Time Divine

As we begin yet another year, we take time to remember that time itself, in the philosophies of Sanatana Dharma, is divine. The monistic and monistic-inclined philosophies, in particular, teach that everything is part of the divine Being including matter, space and time.

The doctrine of Time Divine in Sanatana Dharma transcends sectarian boundaries. Each of the three primary sects of Hinduism – Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism – impart this doctrine of Time Divine, albeit using varying iconography or imagery. In Shaivism, the Lord is represented as Great Time through the iconographic forms of Mahakala (Great Time) or Kalabhairava. In Shaktism, the cognate forms of Goddess Time are Mahakali or Kalasankarshini. In both Shaivism and Shaktism, these aforementioned forms are represented in temple icons. Vaishnavism, by contrast, rarely if ever uses iconographic forms to teach of Time Divine. Instead, a vivid imagery of Time Divine is given in the Bhagavad-Gita (XI.32-33). No matter the sect through which the doctrine of Time Divine comes, the idea is the same: time, the great dissolver of all things, is indeed a manifestation of the divine Being.

Much of the doctrine of time in Hindu theology and philosophy arose in central India in the city of Avantika (later called Ujjayini or Ujjain). For as long as anyone can remember, Avantika has been a center of Shaivite worship, and especially associated with Pashupata Shaivism. The city of Avantika was also the capital of various ancient Indian kingdoms and empires. Most importantly, as the location of the Jyotirlingam Shrine of Mahakala (Great Time), Avantika has for long been considered the prime meridian of longitude in Indian time calculation. Local legends dictate that it was the great emperor Vikramaditya of the Malwa dynasty who mandated that the prime meridian pass through the Linga icon of Mahakala.

Though the meridian (82.5ºE) for Indian standard time (UTC+05:30) no longer passes through Avantika (Ujjain), the default Indian Hindu calendar is still calculated for the coordinates of Ujjain. Moreover, the primary era of the Hindu calendar throughout northern India and Nepal begins with the coronation of legendary emperor Vikramaditya, the devotee of Lord Mahakala, in the year 58 BCE. It is also with the blessings of Lord Mahakala that great treatises on astronomy, astrology, mathematics, and time calculation were written by their sagacious authors in Avantika. The Aryabhatiyam, the Surya Siddhanta, the Pancha Siddhantika, and other important treatises were all composed in Avantika. It is here, in the land of Lord Mahakala, that great scholars came to understand time and the doctrine of Time Divine. It is here that sages first came upon the concept of great time cycles known as yugas. And, it is in Avantika, no doubt, that the ancients fully realized that time indeed is the manifest Divine.

As we mark the beginning of a new Gregorian year, we take a moment to remember Lord Mahakala-Shiva, who is immanent as Time, and His holy city of Avantika, whence the measurement of time and space amalgamated with theology and philosophy. Though we envision our passage through time as a passage through the living divine Being, we simultaneously realize that He is never bound by time. In the approach of understanding time as divine, we use time as an anchor to experience and obtain timelessness – that eternal, unchanging Shiva.

Jai Mahakala!

Agnideva © 2009. All rights reserved.

Pausha Shukla 5, Samvat 2065 (Plava Samvatsara, Yugabda 5110) [?]

Jyotirlingam Shrines

Somanatha in Saurashtra, Mallikarjuna in Srisailam;
Mahakala in Ujjain, Omkara in Mamaleshvara;
Vaidyanatha in Parali, Bhimashankara in Dakini;
Ramesha in Setubandha, Nagesha in Darukavana;
Vishvesha in Varanasi, Trayambaka on the banks of Gautami;
Kedara in the Himalayas, and Ghushmesha in Shivalaya.
He who remembers these Jyotirlingas morning and evening,
Shall wash away the sins of seven births.
Hymn of the Twelve Jyotirlingas
~by Adi Shankaracharya

The twelve Jyotirlingam Shrines of India, it is believed, were built on holy sites where the ancients discovered self-manifest (svayambhu) Shivalingams. The first mention of the twelve Jyotirlingams and the related legends is found in the Shiva Purana in chapter 42 of the Shatarudra Samhita (book III) as well as in several chapters (ch. 1, and ch. 14-33) of the Kotirudra Samhita (book IV). In the present post, we consider the twelve Jyotirlingam Shrines and ask two poignant questions: (1) Why exactly are there twelve shrines? (2) What is the basis of the geographical positioning of the twelve Jyotirlingams?

Let us first consider the number twelve. Twelve represents, esoterically, both space as well as time. Twelve is the number of months in a given solar year (time), and twelve is the number of constellations that divide up the heavens above (space). For the ancients, time measurement was based on the movement of the celestial bodies through the twelve constellations (signs of the zodiac) that divide up the heavens. Movement of the Sun through one constellation was one solar month, and movement through all twelve constellations was a solar year. So, we can see how the number twelve connects both the idea of space and time. Naturally, therefore, there are twelve Jyotirlingams, each associated with a different zodiacal constellation. The enumeration of twelve Jyotirlingams connects Lord Shiva with the idea of space-time, just as we saw in the previous post.

Now, let us consider the geographical positioning of the Jyotirlingams. If we look carefully at a map showing the locations of the twelve Jyotirlingam Shrines, it is fairly easy to see that a majority (7 out of 12) Jyotirlingams are found in west-central India in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The rest are dispersed in various other states. Why are these temples located where they are? If we take another careful look at the map and begin connecting the dots in a certain order from one shrine to another, the answer becomes self-evident. Try this -- using curved lines connect the Jyotirlingams in the following order: Nageshvar, Somanath, SriSailam, Omkareshvar, Mahakaleshvar, Trayambakeshvar, Bhimashankar, Grishaneshvar, Vaidyanath, Vishvanath (Varanasi), Kedarnath. When you connect these eleven, you will see a rudimentary 3-like shape on the map. Now, draw a curve from the center of that 3 to Rameshvaram, and voila, you've got something resembling the Omkara (Aum)! When the dots are connected appropriately the twelve shrines of Shiva display the mystic syllable Aum! The geographical distribution of the Jyotirlingams secretly connects Lord Shiva with the syllable Aum, the syllable which represents both the manifest universe bound by space-time, and that which is unmanifest beyond all this.

Aum is the imperishable syllable. Aum is the Universe, and this is the exposition of Aum. The past, the present and the future, all that was, all that is, all that will be, is Aum. Likewise all else that may exist beyond the bounds of Time, that too is Aum. (Verse 1, Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharvaveda).

The Aum is time, the Aum is space,
The Aum is the Jyotirlingams twelve,
The Aum is verily Shiva Himself.

Aum Namah Shivaya.

© Agnideva, 2007. All rights reserved.

Other posts of interest: Jyotirlinga Stotram Video and Jyotirlingam.