The origin of Bhairava can be traced to the conversation between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu recounted in “Shiv Maha-Puran” where Lord Vishnu asks Lord Brahma who is the supreme creator of the Universe. Arrogantly, Brahma tells Vishnu to worship him because he (Brahma) is the supreme creator. This angered Shiva who in reality is the creator of all. Shiva then incarnated in the form of Bhairava to punish Brahma. Bhairava beheaded one of Brahma’s five heads and since then Brahma has only four heads. When depicted as Kala Bhairava, Bhairava is shown carrying the decapitated head ofBrahma. Cutting off Brahma’s fifth head made him guilty of the crime of killing a Brahmin, and as a result, he was forced to carry around the head for years and roam as Bhikshatana, a mendicant, until he had been absolved of the sin.
In another version, when Brahma sees the cosmic confusion while creation of universe and ponders how to settle it. He createdSaraswati from his imagination (‘Manasaputri’). She issued as Shatarupa. She presented him with the wealth of knowledge and wisdom. But Brahma was infatuated with her beauty and pursued her. He sprouted a fifth head to gaze at her continuously. The horrified goddess took multiple forms to escape his eye, but Brahma continued to take a complementary form and chase her. This unlawful lust caused an imbalance in the universe and Lord Shiva took the form of Bhairava to put an end to such incest. He confronted Brahma and cut off his fifth head which brought him to his senses. He then performed a yagna to purify himself, reciting mantras with his four heads for salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment