, carries a sword and
has sharp teeth - may such a Sharva give us bliss.

Sharva is the nineth manifestation of Rudra. He is also called Sharva because he

rode a chariot along with all the gods and destroyed Tripura. Sharva also means all
pervading, the supreme soul and the supreme Lord of the three worlds.

Brahma, along with other gods offered prayers to Rudra and said, "O Lord! You
are Sharva because you are a sovereign emperor of all the gods. Shri Hari, other gods
and the entire world - all of them are your family. Unborn god Shri Hari is your prince.
He, the Brahma, is your priest. Indra is your minister to carry out your orders and run the
kingdom for you. All the other gods are also under your control and keep themselves busy
with the jobs assigned to them. Therefore, we request you to please kill Tripura and
relieve us from his terror".

To this, Sharva Rudra, the protector of gods said, "O Brahma! If you call me the
emperor of gods, I must have the equipment befitting an emperor. But I do not have a
divine chariot and an efficient charioteer. I do not have a bow that would lead me to
victory in the war and enable me to kill those terribly powerful demons". Having said that
Bhagwan Rudra fell silent. Then Vishwakarma made a chariot of gold as per Sharva
Rudra's desire and all the other gods made their contribution to its making. The Sun
manned the left and the Moon manned its right wheel. All the six seasons were at the rim
of the wheels. Space formed its front part and Mandranchal formed the seat.

Samvatsar (the cycle of creation) became its velocity, and the five elements were
its power. Shraddha (veneration) was the speed of that chariot and the six parts of the
Vedas were its adornments. Sheshnaga with its thousand heads formed the rope. Pushkar
and other religious places of pilgrimage became the flags and the ocean formed the cloth
for the chariot. Ganga and other sacred rivers were placed on duty as women to whisk
away the flies. The four Vedas formed the four horses and Brahma himself became the
charioteer. The Himalaya formed the bow and the Nagraja became the bowstring. Lord
Vishnu became the arrow and fire formed the pointed tip of the arrow. In brief, all the
things of the universe were represented in that chariot. Afterward, the grand and stately
Sharva climbed into that chariot. The great gods and demons became animals and
Bhagwan Sharva Rudra was the Lord of Animals - the One who delivers us from the
animal in us. Since then one of his names is Pashupati, that is, the Lord of Animals.

When Bhagwan Rudra climbed into the chariot with all the gods and was ready for
the war, at the very time the three puras got united. Gods were delighted at this turn of
events.

Vishnu said, "Maheshwara! It is time that the sons of Taraka and the demons of
Tripura were killed. Therefore, before Tripuras get separated, you may release an arrow
and burn them up and thus perform the deed desired by the gods".

After that, Bhagwan Sharva Rudra took an aim with an arrow called
Pashupatastra on his bow and released it on Tripura. The arrow emitted light that was
equivalent to thousands of suns. Within no time the demons of Tripura were burnt to
ashes by the fast moving arrow. After that those three puras were also reduced to ashes.
There were echoes of "glory be to Bhagwan Sharva Rudra, the destroyer of Tripura" on
all sides. As an adhibhautic manifestation of Rudra, Sharva Rudra has been called
pavman (air). He has his abode in the sky. He being a destroyer, devotees offer prayers to
pacify him.

Sureshwaravtar of Bhagwan Shiva

Muni Vyaghrapad had a son named Upmanyu. He had attained siddhi, that is,
complete knowledge and understanding in his previous birth and now was born as the son
of a muni. From his childhood he lived with his mother and maternal uncle. They were
very poor. One day he asked his mother for milk. Her heart broke with grief at her
inability to provide her only son with milk. She went into the house, ground some rice
and prepared artificial milk. Fondly patting her son she gave it to him to drink. Upmanyu
tasted that artificial milk and said, "Mother, this is not milk". Saying this he began to cry.
Wiping his eyes, the ascetic mother said, "Son, we dwell in the forest. How can we get
milk here? No one gets milk without the grace of Bhagwan Shiva".

On hearing his mother's words, Upmanyu went away to worship Shiva. He built a
temple with eight bricks and an earthen Shivalinga inside it. He invoked Shiva and
Parvati and started worshipping them with great devotion. After worship, he would chant
panchakshra mantra. In this way, he performed a rigorous tapa for a very long time.

The rigorous tapa by the child Upmanyu created heat waves in the three lokas. On
the request of the gods, Bhagwan Shiva went to test the steadfastness of Upmanyu in his
devotion. At that time Shiva came in the guise of Indra, the king of gods, parvati as
Shachi, Nandishwar as Airawat and Shiva's ganas as gods. Shiva posing as the king of
gods, Indra asked Upmanyu to ask for a boon. Upmanyu asked for devotion to Bhagwan
Shiva. When Shiva in the guise of Indra began to berate Shiva, Upmanyu refused to
accept anything from anyone except Bhagwan Shiva. Upmanyu took up the aghorastra to
kill this Shiva baiter but was stopped by Nandi. When he was not successful with
Aghorastra, he tried to burn himself with fire but Bhagwan Shankar quenched it. Then
Bhagwan Shankar came out of the guise of the king of gods and revealed his true identity
along with Parvati and his ganas.

Shiva smelled at Upmanyu's forehead and said to him, "From now onwards I shall
be your father and Parvati will be your mother. You will remain young eternally. I bestow
on you thousands of oceans of milk, curds and honey and also immortality and you will be
the master of my ganas". Besides, he also blessed him with pashupat-jnanyoga, the
power of delivering sermons and super-human powers related to yoga and then embraced
him.

Having attained the boon from Shiva, Upmanyu happily returned home. He told
his mother about the story of his success. She was greatly pleased to hear all about it.
After that, Upmanyu was revered by all and lived happily.
 Kapaali
Dakshadhwardhwanskarah kopeyuktamukhambujah |
Shoolpanih sukhayastu kapali mey hayharnisham ||
[Shaivagam]

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The One who is the destroyer of Daksha yajna and is endowed with a lotus like angry
face, and is the bearer of a trident - such a Kapali may bless us with happiness day and
night.

According to Shaivagam the name of the tenth Rudra is Kapali. Padampurana

(Srishtikhand-17) states that once Bhagwan Kapali went to Brahma's yajna wearing a
skull, and was stopped at the gate. Then Bhagwan Kapali displayed his infinite power. At
this everybody apologized and he was reverentially given a seat to the north of Brahma.
There is a legend that once in order to punish Brahma; he cut off his fifth head. He is
called Kapali because he wears a skull. It is in this manifestation that in his anger
Bhagwan Rudra had destroyed Daksha yajna.

Once there was a great assembly of saints at Prayag. Brahma and all the gods
participated in it. Bhagwan Kapali Rudra was also there. Afterwards, Daksha Prajapati,
the Lord of Prajapatis also came to the assembly. Everyone stood up and paid respect to
him. But Rudra was lost in himself and kept sitting. When Daksha saw that his son-in-law
had not greeted him, he lost temper and rebuked him and cursed him saying that he would
not get his share of yajna and left the meting. Later, in order to insult Rudra, he arranged a
huge yajna at Kankhal. He invited all the gods to that yajna; only Bhagwan Rudra was
not invited. When Rudra's wife Sati heard of the yajna being arranged by her father she
sought Rudra's permission to attend it uninvited. Rudra tried to dissuade her but she
wouldn't listen. At this Bhagwan Rudra sent her there with his ganas with royal pomp and
show. When she saw that no part of yajna had been assigned to Rudra, she scolded
everybody present there including Daksha and then threw herself into the fire of yajna
and burnt the body that was created by Daksha, her father.

When Bhagwan Rudra got the tragic news, he became furious and uprooted a
matted lock from his head and dashed it down on a stone, which broke into two parts. Out
of one part appeared Virbhadra like a devastating fire and out of the other emerged
Mahakali. These two, taking command from Bhagwan Rudra, destroyed Daksha's yajna.
None, whether it was a god or muni, could face them. Some of them lay there dead and
others lost their limbs. Virbhadra severed Daksha's head and gave it to Mahakali. She
began to play with it as if it were a ball. Then she threw it into yajna kund. After
destroying Daksha and the yajna, both of them came back to Bhagwan Kapali Rudra.
After that all the gods along with Brahma and Vishnu went to Bhagwan Kapali Rudra. All
of them sang songs in praise of Kapali Rudra with folded hands and made a request to him
to forgive Daksha and restore his life and let him complete the yajna. Bhagwan Kapali
was pleased and putting a goat-head on his body allowed him to complete the yajna. The
adhibhautik form of Kapali Rudra is known as Pavaka - the 'sacred fire'.

Shiva Appears in the Guise of a Kirat

In keeping with Indra's counsel and Vyasa's order, Arjun began to worship
Maheshwara. Because of his worship there appeared such a marvellous brilliance that it
astonished even the gods. They went to Shiva and said, "O Lord! There is a man who is
steadily worshipping you. Please grant him whatever he wants". Saying this, they all
stood there politely with their gaze fixed on the feet of Bhagwan Shiva.

On hearing their words, the enlightened Bhagwan Shiva burst out laughing
because he knew about the selfish motive of the gods behind this gesture. He said to the
gods, "Go back to your respective places. I shall definitely do the needful".

One day, a demon named Mooka came near the place where Arjuna was engaged
in tapa in the guise of a boar. He had been sent there by the wicked Duryodhna to kill
Arjuna. He came with great speed like a storm destroying mountain peaks and trees of the
forest making terrible sounds. Arjuna saw him and thought that the evildoer had
definitely come to harm him because a person whose presence delights you is a well-
wisher but the one who causes restlessness in the mind is definitely an enemy. Thinking
thus, he stood up with his bow and arrow.

At that very time, Bhagwan Shankara also reached there to test Arjuna's
steadfastness and to save him by destroying the demon. At that time he was in the guise of
a Kirat with a bow and arrows. His ganas were also with him in that very guise. Suddenly
the boar charged forward with great force towards Arjuna. Bhagwan Shankar also came
forward to protect Arjuna. Bhagwan Shiva in the guise of Kirat and Arjuna aimed at the
boar and let go their arrows at the same moment. Shiva had taken aim at the back part of
the boar while Arjuna aimed at his snout. Shiva's arrow pierced the boar's back and came
out from his snout and disappeared in the earth. Arjuna's arrow came out of the boar's
back and fell by his side. That demon in the guise of the boar fell to the ground and died
instantaneously.

Shiva sent his servant to fetch his arrow. At the same moment Arjuna also arrived
there to collect his arrow. Arjun threatened Shiva's servant and picked up the arrow. But
the servant said that the arrow belonged to his master, so Arjuna should leave it alone.
Arjuna said, "O forester! You are a great fool. This is the arrow I released a little while
ago. Even my name is inscribed on it". But the servant insisted that it was his master's
arrow. It led to a great argument between the two. The servant then told the whole story to
Bhagwan Shiva in the guise of Kirat. There followed a fierce war between Mahadev and
Arjuna. Bhagwan Shiva had woven this leela to test Arjuna's steadfastness. So Bhagwan
Shiva thought it fit to reveal his true identity to Arjuna. At this, Arjuna realized his
mistake and asked for forgiveness. Bhagwan Shiva was pleased with him and gave him
the blessing of devotion and his invincible weapon named Pashupat.
 Bhava
Yogindranutapadabjam dwandateetam janashrayam |
Vedantkritsancharam bhavam tam sharanam bhaje ||
[Shaivagam]

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osnkUrd`rlUpkja Hkoa ra 'kj.ka Hkts AA
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The One whose lotus feet are worshipped by yogindra and who is beyond contradictions,
who provides shelter to his devotees and has created the Vedas, I surrender myself unto
that Bhava.

The eleventh manifestation of Rudra is known as Bhava. He is all-pervasive in

this form in the universe and as Jagadguru shows the way of self improvement through
his preachings of Vedanta and Yoga. This eleventh form of Bhagwan Rudra is
worshipped as Jagadguru. Without the grace of Bhav-Rudra it is not possible to know the
true secrets of knowledge, yoga, devotion, etc. Due to his noble deeds and discipline he is
a role model for liberated yogis. There is a special description of Bhagwan Bhava as
yogacharya and his disciples in the seventh chapter of Lingapurana and the twenty-
second chapter in the first part of Shivapurana. In every age Bhagwan Bhava Rudra
appears in the incarnation of a yogacharya and preaches the yogic way of life to his
disciples. First of all he preached yogashastra to four of his main disciples, viz. Ruru,
Dadhich, Agastya and Upmanyu. They were all initiators of the worship of Pashupati and
Pashupati hymns. In this way, Bhagwan Bhav Rudra is the first guru of Yogashastra.

It is Bhagwan Bhava-Rudra who appears in the incarnation of Sadyojat, Vamdev,

Tatpurush, Aghore and Ishan in five Kalpas and teaches Yogashartra to Brahma and the
four disciples as the first guru. In every Dwapar of the different Kalpas Bhagwan Rudra
appears and trains the four disciples as the initiators of the yogic way of life. In the
nineteenth kalpa called Shwet-Lohit when Brahma was meditating upon Parbrahmn, a
young boy of fair and red complexion appeared. Taking him to be Parbrahmn Rudra
Brahma worshipped him. He could know that he was the recently born Parbrahmn Rudra.
Just then four other fair complexioned boys appeared there. Their names were Sunandan,
Nandan, Vishwanand and Upanand. Bhagwan Rudra was pleased and imparted
knowledge to Brahma and gave him the powers of creation. Through Brahma the four
youths also received knowledge of yoga. They all became great saints with deep
knowledge of yoga and later became the founders of yogamaarg. In the twentieth Kalpa
named Rakt, Brahma had blood red body. At that time when he was meditating with a
desire to have a son, Rudra appeared before him in the form of a red complexioned
Vamdev. After that four other youths, namely, Virja, Vivah, Vishok and Vishwabhavan
appeared. Bhagwan Rudra's name was Vamdev in that incarnation. He not only provided
knowledge and power of creation to Brahma but also made the four youths initiators of
st
yogamaarg. After that in the 21 kalpa named Pitvasa when Brahma was sitting in
meditation with the desire for a son, Bhava Rudra appeared before him as Tatpurusha and
endowed him with knowledge. From the flanks of tatpurusha appeared four boys in
yellow robes. They also became Acharyas of yogmaarg. In the Shiva Kalpa, when
Brahma was sitting in meditation, Bhava Rudra appeared before him in black colour and
his name was Aghora. From his flanks also appeared four youths who were black
complexioned like him. They all became propounders of Aghora yoga. Similarly, in
Vishwaroop Kalpa, Bhagwan Rudra Bhav appeared before the meditating Brahma as
Ishaan and blessed him with knowledge and made the four youths that appeared with him
yogacharyas. In this way, Bhagwan Rudra appears in every Kalpa and lays the foundation
for knowledge and yoga.

Incarnation of Shiva as Hanuman

Once upon a time, it so happened that Bhagwan Shiva got so pleased with the tapa
performed by Bhasmasur that he blessed him with a boon that any person would be
reduced to ashes if Bhasmasur put his hand on his head. Now Bhasmasur was so struck
with the beauty of Parvati that in order to obtain her he tried to eliminate Bhagwan Shiva
himself by putting his hand on his head. At that time Bhagwan Vishnu took the form of
Mohini, a beautiful woman, and cleverly made Bhasmasur put his own hand on his head
and thus he himself was reduced to ashes.

When Bhagwan Shiva saw Vishnu in the form of the beautiful Mohini, he came
under the influence of Kamdev, the god of love and became agitated. At that moment his
semen got discharged. The Saptarishis collected the seminal fluid in a leaf. They were
inspired by Shiva himself to do so in order to facilitate Rama's job. The Saptarishis put it
into Anjani's womb through her ear. She was the daughter of Gautama. At the appropriate
time Bhagwan Shankar was born out of the womb of Anjani in the form of a monkey who
came to be known as the mighty and valorous Hanuman.

Even when he was a child, Hanuman swallowed the Sun taking it to be a fruit. That
very day the Sun was to be eclipsed by Rahu and Ketu. Rahu and Ketu complained to
Indra that someone else had swallowed the Sun. When Indra tried to check Hanuman, he
took him and his elephant Airawat also as fruits and came forward to swallow them.
Annoyed by this, Indra struck Hanuman with his vajra. As a result, Hanuman fell
unconscious. At this, the god of winds, Pawan Devta stopped blowing which created a
crisis for all the beings of the universe. Then all the gods came and gave their blessings to
Hanuman. The Sun god blessed him with entire range of knowledge. Thus Hanuman was
able to acquire all the knowledge within a very short time.

Later, Hanuman, the monkey incarnation of Rudra, in compliance with the

instructions of his guru, the Sun god, began to live with Sugreev who was born with the
blessings of the Sun. Rama came across Hanuman when he was looking for Sita. He
introduced Sugreev to Rama and they soon became friends. Rama helped Sugreev
overcome the fear of Bali and made him the king of Kishkindha. Then Hanuman found
out the whereabouts of Sita and humbled the demons and thus helped Rama in the
accomplishment of his task. He established the code of Ram Bhakti on this earth and
through the steadfastness of his devotion pleased both Sita and Rama. Hanuman, the
incarnation of Rudra, the master of extreme power and grandeur, the saviour of Laxman's
life, the one who humbled all the gods and demons, is also the one who redeems his
devotees. He is ever willing to serve Rama and is well known as Rama's messenger. He is
the destroyer of demons and protector of devotees. He is the giver of wealth, glory, and
longevity and fulfills the desires of his devotees.
The Descent of Ganga
In ancient times, a great king named Sagar ruled in Ayodhya. He had one son from one
queen and sixty thousand sons from another. After sometime, he thought of performing
ashwamedha yajna. King Sagar entrusted the job of guarding the horse of the yajna to his
grand son Anshuman. But on the day of festival Indra came in the guise of a demon and
stole the yajna horse and released it near the ashram of Bhagwan Kapil Muni. The sixty
thousand sons of king Sagar dug the earth and searched for the horse everywhere. Finally,
they landed at Kapil Muni's ashram and saw the horse grazing nearby. The sons of Sagar
thought that Bhagwan Kapil Muni was a thief and in their anger they abused him and
rushed to kill him. Bhagwan Kapil Muni burnt them all to ashes with just one powerful
fiery breath. Then Prince Anshuman set out to search for his uncles and reached Kapil
Muni's ashram where he saw that all the sixty thousand of them had been burnt by the fire
of anger of Kapil Muni and turned into a heap of ashes. The highly talented Anshuman
wanted to pay tribute to the dead by offering water but there was no water nearby. In the
mean time he saw there the king of birds, Garuda. He told the noble Anshuman that
ordinary water would not serve the purpose of liberating the souls of his uncles. He asked
him to try to bring the elder daughter of Himvan, Ganga to this earth and offer libations of
Ganga water to them. When the waters of Ganga washes the ashes of the sixty thousand
sons of Sagar, their spirits will immediately ascend to heaven.

Anshuman went back home with the horse. But despite his best efforts he could
not bring Ganga to the earth. Later, Bhagiratha, one of his descendants, took upon himself
the task of bringing Ganga to the earth. Leaving his kingdom to the care of his ministers
he went to Gokarna pilgrimage centre and started performing a rigorous tapa for bringing
Ganga to the earth.

After Bhagiratha's austere tapa for thousands of years, the Generator of the world
Brahma appeared and said, "O King Bhagiratha! I am pleased with your tapa. May your
wish be fulfilled! I can give Ganga to you but no one except Bhagwan Shankar has the
capacity to check the forceful speed of Himvan's elder daughter Ganga. You should
perform tapa to please Rudra so that he agrees to check its great force". Saying this,
Brahma disappeared.

After Brahma's departure, King Bhagiratha stood on his big toe and performed an
austere tapa for one year. Then Lord Pashpuati, who is revered by all and is the husband
of Uma, appeared before him. He said to Bhagiratha, "You are the best among men. I am
pleased with you. I shall certainly do the task desired by you. I will receive Ganga, the
daughter of the king of mountains, on my head and thus pave the way for the redemption
not only of your ancestors but all human beings".

Having got Shiva's consent, Ganga, the eldest daughter of the Himalayas fell on
Shiva's head with great velocity from the sky. At that time she had a deep desire to
conquer Shiva. Since Shiva was married to Parvati, Ganga was Shiva's elder sister-in-
law. It was she who had received the seminal fluid of Bhagwan Shankar in her womb on
the request of gods and given birth to Kartikeya. Therefore, she had an egoistic feeling
mixed with a sense of ridicule. Ganga thought that she would sweep away Shiva with her
great force and enter into the nether world.

The three-eyed god Shiva could guess Ganga's arrogant intentions and felt
offended. He decided to make Ganga invisible. Looked at in another way, Ganga is a
symbol of bhakti or devotion and there is no scope for arrogance in bhakti. Bhagwan
Shiva, at times, gets angry in order to dispel the arrogance of his devotees but his anger is
meant actually for their welfare. When the virtuous Ganga descended from heaven and
fell on Bhagwan Rudra's forehead, she got entangled in his matted locks. She could not
come out despite all her efforts. She remained entangled in Bhagwan Shiva's matted
locks for many years. When Bhagiratha noticed that Ganga had become invisible in
Bhagwan Shiva's matted locks, he once again started performing a tapa to please him.
Shiva was pleased with his tapa and released Ganga in Bindu Sarovar. There it was
divided into seven streams. The three named Haladini, Pavani and Nalini flowed towards
the east and the other three, Suchakshu, Sita and Mahasindhu flowed westward. The
seventh stream followed in the footsteps of Bhagiratha. In this way the waters of Ganga
descending from heaven on Shiva's forehead and flowing from there on the earth looked
marvellous. All the gods were watching from the skies this amazing scene of Ganga's
descendence on the earth. Ganga's water sometimes rose up or went down and then fell
on the earth. The pure water of Ganga that fell from heaven on Shiva's head and from
there on the earth presented an enchanting scene. The people who had fallen from heaven
due to some curse, took bath in Ganga's water and were absolved of their sins. In this way
Ganga descended on the earth by the grace of Bhagwan Shankar. It provided redemption
to Bhagiratha's ancestors and the inhabitants of this earth were also benefited and blessed
by it.
 Odhardani Shiva
(The Compassionate Bhagwan Shiva)
Bhagwan Shiva and his name is the source of all well-being. He is the source of all
welfare, giver of prosperity and treasure of peace. Vedas and other sacred texts describe
him as pure knowledge. He is the source of all knowledge. This divine knowledge of his
is self-generated. Shiva has no equal in knowledge, power, will and execution.
Therefore, there is no question of someone being higher or stronger than him. He is the
original cause, saviour, sustainer and controller of all and hence is known as Maheshwar.
Since he has no beginning or end, he is the infinite. He purifies all the purifiers; hence, he
is the origin of all welfare and good fortune.

Bhagwan Shankar does not wear clothes yet he bestows unlimited prosperity on
his devotees; he is the master of infinite wealth and splendor, yet he adorns himself only
with ash; he is the master of all the three lokas, yet he chooses to live in the funeral
ground; he is yogiraj, yet he is ardhnareeshwara, that is, he is partly man, partly woman;
he lives with Parvati, yet is the conqueror of sexual desire; he is the cause of everything,
yet is causeless. He is easily pleased and is immensely compassionate to the lowly, that is
why he pardons the sins of his devotees without any fuss and imparts them dharma,
artha, kaam, moksha, knowledge, science and all of himself also. What can be a better
example of benevolence than this?

His divine virtues and charms have been described in almost all the puranas. His
immense popularity is evident from the fact that he is worshipped in the entire world not
only in Shiva temples but also as Jyotirlinga, Swayambhoolinga and in the form of small
Shivlingas on innumerable small platforms.

Bhagwan Shiva has a large family. All the conflicts and dualities come to an end
here. Eleven Rudras, Rudranis, sixty-four yogins, sixteen matrikas, Bhairav, etc. are his
associates and attendants. Vijaya is a well-known friend of mother Parvati. The Ganpati
family consists of his two wives, Ridhi and Sidhi and his two sons Shubh and Laabh. His
vehicle is the rat. Kartikaya's wife is Devsena and the Peacock is his vehicle. Bhagwati
Parvati's vehicle is lion while Shiva himself rides Nandi, the incarnation of Dharma.
According to Skandpurana, once Bhagwan Dharma had a desire to become the vehicle of
Bhagwan Shankar. For this purpose, he undertook tapasya for a very long time. Finally,
Bhagwan Shankar was kind enough to accept him as his vehicle. In this way, Bhagwan
Dharma himself became forever the vehicle of Bhagwan Shankar in the form of Nandi
Bull. "Vrisho hi Bhagwan Dharmah".

Bana, Ravana, Chandi, Bhringi, etc. are Shiva's Chief Councillors. Kirtimukh is
famous as the guard at his gates. It is ordained that one should first worship Kirtimukh
before entering the temple for worshipping Shiva. It makes Shiva happy. Though Shiva is
all pervading yet Kashi and Kailash are his favourite abodes. He is ever present in the
hearts of his devotees. His main weapons are trishul, tanka, dagger, vajra, agniyukta
kapal, snake, gong, ankush, paash and pinak bow.

Bhagwan Shankar is characteristically noble and compassionate. He is the

supreme example of knowledge, detachment and saintliness. If he is fierce as Rudra, he is
also a Bholanath, that is, the god of innocence. He is death incarnate when he destroys
demons but otherwise he is an ocean of compassion for the poor and the suffering.
Whoever is able to please him, his heart's desires are fulfilled. He gave unlimited strength
to Ravana. He gave Bhasmasur the power to burn anyone to ashes. Had Bhagwan Vishnu
not appeared in the guise of Mohini, he himself would have been in great trouble. His
compassion knows no bounds. He adopted Markandeya and drove away the messengers
of death. His sacrifice is supreme. After the churning of the ocean, the other gods took
away Laxmi, Kamdhenu, Kalpvriksha and Amrit, but he chose to accept halahal poison
for the well being of the world and became Neelkantha. He is a unique example of
monogamy. Mata Sati is his one and only wife. She performed extreme tapasya in her
various births to attain this position. There is no other example of this kind of unique
relationship between husband and wife in any other literature in the world.

Bhagwan Shiva is the yogi of Mahayogis. The entire miracle of yogashastra is his
unique creation. To increase the life span of yogis, he invented Parad-Shastra. By
practising the principles in this Shastra, a yogi can increase his life span by thousands of
years. Bhagawn Shankar is the originator of this yoga vidya and knowledge. He is the
Acharya of music and dance. The seven notes of music originated from his damroo, the
small drum while he was performing tandav nritya. His tandav nritya marks the
beginning of the art of dancing. The main elements of grammar also originated from the
sound of his damroo. In this way, Bhagwan Shankar is the originator and initiator of
many arts and forms of knowledge.

There is no book in Sanskrit, which does not extol the virtues of Bhagwan
Shankar's character. He is the god of gods, i.e. the supreme God and the first God of the
Aryan race. Wherever the Aryan culture spread, Shiva's worship began there. All the
shastras and puranas are full of glorious descriptions of his imperishable fame, leela,
knowledge, etc.

His worship in the form of Linga denotes Shiva's male presence in nature. This is
the prime form of procreation in the universe. 'Trayambkam yajamahe' is the Ved
mantra of Shiva's worship. Historically, Shiva's temples are the first to be mentioned.
When Bhagwan Ramchandra launched an attack on Lanka, first of all he installed Shiva
by the name of Rameshwaram and worshiped it. In Kashi, the practice of worshiping
Shiva is very old. In this way, Bhagwan Shiva offers a complete example of Aryan
civilization and culture. His abode on the mountains of Himalaya is a geographical
indication. Practicing tapa and yoga is the chief principle of Aryan culture and spiritual
knowledge and preaching are its main elements.
The Hariharatmak Shiva
Once all the gods went to Lord Vishnu and after greeting him asked the reason for
turbulence in the whole world. Lord Vishnu said, "O gods! I do not have a proper answer
to your question, so let us together go to Bhagwan Shankar. He has the supreme
knowledge. He is not unaware of anything happening in this universe. He must be
knowing the cause of turbulence in the animate and inanimate world". In accordance
with the advice of Lord Vishnu, Indra and other gods went to Mandar Mountain under the
leadership of Vishnu. There they could not find Mahadeva despite their best efforts. The
gods in their ignorance asked Lord Vishnu why they were not able to find Bhagwan
Shankar. At this Lord Vishnu said, "Can't you see Mahadeva seated in front of you?"

The gods said, "We are not able to see Girirajpati Devesh. We don't know what it is
that has robbed us of our power to see".

Bhagwan Vishnu said, "O gods! you have offended Mahadeva and committed a
sin by destroying the embryo in Parvati's womb. That is why the Shoolpani Mahadeva
has destroyed your common sense and thinking power. And this is the reason why you
can't see Shankar seated in front of you. In order to see him, you should purify yourself by
observing taptakrichha vrat and then bathe yourself. After that you should anoint
Mahadeva by performing proper rituals and worship him in different styles. This is how
you can observe the taptakrichha vrat. For the first three days, you should take hot water
for twelve moments, then hot milk for eight moments for the next three days and hot ghee
for six moments for three days followed by the intake of only air for the last three days.

In keeping with Bhagwan Vishnu's advice, Indra and other gods went to a solitary
place and observed the taptakrichha vrat and thus were absolved of their sins. Then they
said to Vishnu, "O Lord! Now take us to Bhagwan Shambhu so that we can anoint him".
At this, Lord Vishnu whose devotion to Bhagwan Shankar is supreme, revealed to them
Shankar's lingam. Then the gods poured milk on the imperishable lingam. After that they
anointed it with gorochan and fragrant sandal paste and worshipped it with great
devotion with bilva leaves and lotus flowers. Then they chanted Bhagwan Shiva's one
hundred and eight names and offered their obeisance to him.

All the gods wondered how Vishnu whose character is dominated by satgunas
and Bhagwan Shiva who is tamoguni by nature came together. Looking at the doubt in
the minds of the gods, the Lord revealed to them his Hariharatmak form. The gods saw
that the form had snakes as ear rings, a bum of matted locks on the head, a garland of
snakes around the neck, was carrying pinak, shula, ajgava, bow and khatwang as
weapons in his hands. The three-eyed Shiva wearing tiger skin was accompanied by
Vishnu who carried with him garud-dhwaja, wore a garland and a yellow robe, and
carried in his hands a chakra, sword, sharng bow and conch. Thus, Brahma and other
gods realized that Hari and Hara were one form and they sang songs in their praise.

Then the Lord of gods, Bhagwan Vishnu took the gods to his ashram in
Kurukshetra. There they saw Sthanubhut Mahadev in water. Everybody said, "Sthanave
namah" and offered obeisance to him. After that Indra said, "O Beloved of Guests! The
whole world is in turbulence. Please come out and give us a blessing". In response to the
prayer of the gods Bhagwan Shiva came out.
 The gods said to him, "Mahadev, please give up this Mahavrat. The power being
released by your Mahavrat has caused agitation in all the three lokas". On the request of
the gods, Bhagwan Shankar gave up his Mahavrat. The gods proceeded towards the
heaven. However, there were still tremors in the earth and the ocean. Rudra gave a
thought to it. Why were there tremors in the ocean, islands and the earth despite the fact
that he had given up his tapasya? Then the trident bearing Bhagwan Shiva went round
Kurukshetra to see what could be the reason behind it.

He saw Shukracharya engaged in tapasya on the banks of Oghvati. Shiva, the God
of gods, asked him, "O Vipra, why are you engaged in a tapa that is causing agitation in
the world? Please tell me quickly".

Shukracharya said, "O God of gods! I am performing this tapa in order to please
you. O Three-eyed One! By your grace I want to acquire Sanjeevani-Vidya".

Mahadev said, "O Great Ascetic! I am greatly pleased with your tapasya. You will
be able to learn the genuine form of Sanjeevani Vidya". Thus, having gained the desired
boon from Mahadev, Shukracharya gave up his tapasya. Even then the tremors in the
ocean, mountains, trees and the earth did not stop. Then Mahadev went to Saptsarswat.
There he saw Maharishi Mankan dancing & jumping like a child with great abandon.
That was the cause of the tremors of the earth. When Mahadev asked him why he was
dancing like that, he said that he had been performing tapasya for many years. Now a
green secretion was emitting from the wound in his hand. This was making him happy
and he was dancing due to the great joy. Bhagwan Shankar asked him not to dance
anymore and gave him the boon of his desire. In this way, gods could have darshan of
Hariharatmak form of Shiva and the tremors of the earth stopped due to his grace and all
became calm and quiet.
 Ardhnarishwar Shiva

Neelpravalruchiram Vilastrinetram pasharunotpalkapalkashulhastam |

Ardhambikeshmanisham pravibhaktbhusham balendubadhmukutam prannmami roopam |
The right side of Bhagwan Ardhnarishwar Shiva's body is of blue complexion and the
left side is red like coral. His face is adorned with three eyes. He carries a pasha and a red
lotus in his left hand. He has two tridents and a skull in his right hand. The left part of his
body has the form of Bhagwati Parvati and the right side has that of Bhagwan Shankar.
Different parts of his body are adorned with different ornaments. I offer my obeisance to
Bhagwan Ardhnarishwar who sports a crescent moon on the forehead and has a crown on
the head.

In the beginning, when Brahma created the world and it could not multiply,
Brahma was greatly disappointed. Then there was a voice from the sky that said, "Now
create a world that can multiply by the union of both the sexes". Brahma decided to act
accordingly but he felt helpless because till then Bhagwan Maheshwara had not created
the female species. Therefore, despite his decision to do so, Brahma could not create that
kind of world. Brahma then realized it could not be possible to do so without the grace of
Bhagwan Shiva and the best way to attain his grace is to do tapasya. So he started tapasya
to please Bhagwan Shiva. He lovingly concentrated his attention on Shiva, the
Parmeshwar Shankar and performed a rigorous tapa.

With his austere tapa Brahma succeeded in pleasing Shiva who appeared before
him in the manifestation of Ardhnarishwar by entering into the Kamda image of
Satchidananda. When Brahma saw that the God of gods, Bhagwan Shiv had appeared
before him along with his supreme Shakti Shiva, he prostrated before him and offered his
obeisance. Vishwakarma Maheshwar was mightily pleased at this and said in a deep
voice, "O son, I know your motive fully well. I am greatly pleased by the rigorous tapa
that you have performed for the multiplication of the subjects. I shall definitely grant you
your desired boon". Then Shiv, who is sweet and noble by nature, separated the goddess
Shiva from his body. At this, Brahma paid his obeisance to that supreme Shakti and
offered prayer to her.

Brahma said, "O Shive! In the beginning, it was your husband Shambhu, the God
of gods, who created me and gave me a command to create the world. Then, Shive! I
spiritually created gods and other subjects. But despite repeated acts of creation it has
not been possible to increase their numbers. Therefore, now I want them to multiply
through the sexual union of male and female counterparts. But as yet the female species
has not come into existence. It is beyond my power to create the female species. You are
the original source of all creation. Therefore, I pray to you to give me the power to create
the female species. In this lies the welfare of the world. O Goddess! You are generous in
granting boons so I offer my repeated obeisance to you and implore you to take birth as
the daughter of my son Daksha for the welfare and multiplication of the entire universe".

"So shall it be", said Shiva and gave power to Brahma to create the female species.
Then this Mother of the world generated a powerful Shakti in her own image from the
middle of her brows. Beholding her, the compassionate Bhagwan Shankar spoke thus to
Jagdamba, "Goddess! Brahma has undergone a rigorous tapa to worship you. So be
pleased with him and fulfill his heart-felt wish".

Shivadevi bowed her head and agreed to carry out Bhagwan Shiva's order and
promised to be born as the daughter of Daksha as per Brahma's wish. In this way, after
giving Brahma the unique power of creating the world, Shivadevi entered into the body
of Shambhu. After that Bhagwan Shankar also disappeared. Thus the female form was
conceived at that time and creation through sexual union started.

When after receiving this power of creation through sexual union from
Ardhnarishwar, Brahma conceived of the world, his body was divided into two. One part
formed an extremely beautiful woman and the other half formed a man. Out of that pair,
the man was called swayambhuv Manu and the woman was known as Shatroopa.
Swayambhuv Manu became an ascetic of great order and Shatroopa became a great
yogini. Manu married the immensely beautiful Shatroopa in a ceremonial way and began
procreation through sexual union. Shatroopa gave birth to two sons named Priyavrat and
Uttampada, and three daughters named Aakuti, Devhuti and Prasuti. Aakuti was married
to Prajapati Ruchi, Devhuti to Kardam and Prasuti to Prajapati Daksha. It is said Daksha
had sixty daughters. As per the request of Brahma, Bhagwati Shiva took birth as the
daughter of Daksha. In this way with the grace of Bhagwan Ardhnarishwar creation
through sexual union started.
 The Panchmukhi Shiva
(The five faces and five images of shiva)

Muktapeet payodmauktikjapavarnermukheh panchbhi-

straikshairanjitmeeshmindumukutam poornendukotiprabham |
Shoolam Tankakripanvajradahnanagendraghantankushan
Pasham bhitiharam dadhanammitakalpojwalam chintyet ||
One of the five faces of Bhagwan Shankar that looks upwards is slightly whitish pale like
a Gajmukta (elephant pearl); the face towards the east is yellow like gold; the one that
looks towards the south is deep blue like loaded clouds; the one towards the west is
crystal white; whereas the one towards the north is red like a china rose or coral. The
brilliance emerging from his body is equivalent to that of billions of full moons. He
carries a trident, tanka, sword, vajra, agni, naagraja, ghanta, ankush, pasha and
abhaymudra in his ten hands. I contemplate this grand, glorious and radiant form of
Shiva.

There are five manifestations of Shiva in five images known as Ishaan,

Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamdeva and Sadyojat. They are also known as his five faces. His
first image symbolizes pleasure; the second, tapasya; the third, destruction; the fourth,
pride; the fifth image comprises knowledge, therefore, it covers the entire world.

Bhagwan Shankar told Brahma that in order to understand the true nature of his
functions, it is necessary to delve deep into the reality, yet he would like to enlighten him
about them. He said, "Creation, sustenance, dissolution and patronage are my world-
related perpetual functions. The beginning of the formation of the world is called
creation. The sustenance provided by me maintains it. Its dissolution is its destruction.
The soaring away of the life force is disappearance. Deliverance from all these is only
through my grace. In this way, I perform five functions. The four functions related to
creation are directed at the expansion of the world. The fifth function of grace and
support leads to moksha or liberation. It remains firm and immovable in me forever. My
devotees notice these five functions in the five elements. Creation gets manifestation in
the earth, sustenance in water, destruction in fire, disappearance in air and grace in the
sky. Every creature gets created out of the earth, water helps in growth and provides
sustenance, fire destroys everything, air carries things from one place to another and the
sky supports everything through grace. Wise men should try to understand this thing in
this way only. I have five faces, which symbolize these five functions. Four faces in four
directions and one in the midst of all these. You and Vishnu have taken over from me the
two functions of creation and sustenance by performing tapasya. Similarly, Rudra who is
endowed with my likeness has taken over the two functions of destruction and
disappearance. But nobody can takeover my function of grace. I have endowed Rudra
with my likeness. He resembles me in form, dress, performance, vehicle and seat etc. In
earlier times, I had preached a mantra in my own image, which is known as Onkara. It is
a highly beneficial mantra. First of all, it emerged from my mouth. It is a manifestation of
my form. Onkara is the word and I am the utterance. In fact, this mantra is my form.
Chanting Onkara daily means devotion towards me".

Akara originated from my northeastern face, ukara from the western, makara
from the southern, binduka from the eastern and naad from the central face. In this way,
all these components went into the making of Onkara. Taken together these five
components formed the mystical sacred syllable expounded in one letter 'Om'. This
whole world as symbolized by names, Veda, male and female species, is pervaded by this
sacred mantra. This mantra is indicative of both Shiva and Shakti. It came into being as
akara in the beginning and makara at the end. From this originated the five-lettered
mantra, which is indicative of my full form. The five-lettered mantra is "Om Namah
Shivaya". From this emerged the Gayatri mantra, which consists of three steps. From that
Gayatri mantra came into existence all the Vedas. From those Vedas emerged millions of
mantras. This sacred five-lettered mantra is capable of gratifying all the desires of a
human being. It gives material satisfaction as well as liberation.

In this way, Gurudev Mahadev taught this sacred mantra, pronouncing it slowly
through his five mouths, to Brahma and Vishnu. Following the method as mentioned in
the mantra, he initiated them and revealed to them the mystery of his five heads.

Brahma and Vishnu felt grateful and said, "O Lord! You are the spoken meaning of
this sacred mantra. We pay obeisance to you. You are the One who creates, sustains,
destroys, causes disappearance and gives patronage. We bow to you. We again bow to the
five-faced Parmeshwar who performs five functions. We offer our salutations to the five-
faced one who is the manifestation of Brahmn. You are the all pervading universal soul
and the Supreme Brahmn. You are Sadguru Shambhu. We offer our salutations to you".
Thus singing songs in praise of Guru Maheshwar, Brahma and Vishnu paid their
obeisance to the five-faced Bhagwan Shiva.
 Mahamrityuanjaya

Hastabhyaam kalashdwayamritrasairaplavyantam shiro

Dwabhyam tau dadhtam mrigakshvalaye dwabhyam vahantam param |
Anknyastkardwayamritghatam Kailaskantam Shivam
Swachhabhojagatam navendumukutam devam trinetram bhaje ||
Bhagwan Mahamrityunjaya sits holding in his two upper hands two pots from which
amrit drips continuously on his head. In his other two hands he holds mrigmudra and
rudraksh mala respectively. In two other hands he holds pots filled with amrit. He uses
his other two hands to cover the pots. I contemplate upon this three-eyed
Mahamrityuanjaya who has eight hands, is seated on a pure clean lotus on the Kailash
Mountain and whose forehead is adorned with the crescent moon.

The grandson of sage Mrigshringa, Shri Markandey said to his father when he saw
him in a state of worry, "You look very sad today. What is the cause of your worry? I feel
upset when I see you worried like this".

Casting an affectionate glance at his son, the great sage Mrikandu said to
Shrimarkanday, "Son, when your mother Marudwati could not beget a child, we both
performed a rigorous tapa observing all the required rituals in order to please Shiva who
bears the Pinak bow. Ashutosh was pleased and gratned my wish and said that you will
live only up to the age of sixteen. After saying this Shashankshekhar disappeared. A little
while later, you were born. Since you were born as a result of the blessing of Bholenath,
you possess unique virtues. You have given us immense joy and we feel proud of you".
After a moment, Shrimrikandu said in a very distressed voice, "Now your sixteenth year
is going to be completed".

"Please do not feel worried on account of me", said Shrimarkandey in a serious

but polite tone to reassure his father. "Bhagwan Ashutosh is an embodiment of welfare
and fulfills the wishes of his devotees. I will seek his shelter, worship him and try to
achieve immortality".

Shrimarkandey touched the feet of his parents and contemplating the name of
Bhagwan Shankar went to the southern sea coast and there he set up after his own name a
Shivalinga called Markandeyshwar and after taking trikaal bath began to chant with
great devotion Mrityuanjayastotra and worship Bhagwan Mrityuanjaya. After all,
Bhagwan Shankar is the One who gets pleased easily. He was pleased only by a day's
chanting of the above mantra. Shrimarkandey surrendered himself totally to
Parvateeshwar. On the day of death, when Shrimarkandey wanted to offer worship to
Bhagwan Shankar and chant the stotra he was startled to see that there was a harsh noose
around his soft neck. He looked up and saw the terrible god of death standing in front of
him.

Making a request to him, Shrimarkandey said, "O god of death! Please give me a
few moments so that I can chant my favourite Mrityuanjaya stotra".
But the god of death said, "Death does not wait for anyone. I have no time even for
you".
The god of death tried to pull the noose around his neck in order to take away his
life but he fell flat on the ground. He began to wriggle in pain and tremble with fear.
Bhagwan Shankar himself had appeared from that lingam and kicked the god of death
hard in the chest with great anger. Markandey's joy knew no bounds when he saw the
miserable plight of the god of death and the ecstatic beauty of Bhagwan Shankar. He
began to sing hymns in praise of his indescribable beauty.
Mahadeva, the God of gods was pleased by Shrimarkandey's hymns and
bestowed immortality on him.
A Word from Author

Mahayogi Guru Goraksha Nath ji has enabled me to present this Book to the devotees. I feel
great happiness for being chosen as a medium by Shambhjati Goraksha Nath ji to acquaint the
devotees and Sadhakas with Lord Shiva's various powerful forms. This book contains the
description about these forms of Lord Shiva and rare paintings were included for all the forms.
More stress was given to the Rare Pictures to provide the devotees with the rare collection and to
let them know Lord Shiva's true postures of these forms.

Darshan of these forms will surely bring about the fulfillment of the wishes. Those who engage
in it with nirgunbhav, i.e., without aiming at the fulfillment of any wish, will surely have Darshan
of Lord Shiva. Their grace will liberate them from such weaknesses and vices as lust, anger,
greed and pride. They will enjoy supreme bliss.

This book is for the welfare of mankind. My prayer is May this be an instrument of bringing
about the holy union of Guru and Sishya, Bhakta and Parmatma.

I wish to express my sense of gratitude to those who have extended their sincere co-operation to
ensure the publication of this Book.

May Goraksha Nath ji bless all.

(H. K. Jain)

The Book “Ekadash Rudra SHIVA” by H.K. Jain is available in three forms i.e.

1. Hard Bound with Glossy Paper, full multicolour deluxe quality. Price: 29 $. For Indian
customers Rs. 1100/-
2. Multimedia interactive CD with full effects. Price: 11$ for Indian customers Rs. 450/-
3. Downloadable Adobe Acrobat Reader pdf version. Price: $ 5.6. For Indian customers
Rs. 245/-

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