Bhairava's Secret - 7 Secrets of Shiva !

Chapter 2 - Bhairava's Secret : From Fear comes all corruption

Shiva reveals the power of the higher brain over the lower brain, the human brain over the animal brain. That is why is called Pashu-pati, the master of animal instincts. He offers the promise of a-bhaya, the world where there is no fear of scarcity or predator i.e no fear of death. Shiva offers immortality.

Markandeya, a son of a Rishi, declared that Shiva is Yamantaka, he who destroys Yama.

When one liberates one-self from the dear of death using faith, one becomes indifferent to death. Death then no longer controls us or frightens us. We are liberated. We achieve immortality.

Shiva smears himself with ash to remind all of the immortality of the body. When a man dies, his body can be destroyed by fire. What outlives the fire and the body is ash, which is indestructible. Ash is thus the symbol of indestructible soul that occupies the body during life and outlives the body in death. The soul is atma.

Yoga restores the mental alignment so that nature is seen for what it is. Witnessing Prakriti will provoke the journey towards Purusha. Rather than blaming nature or clinging to the flesh, one will find refuge in atma.

Shiva is therefore called Yogeshwara, the lord of Yoga.
The serpent around Shiva's neck is Patanjali, who wrote the yoga-sutram the aphorisms of yoga.

Shiva the howler is called Rudra.

Shiva uses his sharp nail and wrenches off the fifth head of Brahma and becomes Kapalika, the skull bearer.

Shiva holds a damaru - a rattle drum in his hand, that is used to distract and train a monkey. Monkey here represents the mind which is restless and angst ridden. He hopes that eventually, Brahma will realize that meaning will only come by moving towards atma rather than aham, pursuing yoga instead of bhoga, choosing Prakriti not Brahmananda.

Brahma splits Brahmananda into 3 parts: me, mine and what is not mine. This is Tripura, the 3 worlds. The "me" is made up pf mind and body. "mine" is made of property, knowledge, family and status. "not mine" is made of other things that exist in the world over which one has no authority.

At every Hindu ritual, 'Shanti, shanti, shanti' is chanted. This means peace thrice over.

Shiva is Tripurantaka, who reveals this reality and hence destroys Tripura.

The earth was Shiva's chariot; the sun and the moon were its wheels; the four vedas were its horses; Brahma himself was the charioteer. Mount Meru, axis of space, was the shaft of Shiva's bow, while Sesha, the serpent of time was the string. Vishnu was the arrow.

Shiva chased the 3 cities and waited for the moment when the cities were aligned. At that moment, he released the arrow and destroyed all 3 cities in an instant. He collected the ashes of these cities and smeared them across his forehead as 3 parallel lines. This was Tripundra, the sacred mark of Shiva.

The body, the property and the rest of the nature, the 3 worlds created by Brahma, are mortal. When they are destroyed, what remains is Purusha, the soul.

hey are destroyed, what remains is Purusha, the soul.

The number 3 plays a key role is Shiva's mythology. His sacred mark is composed of 3 parallel lines. He holds in his hands a trident, a weapon with 3 blades. 

He is offered in temples the sacred bilva leaf which is a sprig with 3 leaves. Shiva holds the shaft of the trident just as the devotee holds the stem of bilva sprig. 

What is held is the immortal soul; the 3 blades and leaves represent the 3 worlds that Brahma creates and values, which need to be given up if one seeks, "Shanti, Shanti, Shanti".

Bhairava or Hara, the remover of fear, is visualized as a child riding a dog and holding a human head in his hand. The childlike form of Bhairava is to draw attention to his innocence and purity.

Many followers of Shiva worship Bhairavan in a gentler form, as Datta, the 3-headed sage. Datta is called Adi-nath, the primal teacher of all the mendicants. 


Datta's 3 heads represent Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who constantly create, sustain and destroy.

- excerpts from Devdutt Pattanaik's 7 Secret of Shiva.

Om Namah Shivay.