PASHUPATINATH –ji

.

LEGENDS: Chronicles indicate the temple's existence prior to 400 A.D, but a shrine may have stood here nearly 1000 years before that. Siva Mahadeva as Vishvanath Baba was overwhelmed by the adulation of his devotees in Kasi, Banares. Fleeing from Banares, Mahadeva transformed himself into a gazelle and lived in peace on the Mrigasthali hill. Visnu, Brahma and the other gods, unable to tolerate Mahadev's absence from Banares, came to fetch him back. They caught the gazelle by the horn, but in so doing the horn broke. Thereupon Siva declared himself Pashupati, Lord of Beasts, and Visnu erected the broken horn as the original Pashupati lingam and all the gods worshipped it. The broken horn was worshipped as a linga and overtime was buried and lost.

Further, as the legend goes, a cow used to come here mysteriously every day and offer her milk to this holy but hidden Linga of Lord Shiva.  When the Gwala (owner) saw that the cow had stopped giving milk since the last few days he started keeping eye on her; and finally came across the place where the cow used to offer her milk.  With a natural curiosity to know the importance of the place, where his cow used to make offering of her milk, the gwala dug the place and found the Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva.  After this number of gwalas gathered to worship this Linga according to religious conformity, starting the tradition of worshipping this Linga. .

Legend has it that the lingam at Pashupatinath is made of 'Paras', the Philosopher's Stone which is supposed to turn baser metals into gold by its contact. This whole allusion is symbolic and those who give it a literal meaning misunderstand the real significance of the legend. Throughout the Gnostic literature of the world the symbolism of alchemy has constantly been used to portray the transmutation of our mundane earth-bound consciousness into the Divine Consciousness. This is in fact the true alchemy, and in this context it is obvious that whoever truly understands the significance of the Shiva Lingam at Pashupatinath will certainly succeed in transforming his material consciousness into the true gold of spiritual reality.

PANCHAMUKHI: The temple of Lord Pashupatinath stands in the middle of an open courtyard.  It is a square shaped pagoda temple built on single platform measuring 23.6 meters from the ground.  There are gold gilt doors on all the four sides of the temple.  Inside the temple there is a narrow walk engulfing the sanctum from where one can have closer view of Shivalinga.

The entrance gate is an impressive structure flanked by beautifully painted images of Ganesha and a Devata and surmounted by an image of Shiva standing with his trident amidst the snows of the Himalayas. From the doorway the view of the main temple is blocked by an enormous gold-plated metal Nandi Bull. Entering the compound one finds oneself in a large courtyard dominated by the huge temple of Pashupatinath which stands in its centre and inside which resides the all powerful Panchmukhi (five-faced) lingam of Pashupatinath. The lingam is made of black stone, about four feet high, with a face carved on each of its sides. Below each face is a pair of hands raised in benediction, and a constant shower of water descends upon the lingam from a copper vessel suspended about a foot above it.

The four faces symbolize the infinite Reality in its manifest form, surveying the whole created cosmos in every direction. The face facing east is known as Tatpurusha and the one facing south as Aghora.  Similarly, the faces looking west and north are known by the name Sadhyojata and Vamadeva respectively.  The upper portion of this linga is known as Ishan.  These faces are also defined as the symbol of four dharmas (the most famous places of pilgrimage for Hindus) and four Vedas (sacred books of Hindus).  On top of the lingam is a 'Shree Chakara', symbolizing the fifth face, the unmanifested Brahman itself. Thus the darshan portrays the Lord both in His manifest and unmanifest forms, because in the Hindu view He pervades the whole cosmos but is not limited by it. He is the universe and also that which is beyond, Purusha and Prakriti, Being and Becoming. It is an interesting fact that the Pujaris of the Pashupatinath temple are not Nepali but come from South India. On special occasions like Ekadasi, Sankranti, Mahashivratri, Teej Akshaya, Rakshabandhan, Grahana (eclipse), Poornima (Full moon day) people congregate here in far greater number