Turīya Śiva of the Kaivalyopaniṣat
We have these mantras in the Kaivalyopaniṣat:
हृत्पुण्डरीकं विरजं विशुद्धं विचिन्त्य मध्ये विशदं विशोकम् ।
अचिन्त्यमव्यक्तमनन्तरूपं शिवं प्रशान्तममृतं ब्रह्मयोनिम् ॥ ६॥
तमादिमध्यान्तविहीनमेकं विभुं चिदानन्दमरूपमद्भुतम् । var तथादि
उमासहायं परमेश्वरं प्रभुं त्रिलोचनं नीलकण्ठं प्रशान्तम् ।
ध्यात्वा मुनिर्गच्छति भूतयोनिं समस्तसाक्षिं तमसः परस्तात् ॥ ७॥
- (Who is) unthinkable and unmanifested; (whose) forms are infinite; who is (Śiva) peaceful, immortal and all-pervading, and who is the cause (of all); and, who has no beginning, nor middle nor end; who is one and omnipresent; who is chit and Ānanda; who is without forms and wonderful.
Sankaranada’s commentary – ‘S’iva': the form of beneficance. ‘Peaceful, devoid of the fault of Avidyā.
Uma’s spouse, (Umasahāya) the supreme Lord (Parameshwara) who is powerful (Prabhu); the three-eyed and beneficent Nilakantha; by meditation, a Muni reaches Him who is the origin of all beings, the witness of all and passes beyond Tamas.
स ब्रह्मा स शिवः सेन्द्रः सोऽक्षरः परमः स्वराट् ।
स एव विष्णुः स प्राणः स कालोऽग्निः स चन्द्रमाः ॥ ८॥
He is Brahma, He is S’iva, He is Indra, He is imperishable, supreme and self-luminous. He is Himself Vishnu. He is Prana, He is Kālāgni, He is the moon.
स एव सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यं सनातनम् ।
ज्ञात्वा तं मृत्युमत्येति नान्यः पन्था विमुक्तये ॥ ९॥
He is all, – what is past and what is to pass, and eternal Knowing Him one crosses death. There is no other path to liberation.
The seventh mantra above is the teaching of the Turiya Śiva whose manifestations are the other trimurtis, Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva who engage in creation, sustenance and dissolution.
The annotation, उपबृम्हणम्, upabṛmhaṇam, of the above upaniṣad mantra is available in the Skandapurāṇa, sūta samhitā, making the upanisad and the teaching of the Turiya Śiva in the Upaniṣad a valid one :
आदिमध्यान्तनिर्मुक्तमेकं साक्षाद्विभुं तथा ।
अरूपं सच्चिदानन्दमनन्तं प्रमेश्वरम् ।
उमासहायमोमर्थं प्रभुं साक्षात्त्रिलोचनम् ।
नीलकण्ठप्रभान्तस्थं ध्यायेन्नित्यमतन्द्रितः ।
एवं ध्यानपरः साक्षान्मुनिर्ब्रह्मात्मविद्यया ।
भूतयोनिं समस्तस्य साक्षिणं तमसः परम् ।
गच्छत्येव न सन्देहः सत्यमुक्तं मया सुराः ॥
The meaning of the above is what is contained in the translation shown in the mantra portion above.
Henceforth, the annotation of the latter part of the Kaivalyopanishat is present in the sūta samhitā:
यतस्तु जातं सकलं विचित्रं सत्यवत् सुराः
The concept of Turiya Śiva is widely present in the scriptures. A sample of quotations are Mahabharata Anushasanika parva, Ch.45. Here Krishna says about Shiva that from Shiva have Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra have emerged. I have not given the translation of each verse:
योऽसृजद्दक्षिणादङ्गाद्ब्रह्माणं लोकसम्भवम् |
वामपार्श्वात्तथा विष्णुं लोकरक्षार्थमीश्वरः ||१८३||
युगान्ते चैव सम्प्राप्ते रुद्रमङ्गात्सृजत्प्रभुः ||१८३||
स रुद्रः संहरन्कृत्स्नं जगत्स्थावरजङ्गमम् |
कालो भूत्वा महातेजाः संवर्तक इवानलः ||१८४||
एष देवो महादेवो जगत्सृष्ट्वा चराचरम् |
कल्पान्ते चैव सर्वेषां स्मृतिमाक्षिप्य तिष्ठति ||१८५||
सर्वगः सर्वभूतात्मा सर्वभूतभवोद्भवः |
आस्ते सर्वगतो नित्यमदृश्यः सर्वदैवतैः ||१८६||
From the Adityapurana: Aditya says to Manu:
आत्मभूतान्महादेवाल्लीलाविग्रहधारिणः ।
आदिसर्गे समुद्भूता ब्रह्मविष्णुसुरोत्तमाः ॥
तमेकं परमात्मानमादिकारणमीश्वरम् ।
प्राहुर्बहुविधं तत्त्वमिन्द्रम्मित्रमिति श्रुतिः ॥
न तस्मादधिकं कश्चिन्न ज्यायान्न समः कुतः ।
तेनेदमखिलं पूर्णं शंकरेण महात्मना ।
आदिसर्गे महादेवो ब्रह्माणमसृजद्विभुः
(The idea conveyed by the above cited MB verses is contained in the Adityapurana too. The underlined part is the alluding to the famous Rg. vedic passage: indram mitram varunam…. Ekam sat viprāh bahudhā vadanti as the pramana for the concept of One Paramatma having various forms.)
In the Padmapurana, Shiva tells Rama:
Here is just the gist of the few verses: From the right side Shiva created Brahmā and from the left, Hari. From the heart region Shiva created Mahesha. These three sons he created. Just upon being born the three asked ‘Clearly let us know who You are and who we are?’ Shiva replied: ‘You are my sons and I am your father.’ तानाह च शिवः पुर्त्रान् यूयं पुत्रा अहं पिता.
[The bloggers propagate the idea that Rudra is born of Brahma and Brahma is Vishnu’s son]
In the Shaivapurana, Vāyavīyasamhitā, Dadhīchi says to Dakṣa:
ब्रह्मविष्णुमहेशानां स्रष्टा यः प्रभुरव्ययः
The ‘ṛight side left side’ creation by shiva of brahma and vishnu is contained in several purans. In the shaiva, the section cited ends with this line: संसारमोचको देवः पश्यन्नन्य इति श्रुतिः । [It is alluding to a shruti passage which contains the word ‘paśyannanyaḥ’ as pramana for the concept]
The skanda purana: Nandikeshvara addresses Sanatkumara about the same concept.
सृजते सकलं देव ग्रससीश पुनः पुनः
…
ब्रह्मविष्णुसुराः सर्वे स्थावराणि चराणि च
Shiva purana, vñavīyasamhitā:
यस्मात्सर्वमिदं ब्रह्मविष्णुरुद्रेन्द्रपूर्वकम् ॥ 2ab
सह भूतेन्द्रियैः सर्वैः प्रथमं संप्रसूयते ॥ 2cd
कारणानां च यो धाता ध्याता परमकारणम् ॥ 3ab
न संप्रसूयते ऽन्यस्मात्कुतश्चन कदाचन ॥ 3cd
There itself in the 8th chapter:
ततस्तेभ्यो विकारेभ्यः रुद्रविष्णुपितामहाः
Padmapurana:
यं वातमाहुर्यं रुद्रं शाश्वतं परमेश्वरम्
परात्परतरञ्चाहुः परात्परतरं शिवम्
ब्रहमणो जनकं विष्णोर्वह्नेर्वायोः सदाशिवम्
The shruti pramana for the concept of One Para Shiva being the cause of the Brahma Vishnu and Rudra is:
सोमः पवते जनिता मतीनां जनिता दिवो जनिता पृथिव्याः …जनितोत विष्णोः .
The alluding, rephrasing, of the above shruti, called ‘upabṛhmaṇam’ is found in several puranas, and the most direct one is:
Sanatkumara samhita where Vishnu tells Prabhakara:
मतीनाञ्च दिवः पृथ्व्या वह्नेः सूर्यस्य वज्रिणः ।
साक्षादपि च विष्णोश्च सोमो जनयितेश्वरः ॥
Brahmandapurana:
द्यावापृथिव्योरिन्द्राग्नेभ्यो विष्णोर्धातुर्यमस्य च ।
वरुणस्य शशांकस्य जनिता परमेश्वरः ॥
Kurmapurana, skandapurana too give out this concept. In the latter it is said that even the three consorts of the three murtis are born of the Supreme Shiva:
Brahma tells Vasishtha:
आत्मशक्त्या ससर्जाथ कन्यात्रयमनिन्दितम्
Skandapurana:
अजायां जज्ञिरे पुत्राश्चिदानन्दात् सदाशिवात्
त्रयस्त्रेताग्निसंकाशा एकपञ्चचतुर्मुखाः
सृष्टिस्थितिविनाशानां कर्तारः कार्यकोविदाः
ब्रह्मा विष्णुश्च रुद्रश्च मात्रास्तिस्रः प्रकीर्तिताः
Here, by eka, pancha and chatuḥ, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are indicated.
In the Brahmandapurana, Brahma says to Bhṛgu:
He says: Shiva created me from his right side and created Vishnu from his left and instructed us both to engage in creation and sustenance. At the time of dissolution, he, out of his own amsha, will be instructed in that act.
Ishānasamhitā too contains this concept. There is a shruti passage too cited:
त्रिणेत्रं त्रिगुणाधारं त्रयाणां जनकं विभुम् ।
स्मरन्नमस्शिवायेति ललटे तु त्रिपुण्ड्रकम् ॥
[The above have been cited in very great detail in the book ‘Vedantanāmaratna sahasram’ authored by Sri Paramashivendra Saraswati, the guru of Sri Sadashivendra Saraswati. This book is a compilation of 1000 names from the shruti. In support of those names, as far as possible, the author has cited references from Itihasa and puranas. That list contains names such as Vishnu, Vasudeva and Narayana, and shown as names of Brahman, with references from shruti/smrti none of them are about a vaikuntha vāsin, lakshmipati, etc. just the same way they are found in the Shankara’s bhashyas. The book is available for download in DLI.]
What is shown above is with reference to the upanishadic/vedic name त्रयाणां जनकः {The progenitor of the ‘three’} for which alone the author has given copious references from the Mahabharata onwards.
The Kaivalyopaniṣat is cited in the Viṣṇusahasra nāma bhāṣyam by Shankaracharya to establish Shiva-Vishnu abheda. The Upanishad also contains the teaching that the shatarudrīyam is to be chanted to be free from all defects. The contemplation that the entire universe is a creation of the self is explicitly taught here. It is a very valuable teaching of Advaita that is contained in the Kaivalyopanishat.
Om Tat Sat
