sada sadyojatasmitamadhurasasvadaparaya
bhavanya dṛkpatabhramaratatibhiscumbitaputam ।
apam patyuh kastham sritamadhikasitam pasupate-
rmukham sadyojatam mama duritajatam vyapanayet ॥ 1॥
jatantahsvardhunyassisiramukhavatairavamatim
gatam vamam rustamanunayasahasraih prasamitum ।
kiratjyotsnam vamam nayanamagajanetraghatitam
dadhadvamam vaktram haratu mama kamam, pasupateh ॥ 2॥
gale ghorajvalam garalamapi ganḍusasadṛsam
nidaghante, garjadghanavadatinilam vahati yat ।
nirastum visvaghapracayamadhitisthadyamadisam
hyaghoram tadvaktram laghayatu madam me, pasupateh ॥ 3॥
pumarthanam purtim pranatasirasam datumanisam
jalabhavo mabhuditi sirasi gaṅgam vahati yat ।
suresasasphurtim mukutasasibhasa kirati tat
mukham tat pumrupam haratu mama moham, pasupateh ॥ 4॥
rameso vagiso divasarajanisau parasudṛk
sureso daityeso nisicarakuleso’tha dhanadah ।
yadurdhvamsuvrataissivacaritavantah parinatah
tadaisanam vaktram haratu bhavapasam, pasupateh ॥ 5॥
COMMENTS:-
Tha above verses are in praise of Lord Shiva, renowned by the name Pashupati in the temple in Nepal.(panca) pancha means five, (asyam) Asyam means the face, and(stavam) stavam means a hymn in praise. So the title says that this is in praise of Lord Pashupati with five faces.
NEPAL:
The kingdom of Nepal is India’s neighbour. The state is situated high in the Himalaya mountains. Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, is situated in Nepal. It is an ancient country and has been referred to in our puranas like Skandam and Bhagavatam. The Skanda Purana in the chapter Nepala Mahatmayam says that fortunate indeed are those who live in that country, because they are blessed with all the four goals(purusarthah।) of life, to wit, dharma, artha, kama and mokSha. They are able to
have darshan of the Lord Pashupati whom even devas cannot see directly.
puri pasupati dhanya caturvarga-phalaprada ।
jyotirupam mahaliṅgam yatragnau taptakancanam ॥
dhanya naipalika martyah tadrupam gocaram vibhum ।
pasyanti ye’pi devanam saksatpunaragocaram ।
Nepal is described as a gem amongst holy places. The Skanda Puranam further says that the people there will be calm, and will have other good qualities. The place is situated in high mountains, among dense forests and has remarkable scenic beauty; and in such wonderful surrounding shines Lord Pashupatinath as the very embodiment of wisdom. (Nepala mahatmyam.7-54).
sampurne bharate’sminnapi vasu-bharite bhusirah-sthanabhute
sasvacchantyadi-kendre himagiri-sikhare’bhyuttare’dhyuttame’ntah ।
punye naisarga-ramye paragahana-vane sadvicitre pavitre
ksetre nepala-samjne lasati pasupati-jyotiratma cidisah ॥
It was a Hindu kingdom, the only one in the world, till recently. Here, in Nepal, Lord Pashupati is seen as a lingam, nearly four feet high. and with five faces – four facing the four directions and the fifth facing up. The pujaries draw the Shri Chakra on the lingam daily before commencing the puja. The full moon day (paurnamipaurnami ) is specially celebrated when a huge quantity of rice is cooked along with vegetables. The rice is shaped as a lingam and offered to the Lord and deeparadhanam is performed. The
temple attracts huge crowds on Shivaratri day when people throng to the temple during the entire day to have darshan of the Lord.
FIVE FACES OF SHIVA:-
Because of his five faces Shiva has the name pancavaktrah। pancasaṅkhyakani vaktrani mukhani nanarupani
yasya sa tatha । (Shivasahasranamam-Padmapuranam). These faces have the following names. isana, tatpurusa, aghora, vamadeva, and sadyojata. These faces face up the sky, East, South, North and West
respectively. It seems that a lingam with five faces as described here is to be seen only in the Pashupati temple in Nepal and the temple attached to the Shankara math in Tiruvanaikkaval near Trichy. The hymn given in the beginning has salutations to the five faces of the Lord.
We have the salutations to Shiva’s five faces in Mahanyasam that is chanted before chanting the vedic hymn Shri Rudram. There are two Nyasams, the Mahanyasam and the Laghunyasam. Maha(mahat) means big. Laghu is the opposite,(laghu) means light, not heavy. The Mahanyasam is a part of the methodology of chanting of the Rudram on special occasions such as Pradosham, Shivaratri. Typically, during a Rudra parayanam at home, one recites the Laghunyasam. Such a Shri Rudra parayanam in a public place of worship such as a temple is preceeded by the recital of the Mahanyasam. As the name difference indicates, the Laghunyasam is shorter. The Mahanyasam invokes the deity of Shri Rudra in His many forms of Indra, Agni, Yama, Varuna etc in the different limbs (anga’s) of the one who chants. Such an invoking is done to seek the blessings of the Lord, and at the same time giving one and all a feeling of immediate presence of the Lord in the vicinity of the chanting. The Mahanyasam has certain chapters of the Shri Rudram, the Purusha Suktam etc repeated in it. The Shiva samkalpam is also part of this. The prayers addressed to the five faces of Shiva are given below.
tatpurusaya vidmahe mahadevaya dhimahi। tanno rudrah pracodayat ॥
samvartagni-tatitpradipta-kanakapraspardhi – tejorunam
gambhiradhvani-samavedajanakam tamradharam sundaram ।
ardhendudyuti-lola-pimgala jata bhara-praboddhodakam
vande siddhasurasurendra-namitam purvam mukham sulinah ॥
Om namo bhagavate rudraya । purvamga mukhaya namah ॥
The above verse is in salutation of Tatpurusha facing East.
aghorebhyo’tha ghorebhyo ghoraghoratarebhyah ।
sarvebhyah sarvasarvebhyo namaste astu rudrarupebhyah ॥
kalabhra-bhramaramjana-dyutinibham vyavṛttapimgeksanam
karnodbhasita-bhogimastakamani-prodbhinnadamstramkuram ।
sarpaprotakapala-suktisakala-vyakirnatasekharam
vande daksinamisvarasya vadanam catharvanadodayam ॥
Om namo bhagavate rudraya । daksinamga mukhaya namah ॥
The above verse is in salutation of Aghora facing South.
sadyojatam prapadyami sadyo jataya vai namo namaḥ ।
bhave bhave natibhave bhavasva mam । bhavodbhavaya namaḥ ॥
praleyacalamindukunda-dhavalam goksiraphenaprabham
bhasmabhyamgamanamgadehadahana-jvalavalilocanam ।
visnubrahmamarudganarcitapadam ṛgvedanadodayam
vande’ham sakalam kalamkarahitam sthanormukham pascimam ॥
Om namo bhagavate rudraya । pascimamga mukhaya namah ॥
The above verse is in salutation of Sadyojata facing West.
vamadevaya namo᳚ jyesthaya namaḥ sresthaya namo rudraya namaḥ
kalaya namaḥ kalavikaranaya namo balavikaranaya namo balaya namo
balapramathanaya namassarvabhutadamanaya namo manonmanaya namaḥ ॥
gauram kumkuma pamkitam sutilakam vyapanḍumanḍasthalam
bhruviksepa-kataksaviksanalasatsamsaktakarnotpalam ।
snigdham bimbaphaladharam prahasitam nilalakalamkṛtam
vande yajusa-vedaghosajanakam vaktram harasyottaram ॥
Om namo bhagavate rudraya । uttaramga mukhaya namah ॥
The above verse is in salutation of Vamadeva facing North .
isanassarvavidyanamisvarah sarva bhutanam
brahmadhipatirbrahmanodhipatirbrahma sivo
me astu sadasivom ॥
vyaktavyaktanirupitam ca paramam sattrimsatattvadhikam
tasmaduttara-tattvamaksaramiti dhyeyam sada yogibhih ।
omkaradi-samastamantrajanakam suksmatisuksmam param
vande pamcamamisvarasya vadanam khavyapi tejomayam ॥
Om namo bhagavate rudraya । urdhvamga mukhaya namah ॥
The above verse is in salutation of Ishana facing up – the sky.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FIVE FACES ;-
What is the significance of Shiva being said to have five faces? This is explained in detail by Shri
Nilakanta DikShita in his commentary called Shivatattva rahasyam to Shiva 108 Namavali. The namepancavaktrah is the 52nd name in the namavali. A chapter from the elaborate commentary is given below.
tani ca panca mukhani
isana-tatpurusaghora-vamadeva-sadyojatakhya-panca-
brahmatmakani, tani ca pancabrahmani bhuta- pancaka,
tanmatṛ-pancaka, karmendriya-pancaka, jnanendriya-pancaka,
purusa-prakṛti-buddhyahamkara manorupa-tattva- pancaka,
nivṛttipratisthavidyasanti, santyatitakhya kala-pancaka,
brahma, visnu, rudra, mahesvara, sadasivakhya-murti-pancaka,
sivasadakhya, murtasadakhya, murtasadakhya-kartṛsadakhya-karmasadakhya
sadakhya pancakatmakaniti sivapuranagamesu prasiddham ।
A full discussion of this topic is beyond the scope of this writeup. One may have to approach a scholar for further details on this subject.
`Pashupati’ means the protector of the kine. Every thing in creation from Brahma the creator down to immovables are known as pashus. Shiva is known as Pashupati since He is their Lord. The name occurs in vedas (eg) in Shri Rudram that says.namo vṛksebhyo harikesebhyah pasunam pataye namah । It also occurs in the Shiva 108 namavali (no.92) and Shiva 1000 namavali. In the Shiva sahasranamam(Padmapuranam) (No.44) we find the following.
pasupatih – pasunam brahmadinam dvipadam catuspadam ca patirnayakah ।
“brahmadyah sthavarantasca pasavah parikirtitah ।
tesam patitvadvisveso bhavah pasupatih smṛtah ॥” iti puranam ।
“sarvada yatpasunpati tesu yadramate punah ।
tesamadhipatiryacca tasmatpasupatih smṛtah ॥” iti mahabharatam ।
Nepal is therefore known as Pashupatipuri after the Lord.
The river Vangmati flows close to the temple of Pashupati. The waters from the river are used for the daily ablutions in the temple. It is said that after Lord Narasimha appeared, killed the demon king and blessed Prahlada. Then He disappeared from the scene. Prahlada was greatly disappointed at this. He wanted to see the Lord again and did severe penance. Lord Shiva was impressed by this and laughed in happiness. Water flowed from His mouth at that time and turned into a river. The river that flowed from His mouth came to be known as Vangmati. (From Nepala Mahatmyam).
bhagavantam tamanvestum yada bhagavato yayau ।
tamadṛstva tapastepe himavacchikhare subhe ॥
dṛstva tam sambhuragatya hasyamuccaiscakara ha ।
tato nadi samutpanna hyunnatat girigahvarat ॥
vacananmama daityendra bahiryata yato nadi ।
ato’sya vaṅmati nama bhavisyati na samsayah ।
prahlada gaccha daityendra visnubhaktirdṛḍha’stu te ॥
Lord Shiva blessed Prahlada that his devotion to Hari will remain firm.
Nepal also has the river Gandaki. Shaligrama stones are found in the river bed. They are symbolic of Lord Vishnu. Shrimad Bhagavatam makes a reference to the river in Book 5 – chapter 7 when it narrates the story of King Bharata. This country came to be known as Bharata Varsha after this king only. The king, after ruling over the country for a long time renounced everything and repaired to the forests to the hermitage of Sage Pulaha situated on the banks of river Gandaki. It is said that Lord Hari reveals His form to His devotees there in the ashram even today. The holy river Chakranadi (Gandaki) hallows on both sides the places of this ashrama through contact with circular (wheel like) pebbles on both sides.This place is known as the ShaligramakShetra.
evam varsayutasahasraparyantavasitakarmanirvanavasaro’dhibhujyamanam
svatanayebhyo riktham pitṛpaitamaham yathadayam vibhajya
svayam sakalasampanniketat svaniketat pulahasramam pravavraja ॥ 8॥
yatra ha vava bhagavan hariradyapi tatratyanam
nijajananam vatsalyena samnidhapyata iccharupena ॥ 9॥
yatrasramapadanyubhayatonabhibhirdṛsaccakraiscakranadi nama
saritpravara sarvatah pavitrikaroti ॥ 10॥
HISTORICAL NOTES:-
The documents in the National Archives of Nepal reveal that Shri Shankaracharya visited Nepal during his travels around the country. He had discussions with the then king of Nepal who was a Buddhist and weaned
him away from Buddhism to Hinduism. He made changes to the way pujas were being done in Pashupatinath temple and arranged to have regular pujas done by priests got from South India. Four priests, properly trained in the temple procedures and recitng the vedas perform the pujas to the four faces on the four sides. These facts are also to be seen in the text Punyashloka manjari that deals with the history of the Kanchi Shankara math. It also says that Shri Vipulananda Sadashiva – the 53rd acharya in the lineage of acharyas of the math visited Nepal. He was warmly received by the king and honoured by him. The following verse in the text says that.
nijanivṛdagrahetikhedatyajanepalanṛpalapujyapadah ।
sa puro mama sadhu sannidhattam viphalananadasadasivo’pramattah ॥
This fact is also mentioned as
nepaladinṛpalamaulividhṛtasrisasana …
in the Vyasachaliya Shankaravijayam ..
Shri Vyasachala was the disciple of Shri Vipulananda Sadashiva and succeded him as the 54th head of the math. He is the author of Vyasachaliya Shankaravijayam. The details show that the Shri Vipulananda Sadashiva visited Nepal when it was in the grip of severe famine. He blesed the state and brought relief from the severe famine.
Now, before concluding, let us ponder as to what we should seek from Lord Pashupati. Shri Shankaracharya, in his Shivanandalahari (verse No.68) shows us the way. Let us join him in this moving appeal to Lord Pashupati.
amitamudamṛtam muhurduhantim
vimala-bhavatpada-gosthamavasntim ।
sadaya pasupate su-punya-pakam
mama paripalaya bhakti-dhenumekam ॥ 68॥
Pashu(pasu) means cattle in general. Here the acharya takes it to mean a cow. The `cow’ in this instance is devotion or bhakti. Lord Pashupati is the owner of the cow. The acharya requests the Lord to take care of the bhakti `cow’ and nourish it or, in other words, make his devotion to Him firm and unwavering. The cow shed will generally be unclean. But the bhakti cow will not stay in unclean places. It stays in a very clean place (viz.) the Lord’s feet.vimala-bhavatpada-gosthamavasantim। vimala = clean, pure. bhavatpada-gosthamavasantim = staying in the cow-pen of your feet.gostham = cowpen. This implies that the place where bhakti resides is a very exalted one. The ordinary cow can give only milk, in limited quantities and that too at specific times only. This bhakti cow is capable of giving us many good things – and that too all the time and in abundance and most importantly the nectar called `bliss’ . So, amitamudamṛtam muhurduhantim। amita = unlimited. mudam = joy, happiness. amṛtam = nectar. duhantim = yielding.muhuh = often, frequently. The cow will be tied to a peg fixed to the ground. Bhakti is the result of good deeds or punyam done in many births. So, the bhakti cow is tied to the peg that is the frution of good deeds or punyam done in numerous births.supunya-pakam । The Lord is requested to take care of such a cow. Lord Pashupati is addressed assadaya pasupate = O! the compassionate Pashupati!. This indicates that the Lord has a kind heart and will certainly listen to our pleading.