Bhikshatana
Bhikshatana | |
---|---|
God of ascetics | |
Thiruvannamalai | |
Devanagari | भिक्षाटन |
Sanskrit transliteration | Bhikṣāṭana |
Affiliation | Aspect of Shiva |
Weapon | Trishula |
Consort | Parvati or Mohini |
Bhikshatana (
Bhikshatana is considered a gentler form of Shiva's fierce aspect Bhairava and a gentle phase between Bhairava's two gruesome forms, one of which decapitates one head of the four headed god Brahma and the other of which kills the god Vishnu's gatekeeper.[4] Bhikshatana is the form of Bhairava that Shiva assumes to atone for his sin of severing Brahma's fifth head. He wanders the universe in the form of a naked Kapali mendicant, begging for alms with Brahma's kapala (skullcup) as his begging bowl, until his sin is expiated upon reaching the holy city of Varanasi.
Another legend describes Bhikshatana's visit to the
Bhikshatana is a popular icon in South India, in contrast to North India, where it is of lesser importance. Though Bhikshatana does not have any temples dedicated to him as the primary deity, he is sculpted in stone temple walls, worshipped as a subsidiary deity, and cast in bronze as a temple festival processional icon in almost every major Tamil Shiva temple. Many Tamil language hymns sing of Bhikshatana's wanderings, often narrating of the pining of the love-smitten who are enamoured of him.
Legends
Expiatory wandering
The
The Kurma Purana further narrates that Bhikshatana wandered the three worlds (heaven, earth, and netherworld) begging from door to door with a host of bhutas (goblins). The women of the houses who came to grant him food became enamoured by his appearance and followed him, singing and dancing.[6] Wandering, Bhikshatana reached the Deodar Forest (also called Daruka forest, Daruka-vana or Daru-vana), where he shocked the sages with his "lewdness and nudity" and tempted their wives. Bhikshatana-Shiva made them realise his greatness after their confrontation.[5][6] However, in some other Puranas this encounter is placed in a different time period unrelated to Bhikshatana's expiatory wandering.
The Kurma Purana goes on to state that after the encounter with the sages of the Deodar Forest, Bhikshatana continued to wander, visiting various countries of gods and demons before he finally reached the abode of the god Vishnu. Vishnu's gatekeeper Vishvaksena did not allow him to enter. Angered, Bhikshatana slew Vishvaksena and impaled the corpse on his trident, which added to his sin. This form of Shiva with a corpse on his trident is called Kankala-murti ("One with the skeleton"). Bhikshatana, now as Kankala-murti, entered Vishnu's abode and begged for food. Vishnu offered his own blood as food in one version. In another version, Vishnu cut an artery on Bhikshatana's forehead; a stream of blood spurts into his begging bowl as his food. Vishnu then directed Bhikshatana to visit the sacred city of Varanasi, where his sin would be expiated.[5][6][10] The encounter with Vishnu's gatekeeper is also retold with some variation in the Vamana Purana and the Matsya Purana.[11]
All Puranas agree that upon reaching Varanasi, Brahma's skull falls off Bhikshatana's palm at a place now called Kapala-mochana ("liberating from the skull") and Vishaksena's corpse disappears. The sin, personified by Brahmahatya, vanishes into hell. Vishaksena is resurrected and the sanctified Bhairava-Shiva, having bathed in the sacred pond in Varanasi, casts off the appearance of Bhikshatana and returns to his abode.[5][6][10]
Visit to the Deodar Forest
As told in the Kurma Purana, Bhikshatana-Shiva wanted to reveal the ignorance of the sages, who were engrossed in
Other scriptures describe other visits by Shiva to Deodar Forest in his Bhikshatana form. The Vamana Purana mentions Shiva entering the Deodar Forest twice as a beggar. Maddened by the death of his first wife
The Linga Purana also mentions the visit of Bhikshatana-Shiva to Deodar Forest to entice the wives of sages, who had taken up austerities "detrimental to the perpetuation of a healthy social order."[16] The scripture mentions Bhikshatana-Shiva's deformed but attractive nude black-red form, his seduction of the sages' wives, and the sages' resulting curse. However, the curse proves fruitless in this version. The confused sages ask Brahma for guidance, who tells them the truth about the beggar and informs them of the proper way to propitiate Shiva. Returning to the forest, they please Shiva, who had returned to beg for alms. Finally, he enlightens the sages, revealing his true form.[17][18] In the
Kapaleshvara legend
The Skanda Purana narrates that Bhikshatana-Shiva appears on another occasion as a naked, fierce Kapali beggar. Once, at a sacrifice hosted by Brahma, Bhikshatana appears and begs for food. The Brahmins performing the sacrifice try to drive him away, considering a hungry beggar unfit for sacrificial rites. Bhikshatana throws his skull begging-bowl on the ground and the Brahmins throw it out, but another skull bowl appears in its place. Consequently, hundreds of skulls appear, polluting the sacrifice, which compels Brahma to promise Shiva that no sacrifice will be deemed complete without an invocation to him, Kapaleshvara—the Lord of the skulls.[26]
Iconography
The iconography of Bhikshatana is discussed in all
Though Shiva is often described as a naked ascetic
Bhikshatana is depicted with jatabhadra (dishevelled matted locks) or with jatamandala (matted hair arranged in a circle). A serpent may be depicted in his matted hair, which is also adorned by the crescent moon. His forehead bears a tripundara, the
Bhikshatana is often pictured with four arms in South Indian iconography. The front right arm is stretched out downwards and the hand holds a bit of grass or another plant in the kataka gesture, near the mouth of his pet deer or antelope, who leaps playfully by his side.[28][29][31][32] The back right arm is raised and holds a damaru (drum). The front left hand holds a kapala (skull-cup), used as a begging bowl. The back left hand holds a trishula decorated with peacock feathers. The left leg is firmly rooted in the ground while the right one is slightly bent, suggesting walking.[28][30] He often wears paduka (wooden sandals) but sometimes may be barefoot.[28] The sandals are unique and identifying feature of Bhikshatana's iconography and distinguish him from other forms of Shiva and all other deities, who are always depicted barefoot.[29][33] Sometimes Bhikshatana's iconography is amalgamated with that of Bhairava, in which case he displays Bhairava's attributes in addition to his own.[33][34]
One feature that does not appear in the canons but is often found in stone sculptures and bronzes is the presence of a small bell tied by a string just below the right knee.[28] The bell is interpreted by the scholar Mahadev Chakravarti to be symbolic of Bhikshatana's outcast status, as the bell is symbolic of the Pariah "untouchables" of South India, who traditionally had to ring a bell when entering a Brahmin village.[35] In bronzes, the deer and the trishula were generally cast separately and positioned later in the icon, but since many of these separate pieces have been lost over time, bronzes often appear without them.[28]
Bhikshatana is often accompanied by women and
Development and adoration
The theme of Shiva as a beggar is not unique to the Bhikshatana icon and his legends. Shiva is often described as wandering the universe as a homeless beggar-ascetic with his consort Parvati's raison d'être being to bring him back to his marital and home life.
Though Shiva is commonly described as a beggar, the specific theme of the expiatory wandering—which is the core of the Bhikshatana tale—originates uniquely from the ascetic traditions of the
Images of Bhikshatana are found throughout Shaiva temples of South India,
The iconography and mythology of Bhikshatana developed mostly in South India, as did that of another form of Shiva, Nataraja, who is related to Bhikshatana through his legends. However, unlike Nataraja, Bhikshatana is not related to specific temples, but has become "part of the mythological and festival-related traditions of all the major Tamil shrines".[44] For instance, in Chidambaram (where a famous Nataraja temple stands), Bhikshatana is paraded in a golden chariot during the annual temple festival.[45] In the Mylapore temple festival, the Bhikshatana icon is paraded in the streets along with four dogs signifying the Vedas and gana attendants. Shiva is described as sent by his consort Parvati (Karpagambal) to beg as he has lost her ring. Repentant for her harsh treatment of Bhikshatana and jealous of the glances of the women in the streets, who attracted are by his appearance, Parvati's icon rushes behind Bhikshatana and "dances" to win him back. Shiva relents and they travel together to the temple.[46]
Tamil works transform the terrible Kapali form of Shiva to a more lovable form.
As he gazed at me
my garments slipped, I stood entranced,
I brought him alms
but nowhere did I see the Cunning One –
If I see him again
I shall press my body against his body
never let him go
that wanderer who lives in Ottiyur.
The 8th-century saint Cuntarar described Bhikshatana as having matted hair and skin smeared with ash, and wearing bark clothes and a tiger skin around his waist. He added that Bhikshatana would roam begging for food by day and dance at night in front of a fire, in company of his wife and several jackals.[53]
In more recent times the poet Papanasam Sivan (1890–1973) composed four songs which describe Bhikshatana. In "Picchaikku Vandiro", Sivan wonders why Shiva roams as beggar and muses that it may be because Parvati is asking for jewels or his son Ganesha is asking for modak (sweets), or perhaps just to show the world that he looks fabulous, even as a mendicant. The "Saundarya Vellantanil" tells of a love-struck maiden describing Bhikshatana's beauty from head to toe and her longing for him.[46]
Citations
- ^ Monier-Williams (2008) [1899]. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Universität zu Köln. p. 756. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Kramrisch p. 155
- ^ Kramrisch p. 287
- ^ von Stietencron p. 105
- ^ a b c d e Peterson p. 345
- ^ a b c d e f Rao pp. 295–7
- ^ Kramrisch p. 259
- ^ von Stietencron pp. 106–8
- ^ a b c d Donaldson p. 51
- ^ a b Kramrisch pp. 293–4
- ^ Kramrisch pp. 297–8
- ^ Donaldson pp. 52–3
- ^ Kramrisch p. 291
- ^ Donaldson pp. 53–4
- ^ Kramrisch pp. 153–157
- ^ a b Pal p. 160
- ^ Donaldson p. 54
- ^ Rao pp. 302–3
- ISBN 81-208-0386-8.
- ISBN 978-1-56023-181-3.
- ISBN 978-81-208-2389-1.
- ISBN 978-0-89281-374-2. (originally published in French in 1979 and first translated into English in 1984)
- ISBN 978-81-7950-397-3.
- ISBN 978-81-7625-427-4.
- ISBN 0-521-44110-2.
- ^ Kramrisch pp. 295–6
- ^ a b Rao p. 303
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rao pp. 304–9
- ^ a b c d e Dehejia p. 119
- ^ a b c d e Donaldson p. 56
- ^ "Hindu Sculptures: Bhikshatan". Government Museum, Chennai. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009.
- ^ Kramrisch p. 39
- ^ ISBN 81-89093-37-1.
- ^ Gunther, Michael D. "Amalgamated image of Bhikshatana and Bhairva". Archived from the original on 8 January 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ISBN 81-208-0053-2.
- ^ Donaldson p. 57
- ISBN 81-208-0379-5.
- ^ ISBN 81-7017-038-9.
- ^ a b c Smith pp. 161–2
- ^ Rao pp. 297–301
- ^ von Stietencron p. 109
- ^ Rao p. 307
- ISBN 978-1-84545-315-2.
- ^ a b Peterson p. 99
- ^ Smith p. 79
- ^ a b "Lord as mendicant". The Hindu. 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2011.
- ^ Smith pp. 162–3
- ^ Dehejia p. 120
- ^ Peterson pp. 123–4
- ^ Dehejia pp. 120–1
- ^ Peterson pp. 124–6
- ^ Dehejia pp. 121–2
- ^ Smith p. 163
General references
- Dehejia, Vidya (2009). The Body Adorned: Dissolving Boundaries Between Sacred and Profane in India's Art. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-51266-4.
- Donaldson, Thomas E. (1986). "Bhikṣāṭanamūrti Images from Orissa". Artibus Asiae. 47 (1). Artibus Asiae Publishers: 51–66. JSTOR 3249979.
- Kramrisch, Stella (1981). The Presence of Siva. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01930-4.
- Pal, Pratapaditya (1969). "South Indian Sculptures: A Reappraisal". Boston Museum Bulletin. 67 (350). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: 151–173. JSTOR 4171519.
- Peterson, Indira Viswanathan (1991). Poems to Śiva: the Hymns of the Tamil Saints. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81-208-0784-7.
- Rao, T. A. Gopinatha (1916). Elements of Hindu Iconography. Vol. 2: Part I. Madras: Law Printing House. OCLC 630452416.
- Smith, David (1996). The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge University Press. OCLC 199730334.
- von Stietencron, Heinrich (2005). Hindu Myth, Hindu History, Religion, Art, and Politics. Delhi: Orient Blackswan. ISBN 81-7824-122-6.