Bhairava the outcaste god---my hearthrob!

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

I get very emotional when I type about lord Shiva because I

love him very much.So i normally don't type much about him even

though i know many things about him.

This posting is about the Hindu deity, Bhairava, the

wrathful form of Shiva as a sadhu, is accompanied by dogs, animals

as outcaste as he once was.

 

This god who embodies the non-dual view is the prototype for many

Tibetan Buddhist tantric deities. It is said that not only did he

once murder a brahmin, but his victim's skull remained stuck to his

hand. Some hold that this was none other than Lord Brahma himself,

whose top-most or 5th head it was that Shiva removed. It may have

been that multi-headed god's vain boasting that "drove" Lord Shiva

to commit this most heinous of all crimes; it may have been the

penalty for Brahma's desire for his own daughter. In any case,

that is the reason given for the depiction, forever afterwards, of

Brahma having only 4 heads. some have a view that Brahma's 5th head

was seeing parvathy lustfully and that is why shiva severed his 5th

head off.

The sin of brahmahatya was to be relived of by a pious

woman,a sati or a pativrata.And she ad to give bhairava a bhiksha to

relieve him of the sin.No one came forward and only Godess Lakshmi

came forward to give him the bhiksha.

Bhairava is a very non conformist type of hindu god.But

very compassionate.Bhairava means "terrifying" and it is an

adjective applied to Shiva in his fearful aspect. Yet in Kashmir

Shaivism, the three letters of this name are taken in a different

manner. Bha means bharana, maintenance; ra means ravana, withdrawal

and va means vamana, creation of the universe.

 

The Rudrayamala Tantra, quoted in a puja manual Bhairava Upasana,

describes the worship of Vatuka Bhairava, or Bhairava as a small

boy, and gives his mantra as hrim vatukaya apadudharanaya kuru kuru

batukaya hrim. Although the ascription to Rudrayamala is commonly

found in the colophons of tantrik texts, these passages do not

appear in the modern work now available.

 

However, the same work gives dhyanas, or meditation images of Vatuka

Bhairava as comprising the entire three gunas, and also separately

as Vatuka in his sattvik, rajasik and tamasik guises. In his form as

the three gunas, he is described as being like pure crystal,

effulgent as the rays from 1,000 suns, shining like a sapphire

thundercloud and wearing sapphire coloured clothing. He has three

eyes, eight arms, four arms and two arms, depending on the

preponderance of the guna, has a fanged, fearsome gaping mouth, and

a girdle and anklets of live serpents. He is digambara (naked as

space), He is the prince-lord (Kumaresha), and is very powerful. In

his right hands he holds a staff with a skull on the top

(khatvanga), a sword, a noose and a trident. His left hands hold the

hourglass-shaped damaru drum, a skull, he shows the mudra bestowing

boons and holds a snake in the last.

 

The sattvik dhyana describes Vatuka Bhairava as resembling crystal,

and as white as the kunda flower, wearing celestial clothing and

nine gems, of a flaming appearance, adorned with anklets of bells,

having a bright, beautiful and handsome face, with three eyes. He

has two hands, one of which wields a trident (shula).

 

The rajasik dhyana says he resembles the rising sun, with three

eyes, with red limbs, in his four hands showing the sign bestowing

boons, and holding a skull. In one of his left hands he holds a

trident and with the other shows the mudra (hand gesture) dispelling

fear. He has a blue, bejewelled throat, on his forehead is a

fragment (kala) of the crescent moon and he wears clothes red as the

banduka flower.

 

The last, tamasik dhyana, has Vatuka Bhairava as stark naked, blue

in colour, with reddened hair, with terrifying fangs, three eyes,

anklets of jingling bells, and with eight arms.

 

For folks who are interested more please read Netra tantra for

elaborate rituals o Bhairava worship

Thankyou for patiently reading my posting.I personally

loved this posting.

Yours yogically,

Dattu