Srimad Siva-Gita

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 9, 2008

The Śiva-Gītā is a text of Vedantic Śaivism that comes to us from the latter portion (uttara kānda) of the Padma Purāna. In many ways, it is a text not unlike the Bhagavad-Gītā, except the focus is fully on Śiva. In the Śiva-Gītā, the teacher is Lord Śiva and the disciple is Śrī Rāma, and the narrator is the bard Suta. <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P></O:P>

The Śiva-Gītā begins with episode from the Rāmāyana epic, where Rāma is despondent over the loss of Sītā. At this time, Rāma is visited by Sage Agastya, and the sage prescribes to Rāma that he should observe a special vow called the Pāśupata vrata. By observing this vow Agastya promises that Rama will have a vision of Lord Śiva, and will receive the Pāśupata astra (weapon) without which Rāvana cannot be defeated. Rāma performs the vow and at the end of four months receives a divine vision of Śiva. Śiva presents Rāma with the Pāśupata astra, and Rāma in turn asks Lord Śiva a series of questions. The dialogue between Rāma and Lord Śiva makes up the bulk of the Śiva-Gītā.

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 9, 2008

Srimad Siva-Gita

Chapter VI – Glory of God<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P> Rāma said:<O:P></O:P>

O Lord! (Having heard You declare that You are the Creator of the world) a great wonder wells forth in me. You are the Lord with the moon on Your crest, with three eyes and as radiant as pure crystal. ||1||<O:P></O:P>

You have a form with limited stature bearing masculine appearance, accompanied by Mother Pārvatī and sport here itself with Your entourage of attendants. ||2||<O:P> </O:P>

How is it that You (create, protect and dissolve) the world made of five elements and consisting of the animate and inanimate? Tell me, O Lord, the beloved of Pārvatī, should You have concern for me. ||3||

The Lord said: <O:P></O:P>

Listen, Rāma, the high-souled one and of noble observances! I will tell you that which is difficult to comprehend even for the Gods, (and which can be understood) only by continence and by effort, and through which you will with ease cross to the other shore of the sea of births and deaths. ||4||<O:P></O:P>

The five elements, the fourteen worlds, the oceans, the mountains, the demons, and the sages; those that are seen as unmoving, like trees, and those that move (creatures), the Gandharvas, the Pramathas, the Nāgas, all these are My glorious manifestations. ||5-6||<O:P> </O:P>

In ancient days, the Gods like Brahmā, desirous to see My personal form, churned (the ocean) as a team, (using) the <ST1:PLACETYPE st="on">Mount</ST1:PLACETYPE> <ST1:PLACENAME st="on">Mandara</ST1:PLACENAME>, the dearest to <ST1:PLACE st="on"><?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:STATE st="on">Me.</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE> ||7||<O:P></O:P>

The Gods, standing in front of Me, praised Me with folded palms. On seeing Me thus, the Gods were deluded by Me, and the intelligence of Brahmā and the other celestial beings was obscured. ||8||<O:P></O:P>

Remaining ignorant, they repeatedly asked Me: “Who are You?” Then I told the Gods: “I am that primordial Being. O Gods! I was the first of all! I am so even at the present, and I will be so in the future too. There is nothing other than I in this world. ||9-10||<O:P></O:P>

O Leaders of Gods! There is nothing whatever other than Myself, either permanent or impermanent. Faultless, I am the Lord of the Vedas and of Brahmā. ||11||<O:P> </O:P>

O Leaders of Gods! I extend unto the south, unto the north, unto the east, and the west, above and below. I am the terminal and the intermediate directions. ||12||<O:P></O:P>

I am the Sāvitrī and the Gāyatrī, I am woman, man, and neuter; the meters of Triṣṭup, Jagatī, Anuṣṭup, Paṅkti and the three Vedas. ||13||<O:P></O:P>

I am the truth among all (the phenomena), the tranquil, the three household fires, scriptural study and ritual, the Preceptor, the speech, the secret, the heaven and the Lord of the world. ||14||<O:P></O:P>

I am the foremost, the pre-eminent among all the Gods, greatest of knowers of truth, am the Lord of the waters, am the noblest, the supreme One with six attributes, the Ruler (Īśa), the Light, and the first cause of the all. ||15||<O:P></O:P>

I am the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda, the Atharvaṇa, full of sacred mantras, and similarly the distinguished Angiras all originate from <ST1:STATE st="on"><ST1:PLACE st="on">Me.</ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE> ||16||<O:P></O:P>

I am the Itihāsas, the Purāṇas, I am the kalpa (rituals), and the performer of the rituals. I am the Narasamsi (hymn of Rudra); I am the Gātha (hymn praising Vedic ritual). I am meditation and the secret wisdom. ||17||<O:P></O:P>

I am the Vedic verses, the aphorisms (Sūtras), the sub-commentaries; I am the commentaries. Similarly, I am the sciences, the Vedic sacrifices, the oblation and the substances offered. ||18||<O:P></O:P>

I am the giver as well as the gift; I am this world and the world hereafter; I am the imperishable and the perishable; I am control of senses and of the mind; I am the indweller of the senses. ||19||<O:P></O:P>

I am the hidden secret in all the Vedas; I am the forest and I am the unborn. I am the nourisher and the pure; I am the middle and anything beyond it. I am the exterior as well as the interior; I am the front and the imperishable. ||20||<O:P></O:P>

And I am light as well as darkness. I am the subtle elements and the senses. I am the intellect and the ego. Verily, I alone am all the objects of experience. ||21||<O:P></O:P>

I am Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśa. I am Umā, Skanda, and Vināyaka. I am Indra, Agni, and Yama. I am Nirṛiti, Varuṇa and Vāyu. ||22||<O:P></O:P>

I am Kubera and Iśāna, the worlds of Bhu, Bhuva, Svaha, Maha, Jana, Tapa and Satya. And I am the earth and I am the waters, the fire and air. ||23||<O:P></O:P>

I am space; I am the sun, the moon and the stars. The planets, too, am I. I am the vital breath (prāṇa) and time, similarly death and immortality. I am the physical matter too. ||24|| <O:P></O:P>

I am the past and the future. I am the universe in its entirety. I am the sum and substance of everything. For those who silently chant, I am the Praṇava (OM) at the beginning. I am the vyahāritis: bhu, bhuva, svaha in the middle; and then the Gāyatri at the end. I am of the form of the extended universe. ||25||<O:P></O:P>

I am the eaten and the drunk. I am, too the done and the undone. I am the superior and the inferior. I am the Sun and the Refuge of all. ||26||<O:P></O:P>

I am the good of the world; I am the Divine imperishable and the subtle. I am the very self of Prajāpati (Brahmā). I am the sacred, the benign, the ungraspable and the first. ||27||<O:P></O:P>

I alone am the withdrawer. I am the container of the luminous fire of deluge. I am established in the hearts of all as Divinity and vital power. ||28||<O:P></O:P>

I am the very Praṇava (Omkāra) consiting of three morae (a, u, m) whose head is the north, feet the south and the middle is all that is in between. ||29||<O:P></O:P>

I am truly the Praṇava (Omkāra), one, eternal and ancient because I lead (pious souls) upwards (to heaven) and send them down (when their merit is exhausted). ||30||<O:P></O:P>

I am called Praṇava because in the act of sacrifice I am Brahmā (directing the sacrifice) make (the Rtviks) render obeisance to the brāhmaṇas (or Rg, Yajus and Sāma Vedas). ||31||<O:P></O:P>

Just as ghee pervades a piece of meat and makes the body (of the eater) grow, I (pervade) similarly all the worlds; therefore, the Pervader of all am <ST1:PLACE st="on">I.</ST1:PLACE> ||32||<O:P></O:P>

Because Brahmā and Viṣṇu, and other Deities did not see the beginning or end to My form (Jyotirliṅga), I am called the Infinite. ||33||<O:P></O:P>

Since I save My devotee from the ocean of dread of being born in a womb, old age, death and the cycle of births and deaths, I am called the Savior. ||34||<O:P></O:P>

I dwell as the soul in the four kinds of bodies (born of womb, of egg, of sweat and of the earth). Taking a subtle form I live in the heart. Hence, I am called subtle. ||35||<O:P></O:P>

I illuminate the devotees immersed in the primeval darkness (of ignorance) with my incomparable light, like a flash of lightening. Therefore, I am known as lightening. ||36||<O:P></O:P>

Since I alone create and dissolve the worlds, make (the souls) go from one world to another and bestow grace, I am the only supreme Lord. ||37||<O:P></O:P>

Since there is no second to that transcendent Brahman, which withdraws all the beings into itself, I (that Brahman) alone exist as Rudra. ||38||<O:P></O:P>

Since I rule all the worlds with My wondrous powers, I am the Iśāna (Ruler) of this world, the Lord and the witnessing eye. ||39||<O:P></O:P>

(The scriptures extol Me) as Iśāna, as Indra, as Brahmā and the Lord of all at all times, and the Lord of disciplines and knowledge. Hence, I am called Iśāna. ||40||<O:P></O:P>

I behold all beings; I teach the knowledge of the Self and the path (to that knowledge). I pervade everything. Therefore, I am called Bhagavān. ||41||<O:P></O:P>

I perpetually create, protect and dissolve all the worlds and enliven them all. And hence I am the great Lord. ||42||<O:P></O:P>

He, that great Lord, glories by the stupendous powers and the yoga of self-knowledge. He creates and protects all that exists. I am that (Lord). ||43||<O:P></O:P>

This Lord am I, present everywhere. I was prior to everything else. It is I who is in the womb; it is I who is born and that which is to be born. I have faces in every direction. I am the indwelling spirit in beings. ||44|| <O:P></O:P>

I have eyes everywhere; I have faces in all directions; My arms are everywhere; My feet everywhere.With my arms and feet I command the production, as one secondless Lord, of the earth and the heaven. ||45||<O:P></O:P>

Those wise men who directly see Me as abiding in their own self, in the center of their heart, of the size of a tip of the hair; as of the form of the universe; as the source of the Vedas, and to be worshipped always, for them alone there is peace eternal, and not others. ||46||<O:P></O:P>

I alone stand as the basis of the world of māyā. All the fivefold elements are fully pervaded by Me. One who enquires in this way about Me, the Lord, the Supreme Person, and the Governor (of the universe) attains peerless peace. ||47||<O:P></O:P>

The marks of mind implicit in the vital airs are said to be hunger, thirst and restlessness. Those who cut asunder the thirst which is responsible for all the activities and fixing the mind in Me through reason, and meditate on Me, get the peace eternal and not others. ||48||<O:P></O:P>

Knowing Me as Brahman, the bliss, from where speech along with the mind recoil unable to reach it, one does not fear anything whatsoever. ||49||<O:P></O:P>

Hearing my words on the supreme knowledge as a means to release, chanting My names, giving themselves to meditating on me, the Gods – all of them – at the end of their lives attained union with Me in days of yore. From such a knowledge all the things are seen everywhere by them as manifestations of My glory. ||50-51||<O:P></O:P>

From Me alone everything is born. In Me, everything is established. In me, everything is resolved. I am that Brahman which is secondless. ||52||<O:P></O:P>

I alone am the subtler than the subtlest; similarly I am the greatest. I am the world and am pure (unsullied by creation). I am the most ancient. I am the complete being. I am the sovereign. I am the golden One and of the very form of auspiciousness (Śivam). ||53||<O:P></O:P>

I (grasp) without hands and (walk without) feet; I am that inestimable power; I see without eyes; I hear without ears. I am every manifest form and there is no one who knows Me. I am ever the consciousness. ||54||<O:P></O:P>

I am alone the One who revealed by all the Vedas. I am the author of Vedānta, and I am alone the knower of the Vedas. There is no merit or demerit in Me; there is no destruction for Me; nor are there births, bodies, senses and intellects for <ST1:PLACE st="on"><ST1:STATE st="on">Me.</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE> ||55||<O:P> </O:P>

The earth, water, fire, air nor space (the five elements) find no place in Me. Thus knowing the nature of the supreme Self indwelling in the cave of the heart, partless and secondless, witness unto all, devoid of cause and effect, one attains the pure supreme Self (that I am). ||56||<O:P>

</O:P>

O Rāma of great intelligence! One who knows Me truly, he alone and none else, in all the worlds attains the fruit of liberation.” ||57||<O:P></O:P>

Thus ends the sixth chapter called the Glory of God in the Śiva-Gītā which is an upaniṣad delivering Brahma-vīdyā and a yoga śāstra occurring as a dialogue between Śiva and Rāma in the Padma Purāṇa. <O:P></O:P>

Source: Śiva-Gītā. Trans. P.K. Sundaram. Chennai: The Centernarian Trust, 1997

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 9, 2008

Srimad Siva-Gita

Chapter VII – Vision of the Cosmic Form

<O:P></O:P>Rāma said:<O:P></O:P>

What was asked by me, O all-pervasive Lord, that stands as such. Here, an answer was not received from You by me at all, O great Lord! 1<O:P> </O:P>

Your body, O Lord – being of limited measure – how is it the origination of all beings, their maintenance and dissolution? 2<O:P></O:P>

How are the Deities bound to their respective duties stationed in You? How is it that all of them are one with You? How is it that the fourteen worlds (are one with You)? 3<O:P> </O:P>

O Lord! Even after hearing it from You, there is a great doubt in me. You must deign to dispel the doubt in my mind which suffers from incomprehension. 4<O:P></O:P>

The Lord said:<O:P></O:P><O:P> </O:P>

Though the seed of the banyan tree is very tiny, the huge banyan tree always existed in it. Otherwise, how can that tree come out of that seed? 5<O:P></O:P>

Similarly, O Rāma, the origination and dissolution of the beings take place in My body. Even a large mass of salt easily dissolves in water and is no more visible, but when (that water is) boiled that salt appears as before. 6<O:P> </O:P>

Just as light emanates every dawn from the solar sphere, similarly all the universe originates from Me, exists and then merges in Me. Everything is in Me. O Rāma of noble resolves! Know it thus. 7<O:P></O:P>

Rāma said:<O:P></O:P><O:P> </O:P>

O great Lord! Just as for a person confused regarding directions, the confusion is not removed even when correctly informed, similar is my delusion. What shall I do? 8<O:P></O:P>

The Lord said:<O:P></O:P>

O Rāma! I will show you how all this, the moving and the unmoving beings of the world subsist in Me. But you will not be able to see this. O son of Daśaratha, I will endow you with divine vision. Through that, shedding all fears, behold the expanse of everlasting luminosity of Mine. 9-10<O:P></O:P>

My majesty cannot be perceived through physical eyes either by human beings or by celestial beings without My grace. 11<O:P></O:P>

Suta said:<O:P></O:P><O:P> </O:P>

Having said thus, the Lord blessed him (Rāma) with divine vision. Then he (Rāma) saw the form of the Lord resembling subterranean fire. 12<O:P></O:P>

Seeing that (form) luminous like millions of lightening flashes and striking intense terror even among the brave, Rāma in sheer fright, collapsed on his knees to the ground. Rāma, the dauntless hero, fell prostrate on the ground and again and again praising (the Lord) then rising, looked as far as he could. Rāma saw the form of the Lord, the Destroyer of Tripura, with sidereal universes inside it looking like she-sparrows, in constellations of luminous blaze. 13-15<O:P></O:P>

He saw (within the form of the Lord) the mountains like Meru, Mandara and Vindhyā, the seven seas, the sun and the moon, the Gods and the five elements. 16<O:P></O:P>

The son of Daśaratha beheld the forests, the holy mountains, the fourteen worlds and the entire cosmic expanse. He saw the battles between the Devas and the Asuras; those born and yet to be born; the ten incarnations of Viṣṇuand the His sports in those incarnations. 17<O:P></O:P>

O dvijas, He saw the defeat of the Devas, the burning of Tripura and the extinction of all that is born and yet to be born. Beholding all this, Rāma filled with fear, prostrated again and again. (At this point) true wisdom dawned on Raghunandana (Rāma), and he extolled Śankara with meaningful hymns that contain the very essence of the Upanishads18-21<O:P></O:P>

Rāma said:<O:P></O:P><O:P> </O:P>

O Lord! The Destroyer of distress of those who take refuge in You! Be gracious! Be gracious! O Lord of the universe! O, Thou worshipped by the Universe! Be gracious! Thou the Bearer of the <ST1:PLACE st="on">Ganges</ST1:PLACE>, with moon adorning Your crest! Protect me, helpless as I am, from the fear of births and deaths. 22<O:P></O:P>

O Lord! This world, indeed, is born only from You, in You alone the created beings live always, O Śambhu! Into You alone they undergo merger, just like trees and creepers into the earth. 23<O:P></O:P>

O Wielder of the trident! Brahmā, Indra and Rudra, the Maruts, the Gandharvas, the Yakṣas, Asuras, the community of Siddhas, rivers like the <ST1:PLACE st="on">Ganges</ST1:PLACE>, the oceans, all of them live in the midst of Your person. O Moon-crested One! Everything is illusorily projected by Your māyā. In You alone, the universe attains perceptibility. All this is perceived by the common people mistakenly (as real), just as silver is seen in a seashell or a rope is mistaken for a snake. 24-25<O:P></O:P>

Filling the entire universe with Your splendour, manifesting things by Your own resplendence, O God of Gods, without Your light, this universe cannot be perceived even for a moment. 26<O:P></O:P>

Great things do not rest on flimsy support. One single atom cannot support the Vindhyā mountains. This universe rests on Your person through Your māyā alone. I am convinced now about this. 27<O:P></O:P>

Just as a fear-causing snake appearing in the rope has not really come into being, nor exists, nor undergoes destruction, similarly is the universe too taking shape in You, through that sheer māyā of Yours, O Nilakaṇṭha. 28<O:P></O:P>

When it is enquired as to Your body assuming the nature of being, the very basis for the world of manifestation, that itself is seen to be certainly due to my ignorance. Thou art wholly the nature of Consciousness and Bliss. 29<O:P></O:P>

O Destroyer of Tripura, Thou alone, being praised, bestow upon the enjoyers the fruits of the eminently meritorious acts, performance of Vedic sacrifices and charitable acts. But even this statement is not fully true because there is nothing different from You at all. 30<O:P></O:P>

The Sages declare those as deluded by ignorance who mistakenly think that Śiva, Lord of the <ST1:PLACE st="on">Himālayas</ST1:PLACE>, is pleased by external acts of worship and services. How can there be any desire for pleasure for one who is formless? 31<O:P></O:P>

O Supreme Lord! Even the sovereignty of all the three worlds, You bestow as a reward on those people who offer You a leaf or a little water. I deem it all as the work of ignorance. 32<O:P></O:P>

You pervade all the quarters and the intermediate directions. Thou art the universe, secondless, the infinite and the eternal. Even when this universe become extinct, there is no loss to You, just as there is no detriment to space (within a pot), when the pot is broken. 33<O:P></O:P>

Just as the one, single Sun in the sky gets its many reflections in various vessels of water, so Thou, O Lord, art (variously) reflected in different minds. 34<O:P></O:P>

There is nothing to be done by You even when the world is created, protected and dissolved. Even then, You bestow heaven etc. on the souls beginninglessly embodied according to their mortal fruits. It all happens as in a dream. 35<O:P></O:P>

O Śambhu! For the two inert bodies, the subtle (sūkṣma) and the gross (sthūla) there could be no consciousness without the Self. Therefore, the scriptures, O enemy of Tripura, speak of pleasure and pain experienced through Your reflection in them. 36<O:P></O:P>

Prostrations to Thee, O Swan in the ocean of Existence and Consciousness; prostrations to Thee, O Blue-Throated One, the very form of Time; prostrations to Thee, the Destroyer of all sins; prostrations to Thee, the one (witness) experiencer of the functions of the mind, which after all is illusory. 37<O:P></O:P>

Suta said:<O:P></O:P>

Prostrating thus before the Lord of the universe, standing with folded hands before Him, the over-awed Rāma praised the supreme Lord in so many words. 38<O:P></O:P>

Rāma said:<O:P></O:P>

O Self of the universe! Withdraw this cosmic form of Yours. By Thy grace, O Śambhu, the ocean of the world (of existence) has been seen (by me). 39<O:P></O:P>

The Lord said:<O:P></O:P>

O Rāma, the mighty-armed! There is nothing other than I.<O:P></O:P>

Suta said:<O:P></O:P>

Saying thus, the Lord withdrew the Gods and the other (forms) into His own form. 40<O:P></O:P>

Closing his eyes in sheer delight, Rāma again opened his eyes and saw the Lord standing over the tiger-skin on the crest of the (<ST1:PLACE st="on">Himālaya</ST1:PLACE>) mountain. Rāma saw Lord Nilakaṇṭha with three eyes and five faces, donning the tiger skin, His person adorned with sacred ash, wearing the serpents as His bracelets and sacred thread, wearing matted locks, blazing like lightening. (He saw) the One, the Lord of the universe, with moon on His crest, the supremely adorable, assuring freedom from fear, with four arms, holding a battle-axe, with a deer in one hand. 41-44<O:P></O:P>

Then prostrating, Rāma, at the Lord’s command, sat in front of Him. Then, the God of Gods told Rāma, “Whatever you want to ask, O Rāma, you can ask of Me. There is no preceptor for you other than <ST1:PLACE st="on">I.</ST1:PLACE>” 45

<O:P></O:P>

Thus ends the seventh chapter called the Vision of the Cosmic Form in the form of a dialogue between Śiva and Rāma in the Śiva-Gītā an upaniṣad delivering Brahma-vidyā, and a yoga śāstra occurring in the Padma Purāṇa.<O:P></O:P>

<O:P>Source:</O:P>Śiva-Gītā. Trans. P.K. Sundaram. Chennai: The Centernarian Trust, 1997.

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 19, 2008

śivo guruḥ śivo vedaḥ śiva devaḥ śivaḥ prabhuḥ |

śivo'smyahaṁ śivaḥ sarvaṁ śivadanyanna kiṁcana ||

Shiva alone is Guru; Shiva alone is Vedas;

Shiva alone is Lord; Shiva alone is I;

Shiva alone is All. There is none other than Shiva.

~ Varaha Upanishad (IV.32) of the Krsna Yajurveda

Aum Namah Shivaya.

guliaditya · March 19, 2008

Respected loverofthebhagavataji,

After reading all your posts it can be concluded that lord Shiva is the spureme.But again when we read Srimad Bhagavata & Gita the position is entirely different.There we find Lord Vishnu/Krishna as supreme.It becomes very difficult to reconcile.How a person with very limited knowledge & that too in the age of Kaliyug,will come to a conclusion?

In this respect can we treat both as supreme & worship??Lord Vishnu as supreme personality of Godhead & Lord Shiva as supreme vaishnava/guru.

With my neglible knowledge this is my interpretation.

Pranaam

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 20, 2008

In this respect can we treat both as supreme & worship??Lord Vishnu as supreme personality of Godhead & Lord Shiva as supreme vaishnava/guru.

Personally, I consider both Hara and Hari to be different svarupas of the same Param Brahma, who is ultimately nirguna, or attributeless. Your interpretation is consistent with Vaishnava siddhanta, and if that is where your heart lies, then it is a valid means of approaching God for you. You should take to the method that holds the most appeal from your point of view.

guliaditya · March 20, 2008

Respected Loverofthebhagavat prabhuji,

I hope u have read Harivamsh Purana.In this purana Lord Shiva taught all the rishis about Krishna tattva.This happened when Lord Krishna went to Kailash for doing tapa to please Lord Shiva for getting a child.

Lord Shiva is the gateway to Vaikunth dham.He should be worshipped first in the morning.By worshipping him all the vaishnavas are worshipped.He is guru's guru.He is very merciful to the fallen souls.

This is my opinion.I expressed my views seeing the content of the thread.

Pranaam.

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 20, 2008

I hope u have read Harivamsh Purana.In this purana Lord Shiva taught all the rishis about Krishna tattva.This happened when Lord Krishna went to Kailash for doing tapa to please Lord Shiva for getting a child.
Lord Shiva is the gateway to Vaikunth dham.He should be worshipped first in the morning.By worshipping him all the vaishnavas are worshipped.He is guru's guru.He is very merciful to the fallen souls.

This is my opinion.I expressed my views seeing the content of the thread.

Yes, this is to be expected as the Harivamsa Purana is a primarily Vaishnava text. There are countless other references to other conceptions of God in many other Vedic writings. You are a Vaishnava and as such, you ought to make Vishnu-centred conclusions prevail in your heart. This will undoubtedly lead you to Brahman.

I have given up Vaishnavism after some 13 years spent exploring Gaudiya Vaishnavism and have now more or less settled on Bhagavan Shiva as my ishta-deva, with the view that Truth is in the end impersonal. May we both progress towards our specific spiritual goals.

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 20, 2008

Sage Tandi's Prayer

There are many ancient sages connected with the tradition of Shiva. Of those, one is Sage Tandi. Almost nothing is known about the historical Sage Tandi. The name Tandi suggests a connection with Tandya branch of the Samaveda, of which he may have been the originator. One of the oldest and most important Vedic upanishads called the Chhandogya (a.k.a. Tandya Rahasya Upanishad) originates from this branch.

The Mahabharata epic mentions the illustrious Sage Tandi as a great Shiva devotee from remote antiquity, and credits him with authorship of the Thousand Names of Shiva (see Shiva Saharanama). In the Anushasana Parva (Book XIII) of the Mahabharata, Vasudeva (Krsna) teaches a prayer to Yudhishthira as taught to him by Sage Upamanyu. This prayer hymn is said to have been recited originally by Sage Tandi himself upon having a mystical vision of Shiva.

Sage Tandi’s Prayer glorifies Shiva in the most beautiful and exalted terms. It is a prayer based entirely on theological and philosophical principles found in the Vedanta, Yoga and theistic Sankhya systems.

Sage Tandi's Prayer

The Rishi Tandi, desirous of beholding Him who making Himself endued with life-breaths, resides in what results from it (the jiva), in the form of that effulgence which is called the mind, passed many years in the practice of the severest austerities, and having succeeded in beholding Him as the reward of those penances, he praised the great God (Mahadeva) in the following terms.

Tandi said:

<O:P</O:P

Thou art the holiest of holies and the Refuge of all, O foremost of all beings endued with intelligence. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the fiercest energy of all kinds of energy. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the austerest penance of all penances. <O:P></O:P>

Thou, O puissant One, art the liberal Giver of blessings. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the supreme Truth. <O:P></O:P>

Salutations to Thee, O Thou of a thousand rays, and O Refuge of all felicity. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the Giver of that Nirvana which, O puissant One, Yatis, standing in fear of birth and death, strive for so hard. <O:P></O:P>

The Grandsire Brahmā, He of a hundred sacrifices (Indra), Vishnu, the Vishvadevas, the great Rishis, are incapable of comprehending Thee and Thy real nature. <O:P></O:P>

How then can persons like us hope to comprehend Thee? <O:P></O:P>

From Thee flows everything. <O:P></O:P>

Upon Thee rests everything. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art called Kāla, Thou art called Purusha, Thou art called Brahma. <O:P></O:P>

Celestial Rishis conversant with the Puranas, say that Thou hast three bodies -- those pertaining to Kalas, those pertaining to Purusha and those pertaining to Brahma or the three forms namely Brahmā, Vishnu and Rudra. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Adi-Purusha, Thou art Adhyatma, Thou art Adhibhuta, and Adhi-Daivata, Thou art Adi-loka, Adi-Vijnanam and Adi-Yajna. <O:P></O:P>

Men of wisdom, when they succeed in knowing Thee that residest in themselves and that art incapable of being known by the very Gods, become freed from all bonds and enter to a state of existence that transcends all sorrow. <O:P></O:P>

They that do not wish to know Thee, O Thou of great puissance, have to undergo innumerable births and deaths. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the door of heaven and of Emancipation. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art He that projectest all beings into existence and withdrawest them again into Thyself. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the great Giver. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art heaven, Thou art emancipation, Thou art desire (the seed of action). <O:P></O:P>

Thou art wrath that inspires creatures. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Sattva, Thou art Rajas, Thou art Tamas, <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the nether regions, and Thou art the upper regions. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the Grandsire Brahmā, Thou art Bhava, Thou art Vishnu, Thou art Skanda, Thou art Indra, Thou art Savitri, Thou art Yama, Thou art Varuna, Thou art Soma, Thou art Dhatri, Thou art Manu, Thou art Vidhatri, and Thou art Kuvera, the Lord of treasures. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Earth, Thou art Wind, Thou art Water, Thou art Agni, Thou art Space, Thou art Speech, Thou art the Understanding, Thou art Steadiness, Thou art Intelligence, Thou art the acts that creatures do, Thou art Truth, Thou art Falsehood, Thou art existent and Thou art non-existent. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the senses, Thou art that which transcends Prakriti, Thou art immutable. Thou art superior to the universe of existent objects, Thou art superior to the universe of non-existent objects, Thou art capable of being conceived, Thou art incapable of being conceived. <O:P></O:P>

That which is supreme Brahman; that which is the highest entity; that which is the end of both the Sankhyas and the Yogins, is without doubt, identical with Thee. <O:P></O:P>

Verily, rewarded have I been today by Thee in consequence of Thy granting me a sight of Thy form. <O:P></O:P>

I have attained the end which the righteous alone attain to. <O:P></O:P>

I have been rewarded with that end which is solicited by persons whose understandings have been cleansed by knowledge. <O:P></O:P>

Alas, so long I was steeped in ignorance; for this long period I was a senseless fool, since I had no knowledge of Thee that art the Supreme Deity, Thee that art the only eternal Entity as can be only known by all persons endued with wisdom. <O:P></O:P>

In course of innumerable lives have I at last succeeded in acquiring that devotion towards Thee in consequence of which Thou hast shown Thyself to me. <O:P></O:P>

O Thou that art ever inclined to extend Thy grace to those that are devoted to Thee. <O:P></O:P>

He that succeeds in knowing Thee is enabled to enjoy immortality. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that which is ever a mystery with the Gods, the Asuras, and the ascetics, the Brahman is concealed in the cave of the heart. <O:P></O:P>

The very ascetics are unable to behold or know Him. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that puissant Deity who is the Doer of everything and whose face is turned towards every direction. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the Soul of all things, Thou seest all things, Thou pervadest all things, and Thou knowest all things. <O:P></O:P>

Thou makest a body for Thyself, and bearest that body. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art an embodied Being. <O:P></O:P>

Thou enjoyest a body, and Thou art the Refuge of all embodied creatures. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the Creator of the life-breaths, Thou possessest the life-breaths, Thou art one that is endued with life-breaths, Thou art the Giver of the life-breaths, and Thou art the Refuge of all beings endued with life-breaths. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that Adhyatma which is the Refuge of all righteous persons that are devoted to Yoga-meditation and conversant with the Soul and that are solicitous of avoiding rebirth. <O:P></O:P>

Verily, Thou art that Supreme Lord who is identical with that Refuge. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the Giver unto all creatures of whatever ends become theirs, fraught with happiness or misery. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art He that ordains all created beings to birth and death. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the puissant Lord who grants success to Rishis crowned with success in respect of the fruition of their wishes. <O:P></O:P>

Having created all the worlds beginning with Bhu, together with all the denizens of heaven, that upholdest and cherishest them all, distributing Thyself into Thy well-known forms numbering Eight (Ashtamurtis). <O:P></O:P>

From Thee flows everything. <O:P></O:P>

Upon Thee rests all things. <O:P></O:P>

All things, again, disappear in Thee. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the sole object that is Eternal. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that region of Truth which is sought by the righteous and regarded by them as the highest. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that cessation of individual existence which Yogins seek. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that Oneness which is sought by persons conversant with the soul. <O:P></O:P>

Brahmā and the Siddhas expounding the mantras have concealed Thee in a cave to prevent the Devas and Asuras and human beings from beholding Thee. <O:P></O:P>

Although Thou residest in the heart, yet Thou art concealed. <O:P></O:P>

Hence, stupefied by Thee, Devas and Asuras and human beings are all unable to understand Thee, O Bhava, truly and in all Thy details. <O:P></O:P>

Unto those persons that succeed in attaining to Thee after having cleansed themselves by devotion, Thou showest Thyself of thy own accord, O Thou that residest in all hearts. <O:P></O:P>

By knowing Thee one can avoid both death and rebirth. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the highest object of knowledge. <O:P></O:P>

By knowing Thee no higher object remains for one to know. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the greatest object of acquisition. <O:P></O:P>

The person that is truly wise, by acquiring Thee, thinks that there is no higher object to acquire. <O:P></O:P>

By attaining to Thee that art exceedingly subtle and that art the highest object of acquisition, the man of wisdom becomes immortal and immutable. <O:P></O:P>

The followers of the Sankhya system, well conversant with their own philosophy and possessing a knowledge of the attributes (gunas) and of those called the topics of enquiry, those learned men who transcend the destructible by attaining to a knowledge of the subtle or indestructible, succeed, by knowing Thee, in freeing themselves from all bonds. <O:P></O:P>

Persons conversant with the Vedas regard Thee as the one object of knowledge, which has been expounded in the Vedantas. <O:P></O:P>

These men, devoted to the regulation of the breaths, always meditate on Thee and at last enter into Thee as their highest end. <O:P></O:P>

Riding on the car made of <ST1:PLACE st="on">Om</ST1:PLACE>, those men enter into Maheshvara. <O:P></O:P>

Of that which is called the Devayana (the path of the Devas), Thou art the door called Aditya. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art again, the door, called Chandramas, of that which is called the Pitriyana (the path of the Pitris). <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Kashtha, Thou art the points of the horizon, Thou art the year, and Thou art the Yugas. <O:P></O:P>

Thine is the sovereignty of the heavens, Thine is the sovereignty of the Earth, Thou art the Northern and the Southern declensions. <O:P></O:P>

The Grandsire Brahmā in days of yore uttered Thy praises, O Thou that art called Nilarohita (blue and red), by reciting diverse hymns and urged Thee to create living creatures. <O:P></O:P>

Brahmanas conversant with Riks praise Thee by uttering Riks, regarding Thee as unattached to all things and as divested of all forms. <O:P></O:P>

Adhyaryus, in sacrifices, pour libations, uttering Yajus the while, in honour of Thee that art the sole object of knowledge, according to the three well-known ways. <O:P></O:P>

Persons of cleansed understandings, that are conversant with Samans, sing Thee with the aid of Samans. <O:P></O:P>

Those regenerate persons, again, that are conversant with the Atharvans, hymn Thee as Rta, as Truth, as the Highest, and as Brahma. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the highest Cause, whence Sacrifice has flowed. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the Lord, and Thou art Supreme. <O:P></O:P>

The night and day are Thy sense of hearing and sense of sight. <O:P></O:P>

The fortnights and months are Thy head and arms. <O:P></O:P>

The seasons are Thy energy, penances are Thy patience, and the year is Thy lower end, thighs and feet. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Mrityu, Thou art Yama, Thou art Hutasana, Thou art Kāla, Thou art endued with speed in respect of destruction, Thou art the original cause of Time, and Thou art eternal Time. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Chandramas and Aditya with all the stars and planets and the atmosphere that fills space. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the pole-star, Thou art constellation called the seven Rishis, Thou art the seven regions beginning with Bhu. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Pradhana and Mahat, Thou art Unmanifest, and Thou art this world. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the universe beginning with Brahmā and ending with the lowest forms of vegetation. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the beginning or original cause of all creatures. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the eight Prakritis.<O:P></O:P>

Thou art, again, above the eight Prakritis. <O:P></O:P>

Everything that exists, represents a portion of thy divine Self. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that supreme Felicity which is also Eternal. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the end which is attained to by all things. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that highest existence which is sought for by the Righteous. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that state which is freed from every anxiety. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art eternal Brahman! <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that highest state which constitutes the meditation of persons learned in the scriptures and the Vedangas. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the highest Kashtha, Thou art the highest Kāla. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the highest Success, and Thou art the highest Refuge. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the highest Tranquillity. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art the highest cessation of Existence. <O:P></O:P>

By attaining to thee, Yogins think that they attain to the highest success that is open to them. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art Contentment, Thou art Success, Thou art the Sruti, and Thou art the Smriti. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that Refuge of the Soul after which Yogins strive, and Thou art that indestructible Prapti which men of knowledge pursue. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art, without doubt, that End which those persons have in view that are habituated to sacrifices and that pour sacrificial libations, impelled by specific desires, and that make large presents on such occasions. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that high End which is sought for by persons that waste and scorch their bodies with severe penances with ceaseless recitations, with those rigid vows and fasts that appertain to their tranquil lives, and with other means of self-affliction. <O:P></O:P>

O Eternal one, Thou art that End which is theirs that are unattached to all things and that have relinquished all acts. <O:P></O:P>

Thou, O Eternal one, art that End which is theirs that are desirous of achieving Emancipation from rebirth, that live in dissociation from all enjoyments, and that desire the annihilation of the Prakriti elements. <O:P></O:P>

Thou art that high End, O illustrious One, which is indescribable, which is stainless, which is the immutable one, and which is theirs that are devoted to knowledge and science. <O:P></O:P>

These are the live Ends that have been declared in the Vedas and the Scriptures and the Puranas. <O:P></O:P>

It is through Thy grace alone that persons attain to those ends, or, if they fail to attain to them, it is through thy grace being denied to them.<O:P></O:P>

<O:P></O:P>

It was thus Tandi, who was a vast heap of penances, praised Isana. And he sang also that high Brahman which in ancient days was sung by the Creator Himself (in honour of Mahadeva).

Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva (Book XIII): Chapter XVI: 13-66

Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

(Edited for clarity and capitalization)

Aum Namah Shivaya ~ Shivaya Namah Aum

LoveroftheBhagavata · March 20, 2008

Nilakantha Maheshvara

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