Srimad Bhagavatam 4.2.14-15
pretavases?u ghores?u
pretair bhuta-gan?air vr?tah?
at?aty unmattavan nagno
vyupta-keso hasan rudan
cita-bhasma-kr?ta-snanah?
preta-sran-nrasthi-bhus?an?ah?
sivapadeso hy asivo
matto matta-jana-priyah?
patih? pramatha-nathanam´
tamo-matratmakatmanam
SYNONYMS
preta-avases?u — at the burning places of dead bodies; ghores?u — horrible; pretaih? — by the Pretas; bhuta-gan?aih? — by the Bhutas; vr?tah? — accompanied by; at?ati — he wanders; unmatta-vat — like a madman; nagnah? — naked; vyupta-kesah? — having scattered hair; hasan — laughing; rudan — crying; cita — of the funeral pyre; bhasma — with the ashes; kr?ta-snanah? — taking bath; preta — of the skulls of dead bodies; srak — having a garland; nr?-asthi-bhus?an?ah? — ornamented with dead men's bones; siva-apadesah? — who is siva, or auspicious, only in name; hi — for; asivah? — inauspicious; mattah? — crazy; matta-jana-priyah? — very dear to the crazy beings; patih? — the leader; pramatha-nathanam — of the lords of the Pramathas; tamah?-matra-atmaka-atmanam — of those grossly in the mode of ignorance.
TRANSLATION
He lives in filthy places like crematoriums, and his companions are the ghosts and demons. Naked like a madman, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying, he smears crematorium ashes all over his body. He does not bathe regularly, and he ornaments his body with a garland of skulls and bones. Therefore only in name is he Siva, or auspicious; actually, he is the most mad and inauspicious creature. Thus he is very dear to crazy beings in the gross mode of ignorance, and he is their leader.
PURPORT
Those who do not regularly bathe are supposed to be in association with ghosts and crazy creatures. Lord Siva appeared to be like that, but his name, Siva, is actually fitting, for he is very kind to persons who are in the darkness of the mode of ignorance, such as unclean drunkards who do not regularly bathe. Lord Siva is so kind that he gives shelter to such creatures and gradually elevates them to spiritual consciousness. Although it is very difficult to raise such creatures to spiritual understanding, Lord Siva takes charge of them, and therefore, as stated in the Vedas, Lord Siva is all-auspicious. Thus by his association even such fallen souls can be elevated. Sometimes it is seen that great personalities meet with fallen souls, not for any personal interest but for the benefit of those souls. In the creation of the Lord there are different kinds of living creatures. Some of them are in the mode of goodness, some are in the mode of passion, and some are in the mode of ignorance. Lord Vis?n?u takes charge of persons who are advanced Kr?s?n?a conscious Vais?n?avas, and Lord Brahma takes charge of persons who are very much attached to material activities, but Lord Siva is so kind that he takes charge of persons who are in gross ignorance and whose behavior is lower that that of the animals. Therefore Lord Siva is especially called auspicious.
Srimad Bhagavatam 4.2.29
nas?t?a-sauca mud?ha-dhiyo
jat?a-bhasmasthi-dharin?ah?
visantu siva-diks?ayam´
yatra daivam´ surasavam
SYNONYMS
nas?t?a-saucah? — cleanliness being abandoned; mud?ha-dhiyah? — foolish; jat?a-bhasma-asthi-dharin?ah? — wearing long hair, ashes and bones; visantu — may enter; siva-diks?ayam — into initiation of worship of Siva; yatra — where; daivam — are spiritual; sura-asavam — wine and liquor.
TRANSLATION
Those who vow to worship Lord Siva are so foolish that they imitate him by keeping long hair on their heads. When initiated into worship of Lord Siva, they prefer to live on wine, flesh and other such things.
PURPORT
Indulging in wine and meat, keeping long hair on one's head, not bathing daily, and smoking gañja (marijuana) are some of the habits which are accepted by foolish creatures who do not have regulated lives. By such behavior one becomes devoid of transcendental knowledge. In the initiation into the Siva mantra there are mudrikas?t?aka, in which it is sometimes recommended that one make his sitting place on the vagina and thus desire nirvan?a, or dissolution of existence. In that process of worship, wine is needed, or sometimes, in place of wine, palm tree juice which is converted into an intoxicant. This is also offered according to Siva-agama, a scripture on the method of worshiping Lord Siva.
Comments