Today, we find inspiration from two synthetic verses about the Gyānvāpī Temple in Kāśī. These verses are stylized and inspired by the Kāśī Khanda, a large section of 100 chapters embedded within the Skanda Purāna praising the spiritual supremacy of Vārānasi. Below we imagine the magnificence of the Gyānvāpī Temple during the height of its splendor that once was and once again will be. May it be the will of Bhagavān Viśveśvara!
On the banks of Gaṅgā, where Kāśī shines with the quiet hue of moss and morning light,
rests the deep, gem-filled radiance of the vast Jñāna-vāpī, hidden in its sacred womb.
Before steadfast Nandi, those who bow perceive its gentle, sattvic flame;
and that vision, glimpsed again, glows in my heart like the lamp of the threefold Veda.
Here dawns the ancient brilliance of Viśveśvara, rising like a calm ocean of light,
standing in the inner sanctum of meditation, steady as the refined flame of years.
Where devotion shimmers in bright, wave-like ripples, vibrant and unbroken,
that radiance burns in my heart at every step, as in deep, unwavering contemplation.
The following Sanskrit verse is not drawn from any scripture but is a synthetic composition, written in the idiom of the classical Śaiva Āgamas, and meant to be inspirational. It weaves together images and phrases found in the early Agamas that articulated exoteric ritual and contemplative life of Śaiva worship.
This verse and image envisions a tenth-century temple where the Liṅga—symbol of transcendence—shines like pure light, and before it Naṭarāja radiates with the light of oil lamps. Yogins and devotees gaze upward in awe, their hearts awakening in the glow of oil lamps.
Though not a quotation from any extant text, its phrases echo real Āgamic sources: the Suprabhedāgama’s meditation on the Jyotirliṅga, the Kāmika Āgama’s lamp rituals, and the Mahākāla Saṃhitā’s vision of Śiva in a halo of fire. It captures, in poetic synthesis, the central Śaiva insight that outer worship and inner realization mirror one another—the temple’s flame and the heart’s flame being one.
This modern verse thus offers not scripture, but scriptural feeling: the devotional and aesthetic atmosphere of the Āgamic world rendered anew in Sanskrit light.
---oṁ---
antarāle sthitaṃ liṅgaṃ jyotirūpaṃ sanātanam |
tasya mūle tu bhagavān naṭarājo virājate ||
dīpālokāvalībhis tu jvālāmālāvṛtaṃ vapuḥ |
paśyanti yogino bhaktyā hṛdayaṃ bhāvayanti ca ||
mudrābhiḥ praṇavenaiva saṃpūjya parameśvaram |
tatra bhāvātmikā bhaktiḥ pratyakṣaṃ rūpamaśnute |
In the inner sanctum stands the eternal Liṅga, radiant as light itself.
At its base shines the Lord Naṭarāja.
His body is encircled with a garland of flames from rows of oil lamps.
The yogins, beholding Him with devotion, awaken their hearts in reverence.
With sacred gestures and the sound of Praṇava they adore the Supreme Lord;
There, devotion becomes form — visible, tangible, and filled with Presence.
As it is presently the festival of Navaratri (Nine Nights of Divine Mother), we invoke and remember the inseparable Shakti of Shiva, the Divine Mother. It is only in our semantics and relative experience that Shakti is experienced or spoken as separate or separable from Shiva.
There are many beautiful and captivating hymns to the Divine Mother in Shaktism, where Shakti is exclusively worshipped. One of them is the Bhavani Ashtakam (Eight Stanzas on Bhavani) addressed to Her in the form of Bhavani. The name Bhavani means existence, and is a feminine form of the name Bhava which is of course a name of Shiva.
Like many such hymns, this hymn is said to be written by Adi Shankaracharya. The Bhavani Ashtakam captivates with its simple sound and its meaning, yet it is full of mysticism and devotion. In every stanza, the devotee accepts that the Divine Mother is existence itself and takes full refuge in Her.
Gatistvam Gatistvam Tvameka Bhavani.
For the meaning of the Bhavani Ashtakam click here.
O Lord! Lord of life, the all-pervasive One, the Lord of the universe, O Lord of the Lord of the world, the Possessor of eternal bliss, O Lord of all entities past and future, Lord of all beings, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee.
gale ruṇḍamālaṁ tanau sarpajālaṁ mahākālakālaṁ gaṇeśādhipālam | jaṭājūṭabhaṅgottaraṅgairviśālaṁ śivaṁ śaṅkaraṁ śambhumīśānamīḍe ||2|| O He, whose neck is adorned with a skull-garland and body with serpents, O Ender of great time itself, who rules over Ganesha and others, From whose matted locks issues forth the large billows of the Ganga, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee.
O He, who is ornamented with the very form of happiness, O He, who is adorned with the ashes of the ornate universe itself, O beginningless, boundless One, the Remover of the greatest of delusions, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee. vaṭādho nivāsaṁ mahāṭṭāṭṭahāsaṁ mahāpāpanāśaṁ sadāsuprakāśam | girīśaṁ gaṇeśaṁ maheśaṁ sureśaṁ śivaṁ śaṅkaraṁ śambhumīśānamīḍe ||4||
The One who dwells under a banyan tree, He of immense laughter, O Dissolver of the greatest of sins, the eternally effulgent One, O Lord of the mountain, Lord of hosts, O great Lord, Lord of all Devas, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee. girindrātmajāsaṁgrahītārdhadehaṁ girau saṁsthitaṁ sarvadā sannigeham | parabrahmabrahmādibhirvandhyamānaṁ śivaṁ śaṅkaraṁ śambhumīśānamīḍe ||5||
O He, who shares half His body with She who is born of the mountain (Shakti), O He, who is situated in the mountains, the eternal Refuge (for those who seek Him), O Supreme Brahman, worshiped with honor by Brahmā and others, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee. kapālaṁ triśūlaṁ karābhyāṁ dadhānaṁ padāmbhojanamrāya kāmaṁ dadānam | balīvardayānaṁ surāṇāṁ pradhānaṁ śivaṁ śaṅkaraṁ śambhumīśānamīḍe ||6||
O He, who holds the skull-bowl and trident in His hands, O He, who fulfills the desires of those who take to His lotus feet, O Rider of the Bull, the Supreme One amongst the Devas, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee. śaraccandragātraṁ guṇānanda pātraṁ trinetraṁ pavitraṁ dhaneśasya mitram | aparṇākalatraṁ sadā caritraṁ śivaṁ śaṅkaraṁ śambhumīśānamīḍe ||7||
O He, whose body resembles the autumnal moon, the Vessel of blissful qualities, O three-eyed One, the pure One, Friend of the Lord of wealth, O Consort of Aparna (Shakti), the eternally wonderful One, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee. haraṁ sarpahāraṁ citā bhūvihāraṁ bhavaṁ vedasāraṁ sadā nirvikāram | śmaśāne vasantaṁ manojaṁ dahantaṁ śivaṁ śaṅkaraṁ śambhumīśānamīḍe ||8||
O Hara, garlanded in serpents, who roams the cremation ground*, O Bhava, the very essence of the Veda, who is forever free from change, O Resident of the cremation ground*, who burns all mind-born desires, O Shiva-Shankara-Shambhu, O Ishana, praises be unto Thee. stavaṁ yaḥ prabhāte naraḥ śūlapāṇe paṭhet sarvadā bhargabhāvānuraktaḥ | sa putraṁ dhanaṁ dhānyamitraṁ kalatraṁ vicitraṁ samāsādya mokśaṁ prayāti ||9|| Whosoever reads this hymn every morning with devotion Pleases the effulgent trident-bearing Lord. He shall be blessed with children, wealth, friends, grains, spouse, And after leading a wonderful life, he shall attain moksha.
|| iti śivāṣṭakam ||
Here ends the Hymn of Eight Stanzas on Shiva.
[*cremation ground is an analogy used by ancient Shaivite ascetics to indicate that he who performs penance for Shiva loses all desire for bodily comforts, the physical body is as good as dead to him]
Aum! We worship the fragrant Three-Eyed One, the Promoter of prosperity. May we be freed from the bondage of death as a cucumber from its stalk; But not from immortality.
Today (Sep 15, 2007) is the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, a special day to honor Lord Ganesha, the Remover of all obstacles. In honor of this festival, I am posting a video link. The audio is called the Ganapati Atharvashirsha Upanishad and is recited in temple on this festival during the abhishekha (ablution) ceremony. The Ganapati Atharvashirsha is believed to have originated with a sect called the Ganapatya, which worshipped Ganesha as the Supreme Reality. Over the centuries, however, this sect became absorbed by Shaivism. The Ganapati Atharvashirsha is, therefore, now considered one of the fourteen Shaivite Upanishads. Despite the absence of the formal Ganapatya sect, Ganesha is still extremely popular and worshipped in most branches of Hinduism, and also by some Buddhists and Jains.
A translation of the Ganapati Atharvashirsha Upanishad follows the video.
The Ganapati Atharvashirsham in translation:
Om Lam I bow to Ganapati. [1]
You clearly are the tattva. You alone are the Creator. You alone are the Maintainer. You alone are the Destroyer. Of all this you certainly are Brahma. You plainly are the Essence. [2]
Always I speak amrita. The truth I speak. [3]
Protect me. Protect the speakers. Protect the hearers. Protect the givers. Protect the holders. Protect the disciple that repeats. Protect that in the East. Protect that in the South. Protect that in the West. Protect that in the North. Protect that above. Protect that below. Everywhere protect! Protect me everywhere! [4]
You are speech. You are consciousness. You are Bliss. You are Brahman. You are Being-Consciousness-Bliss. You are the Non-Dual. You are plainly Brahman. You are knowledge. You are Intelligence. [5]
You create all this world. You maintain all this world. All this world is seen in you. You are Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Aether. You are beyond the four measures of speech. You are beyond the three Gunas. You are beyond the three bodies. You are beyond the three times. You are always situated in the Muladhara. You are the Being of the three Shaktis. You are always meditated on by Yogins. You are Brahma, You are Vishnu, You are Rudra, You are Agni, You are Vayu, You are the Sun, You are the Moon, You are Brahma, Bhur-Bhuvah-Svar. [6] 'Ga' the first syllable, after that the first letter, beyond that 'm', then the half-moon all together. Joined with 'Om', this is the mantra form. [7] LetterGa the first form, letter a the middle form, m the last form. Bindu the higher form, Nada the joining together, Samhita the junction. This is the vidya of Lord Ganesha. [8]
Ganaka is the seer, Nricad-Gayatri the metre, Sri Mahaganapati the god. "Om Ganapataye Namah." [9]
Let us think of the one-tusked, let us meditate on the crooked trunk, may that tusk direct us. [10]
One tusk, for arms, carrying noose and goad, with His hands dispelling fear and granting boons, with a mouse as His banner. [11]
Red, with a big belly, with ears like winnowing baskets, wearing red, with limbs smeared with red scent, truly worshipped with red flowers. [12]
To the devoted a merciful Deva, the Maker of the World, the Prime Cause, who at the beginning of creation was greater than nature and man. [13]
He who always meditates thus is a yogin above yogins. [14]
Hail to the Lord of Vows, hail to Ganapati, hail to the First Lord, hail unto you, to the Big-bellied, One-Tusked, Obstacle-Destroyer, the Son of Shiva, to the Boon-Giver, hail, hail! [15]
He who studies this Atharva Shira moves towards Brahma. He is always blissful. He is not bound by any obstacles. He is liberated from the five greater and the five lesser sins. Evening meditation destroys the unmeritorious actions of the night. At both evening and morning he is liberated from the bad and he attains Dharma-Artha-Kama and Moksha. [16]
This Artharva Shira should not be given to those not pupils. If from delusion a person so gives, he is a bad person. [17]
He who wants something may accomplish it by 1000 recitations of this. He who sprinkles Ganapati with this becomes eloquent. He who recites this on a 4th day becomes a knower of Vidya. This an Artharva saying "He who moves towards Brahma Vidya is never afraid." He who worships with fried grains becomes famous and becomes intelligent. He who worships with sweet-meat (modaka) gains the desired fruit. He who worships with samit and ghee by him all is attained, all is gained by him. He who makes eight brahmanas understand this becomes like the sun's rays. In a solar eclipse, in a great river, or in front of an image having recited (this) he gets accomplished in the mantra. He becomes liberated from great obstacles. He is freed from great misfortunes. [18] Aum Gam Ganapataye Namah.
