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A Hundred-Year Drought on Brahmagiri
In the south rises a mountain called Brahmagiri. There the great sage Gautama had sat in tapas for ten thousand years, his supremely devout wife Ahalya beside him. In those days a drought so terrible fell upon that country that for a full hundred years not a single drop of water came down. Nowhere across the land could you find so much as one damp leaf. When water, the very foundation of life, vanished from sight, the sages, the people, the beasts, the birds, and the deer all began to wander in every direction.
Gautama undertook six months of severe tapas and won the favor of Varuna, lord of waters. Varuna appeared and told him to ask for a boon. The sage prayed for rain. Varuna said, I cannot send rain against the will of the gods, yet I grant you water that will never fail; dig a pit here. And the pit filled with water that would never run dry.
From that inexhaustible water, rice and grains of every kind sprang up and swayed all around Gautama’s hermitage. Hearing the news, sages came from distant places and settled there with their wives, sons, and disciples. The forest that had lain empty through the years without rain grew green and lush once more. Men who are kind, free of pride, generous, and masters of their senses are made this way; they cannot bear the suffering of others.
Deceit, a Cow, and Cow-Slaughter
But where does happiness ever stand still? Some of the sages who had settled there fell under the sway of their wives and burned with envy at Gautama’s standing. They worshipped Ganesha and asked for a boon: that by some means Gautama be driven out of the hermitage. Ganesha, the lord, said, Sages, what you are doing is not right. To wound, without cause, one who has done you a kindness is to summon your own ruin. In the days of famine this man arranged water and kept you alive; to deceive him now can never be proper. Ask for some other boon. But they would not relent. Then Ganesha, bound by the will of his devotees, said, What you have asked will come to pass; whatever is fated to follow will follow. Saying this, he vanished.
Then one day, into Gautama’s field where the rice stood ripe, Ganesha himself came in the form of a frail cow and began to graze on the grain. Moved by kindness, Gautama took a handful of straw and shooed the cow away. The straw had barely touched her when the cow dropped where she stood and gave up her life. The sages and their wives hidden behind cover cried out the instant they saw it, what has Gautama done. Gautama too stood speechless. He called Ahalya and said in sorrow, Devi, what has happened here, the sin of cow-slaughter has fallen on me.
Now those wicked brahmins turned their harsh words on Ahalya as well and said, Sinner, killer of the cow, take your family and go elsewhere from here; as long as you remain in this hermitage, neither the fire nor the ancestors will accept the offerings we make. Gautama moved off a kos away and built a new hermitage, yet even there they kept forbidding him to perform yajnas and rites. When he asked with great humility for a way to purify himself, they said, Proclaim your sin aloud and circle Brahmagiri; then bring the Ganga here and bathe in her waters; fashion ten million earthen lingas and worship Mahadeva; only then will you be delivered.
The Ganga Descended, Tryambak Appeared
Gautama bowed his head and accepted this hard decree. With his wife he fashioned earthen lingas and performed tapas so intense that Lord Shiva appeared, Parvati and his ganas with him. Shankara, bearing his trident, said, Great sage, your devotion pleases me deeply; ask for a boon. Gautama clasped his feet and said, Lord of the gods, whatever the council of elders pronounces cannot be undone, so what has happened has happened; if you are pleased, give me the Ganga and do this world a great service. Shiva called him blessed and named those deceitful sages evil souls who are never delivered.
Then Shankara gave Gautama the essential waters of earth and heaven, along with all that remained of the water Brahma had poured at his own wedding. That water took the form of a woman of surpassing beauty and stood before him. Gautama praised her and said, Ganga, you have purified all the worlds; now purify me too, for I am falling into hell. Shiva said to the Ganga, Devi, purify the sage, and do not return at once; stay here until the twenty-eighth Kali Yuga of Vaivasvata Manu. The Ganga said, Maheshwara, only if my glory is greater than that of all rivers, and if you too remain here with Ambika and the ganas, will I stay upon this ground. Shiva said, Ganga, I am not apart from you; even so, as you have asked, I will remain fixed here.
At that moment the gods, the ancient sages, and many sacred tirthas arrived. Raising cries of victory, they worshipped Gautama, the Ganga, and mountain-dwelling Shiva, and when they were told to ask for a boon they prayed that the two of you remain here forever for the good of both worlds. The gods gave their word that whenever Brihaspati enters the sign of Leo, all the tirthas, lakes, rivers, and gods would come to the bank of the Gautami to bathe. So this Ganga became famed by the names Gautami and Godavari, and the radiant linga of Shiva was called Tryambak. Whoever with devotion beholds, worships, and salutes this linga is freed from every sin.
Vaidyanath and the Pride of Ravana
Now hear the story of the Vaidyanatheshwar linga. Ravana, king of the rakshasas, of the line of Pulastya, who forever paraded his own arrogance, at first worshipped Shiva on Kailasa. When that did not satisfy him, he dug a deep pit in the earth to the south of the Himalaya, installed a fire, set Shiva beside him, and in the fierce heat of summer sat between five fires and performed severe tapas. Winning the grace of Lord Shiva through this tapas, Ravana folded his hands and said, Lord of the gods, be pleased; I will carry you to Lanka. Fulfill this wish of mine, for I have come to your shelter. Shankara, in some hesitation, said, King of the rakshasas, hear my weighty words: carry this excellent Shivalinga home with devotion, but wherever you set it down upon the ground, there it will become fixed; of this there is no doubt.
And so it happened. This divine linga, for the good of all the worlds, became fixed on that very spot and was called Vaidyanath, and Ravana, having won Shiva’s finest boon, returned home. There he joyfully told Mandodari all that had passed. Hearing the news, Indra and the other gods grew alarmed at what this enemy of the gods might now do with Shiva’s boon. They sent Narada. Narada said to Ravana, if Shiva’s boon has truly borne fruit, then lift up Kailasa and see. The idea appealed to Ravana. He wrenched Kailasa up from its base, and the mountain shook. Then, at Girija’s word, Mahadeva, knowing Ravana for the proud creature he was, cursed him: this vast conceit in his strength is worthless; a hero who will crush the arrogance of these arms will soon descend into this world. Even hearing this, Ravana went home content. The episode of the boy that circulates among the people does not appear in this Samhita; here the linga simply becomes fixed on the spot and is called Vaidyanath.
Nageshwar: Daruka and Supriya
Last, hear the tale of the Nageshwar linga. On the shore of the western sea lay a rich forest sixteen yojanas across. Parvati had entrusted its care to a rakshasi named Daruka, whose boon was such that wherever she went, the whole forest went with her, its earth and its trees and all. This Daruka lived there with her powerful husband, the rakshasa Daruka, and spread terror among living creatures. These evildoers roamed about destroying yajnas and dharma. The afflicted people went to the great sage Aurva and told him their sorrow. Aurva pronounced a curse: if these rakshasas harmed living beings on the earth or wrecked yajnas, in that very instant they would lose their lives.
When they heard of this curse, the gods marched against the rakshasas. The rakshasas were caught in a bind: if they fought, the curse would kill them; if they held back, they would be defeated and killed all the same. Then Daruka the rakshasi said, by Bhavani’s boon I can carry this whole forest wherever I wish. Saying this, she plunged the entire forest, just as it was, into the sea. Now the rakshasas, fearless beneath the water, set about tormenting living creatures.
One day many boats full of people passed that way. The rakshasas seized them all, bound them in chains, and cast them into prison. Among those captives was a vaishya named Supriya, the leader of that company and a supreme devotee of Lord Shiva. Wearing sacred ash and rudraksha beads, Supriya would take no food without first worshipping Shiva. Even in the prison he taught his companions the worship of Shiva, and all of them, chanting Namah Shivaya, began to meditate on Shankara. Supriya even began to receive the darshan of Shiva. Learning of this, Daruka the rakshasa came in a fury and sent his rakshasas rushing to kill Supriya. Distraught with fear, Supriya, meditating on Shiva with steadfast love and chanting his name, cried out, Lord of the gods, Shankara, protect me.
Shambhu, pleased, appeared in person bearing the Pashupata weapon, destroyed the chief rakshasas and their servants at once, and saved his devotee. Then he granted the forest a boon: from this day let the dharma of all four varnas be observed here, brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra; let noble sages dwell here, and let no rakshasa steeped in tamas ever remain. At that moment Daruka the rakshasi, humbled, praised Parvati. When the Devi was pleased, she prayed that her sons might settle in this very forest. Shiva said, beloved, if this is your wish, hear my word. To protect my devotees I too will live in this forest; whoever observes the dharma of his varna here and beholds me with love will become a chakravartin. At the end of the Kali Yuga and the beginning of the Satya Yuga, Virasena, son of Mahasena, will come here, and the instant he beholds me he will become a chakravartin emperor.
So, at their divine play, the two of them took their place there. Mahadeva in the form of a jyotirlinga was called Nageshwar there, and the goddess Shiva became famed by the name Nageshwari. Whoever with reverence hears each day of this manifestation of Nageshwar attains everything he wishes for, and even his gravest sins are burned to ash.
Source: Shiva Purana (Gita Press, Sankshipta Shivapurana edition), Kotirudra Samhita