[Advaita-l] Teaching of Advaita in the Śaiva Purāṇa

[V Subrahmanian]

Advaita taught in the Purāṇa:

In the 8th Chapter (verses 56-59) of the Panchadashi, Swami Vidyaranya has
cited a few verses from the Parāśara Upapurāṇa, a text belonging to the
Śiva Purāṇa.  These verses are about the true nature of the Vedantic
Brahman-Atman:


   1. [RTF]Parasharopapurana.qxd - PeterFFreund.com
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   www.peterffreund.com/Vedic_Literature/.../parashara%20upapurana.rtf

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   आनन्दरूपः सर्वार्थसाधकत्वेन हेतुना २०. सर्वसम्बन्धकत्वेन सम्पूर्णः
   शिवसंज्ञितः. जीवेशत्वादिरहितः केवलः स्वप्रभः शिवः. स्वानुभूतिप्रवृत्तिस्तु
   वृत्तौ सत्यां घृणानिधिः २१. बुभुक्षोरात्मनः साक्षादभिव्यक्तो भवेत् स्वयम्.

These are the verses from the above text cited in the Panchadashi:

वृत्तेः साक्षितया वृत्तिप्रागभावस्य च स्थितः  १८

बुभुक्षायां तथाज्ञोस्मीऽत्याभासाज्ञानवस्तुनः

असत्यालम्बनत्वेन सत्यः सर्वजडस्य तु  १९

साधकत्वेन चिद्रूपः सदा प्रेमास्पदत्वतः

आनन्दरूपः सर्वार्थसाधकत्वेन हेतुना  २०

सर्वसम्बन्धकत्वेन सम्पूर्णः शिवसंज्ञितः

जीवेशत्वादिरहितः केवलः स्वप्रभः शिवः

56. It is said in the Shiva Purana that pure consciousness (Kutastha)
exists as a witness to (the rise and fall of) the mental modifications
(Vrittis), their prior (and posterior) non-existence and the state of
ignorance prior to inquiry about truth.

57-58. As the support of the unreal world, its nature is existence; as it
cognises all insentient objects, its nature is consciousness; and as it is
always the object of love, its nature is bliss. It is called Shiva, the
infinite, being the means of revelation of all objects and being related to
them as their substratum.
59. Thus in the Åšaiva-Puranas Kutastha has been described as having no
particular characteristics of Jiva and Ishvara and as being non-dual,
self-luminous and the highest good.

***

One can see that the nature of Atman/Brahman taught there as 'Åšiva' is
found in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 7th mantra too: शान्तं शिवम् अद्वैतम्
[prapañcopamam ’śāntam śivam advaitam..].  Shankara has also stated in the
Bhāṣyas this word 'śiva' as Atman/Brahman:

प्रपञ्चोपशमः शिवः अद्वैतः  [Mā.up.12]

सर्वद्वैतोपशमत्वादेव शिवः । while commenting on the Kārikā 1.29:
अमात्रोऽनन्तमात्रश्च
द्वैतस्योपशमः शिवः । ]

शिवं शान्तमविकृतमक्षरं सत्यं परविद्यागम्यं पुरुषाख्यं सबाह्याभ्यन्तरमजं
वक्तव्यमित्युत्तरं प्रश्नत्रयमारभ्यते । Praśnopaniṣat 4.1 bhāṣyam.

त एते कर्माणि विज्ञानमयश्च आत्मा उपाध्यपनये सति परे अव्यये अनन्तेऽक्षये
ब्रह्मणि आकाशकल्पेऽजेऽजरेऽमृतेऽभये-

ऽपूर्वेऽनपरेऽनन्तरेऽबाह्येऽद्वये शिवे शान्ते सर्वे एकीभवन्ति अविशेषतां
गच्छन्ति एकत्वमापद्यन्ते जलाद्याधारापनय इव सूर्यादिप्रतिबिम्बाः सूर्ये,
घटाद्यपनय इवाकाशे घटाद्याकाशाः ॥

[Mundaka. 3.2.7]

प्रसन्नं शिवमतुलमनायासं नित्यतृप्तमेकरसमित्यर्थः  [Bṛ.up. 3.9.28]

Shankara has also cited a seminal verse from the Śivapurāṇa itself
(considered to be a tāmasa purāna by Vaiśṇvas as it teaches the supreme
status of Śiva) in the Viśṇu sahasra nāma bhāṣya explaining the name
'Rudra':

रुर्दुःखं दुःखहेतुं वा तद् द्रावयति यः प्रभुः । रुद्र इत्युच्यते
तस्माच्छिवः परमकारणम् ॥ (samhitā 6, ch.9, verse 14)

(‘Ruḥ’ means misery or the cause thereof. This is destroyed, melted away,
by Rudra. Hence the Supreme Lord, Shiva, who is the Ultimate Cause (of
creation, etc.) is called ‘Rudra’).

In the Brahmasutras, the Cause of creation, etc. of the universe is called
'Brahman' which alone is stated by the names Śiva and Viṣṇu.

That the teaching of the core Advaitic Atman, Brahman, in the Purāṇa is
what is significant.  It is with this in mind that such purāṇas as the Sūta
samhitā are considered tāmasic by Vaiṣṇavas who could not tolerate the
explicit pronouncement of the Advaita Tattva in them by Veda Vyasa.

regards

subrahmanian.v