[Advaita-l] Shiva stuti by Ashwatthāma in the Mahabharata

[V Subrahmanian]

2017-06-17 10:39 GMT+05:30 Venkatesh Murthy via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>:

> Namaste
>
> Is it true Ashwatthama was Siva's Avatara? Some people try to prove he was
> Siva and show Siva was helping Kauravas and Vishnu was helping Pandavas and
> Siva lost. Therefore Vishnu is Supreme is the argument.
>

A quick reply just for argument's sake is:

Vishnu also helped Kauravas by making Krishna send his Narayani sena to
them.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashwatthama   [Very interesting]

//Ashwatthama was only an instrument in Lord Shiva's plan to exterminate
all the evil people from earth.//

But actually, there is no difference between Krishna (Vishnu) and Shiva as
far as their Role in the MB is concerned:

https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/the-role-of-lord-siva-in-the-bh-gita-11th-chapter/

Krishna says that it was Rudra that annihilated all the enemies of the
Pandavas in the war.


It is interesting to note that in the 12th Canto which is the Śāntiparva of
the Mahābhārata there are these verses (12.352.72-76) addressed by Lord
Krishna to Arjuna, post-war:

*http://tinyurl.com/mxbb8g2* <http://tinyurl.com/mxbb8g2>
मया त्वं रक्षितो युद्धे महान्तं प्राप्तवाञ्जयम्।।
यस्तु ते सोग्रतो याति युद्धे संप्रत्युपस्थिते।
तं विद्धि रुद्रं कौन्तेय देवदेवं कपर्दिनम्।।
कालः स एव विहितः क्रोधजेति मया तव।
निहतांस्तेन वै पूर्वं हतवानसि यान्रिपून्।।
अप्रमेयप्रभावं तं देवदेवमुमापतिम्।
नमस्व देवं प्रयतो विश्वेशं हरमक्षयम्।।
यश्च ते कथितः पूर्वं क्रोधजेति पुनः पुनः।
तस्य प्रभाव एवाग्रे यच्छ्रुतं ते धनंजय।।

The translation of these verses as available here:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c042.htm

Protected by me in the great battle, thou hast won a great victory. That
Being whom, at the time of all thy battles, thou beheldest stalking in thy
van, know, O son of Kunti, is no other than Rudra, that god of gods,
otherwise called by the name of Kaparddin. *He is otherwise known by the
name of Kāla, *and should be known as one that has sprung from my wrath. *Those
foes whom thou hast slain were all, in the first instance, slain by him.* Do
thou bend thy head unto that god of gods, that lord of Umā, endued with
immeasurable puissance. With concentrated soul, do thou bend thy head unto
that illustrious Lord of the universe, that indestructible deity, otherwise
called by the name of Hara. He is none else than that deity who, as I have
repeatedly told thee, has sprung from my wrath. Thou hast, before this,
heard, O Dhananjaya, of the puissance and energy that reside in him!'”

What is striking in the above translation is those two lines, highlighted,
and shown here:

*A.      **// He is otherwise known by the name of Kāla//*

*And*

*B.       **//Those foes whom thou hast slain were all, in the first
instance, slain by him.//*

These two lines correspond to the two lines of the two verses of the
Bh.Gītā 11thchapter shown above, again shown here:

कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः। (11.33A)

I am the world-destroying Time, [Time: The supreme God with His limiting
adjunct of the power of action.] grown in stature and now engaged in
annihilating the creatures.]

And

मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्   11.33 B

[These have been killed verily by Me even earlier; be you merely an
instrument, O Savyasācin (Arjuna).]


Thus, there is simply no occasion for the claim that 'Vishnu is superior to
Shiva.'

What Jaladhar ji says is also true, as stated in the above wiki article and
well known to many.

regards

>
>