A Śaiva Happy Ever After: Viṣṇu as Pāśupata Ascetic—Studies in the Skandapurāṇa X

Abstract

The Skandapurāṇa is one of the many textual sources that narrates Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths. It tells the stories of Narasiṃha (Man-Lion), Varāha (Boar) and Vāmana (Dwarf) in its own distinctive way. The greatest innovation is the addition of thus far unprecedented sequels to the stories. Whereas Śiva played a minor role, or no role at all, in the narratives as they were known at the time of composition of the Skandapurāṇa, he becomes indispensable in the “afterlife episodes” of the manifestation myths. Each afterlife episode follows the same structure, in which Viṣṇu is unable or unwilling to give up his manifested form. He is liberated from it by Śiva, who subsequently grants Viṣṇu a boon as a reward for his deeds and devotion to Śiva. From a Śaiva perspective, the boons become grander each narrative: first, Viṣṇu receives the important cosmic task in the Śaiva universe of destroying the gods’ enemies, then he formally joins the Pāśupata Śaiva community by performing the Pāśupata observance, and finally, he reaches union with Śiva, i.e., liberation from the continuous cycle of rebirth, by performing another Pāśupata observance. By introducing “the principle of end weight”, I will argue that this radical, new identity of Viṣṇu is expressed at a strategic place in the narrative, viz. at the very end, which is the part that is remembered most vividly.

1. Introduction

Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths have been told and retold for centuries. Some have their origins in the Vedas, others only emerged in the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa or even later. Some are human characters, such as Krṣṇa and Rāma, others are animals, such as Matsya (Fish) and Kūrma (Tortoise). This article deals with three of Viṣṇu’s oldest manifestations: Narasiṃha (Man-Lion), Varāha (Boar) and Vāmana (Dwarf). In each narrative, Viṣṇu assumes a particular shape in order to restore the cosmic order.1 The stories are found throughout the Sanskrit literary corpus, including the Purāṇas. We find Purāṇas that share verbatim parallels, but also those that changed verses, paragraphs and even entire chapters. The narratives were (and still are) in constant evolution, adjusting them according to the time and place they are retold, the genre they appear in, and also the religious tradition the text is affiliated with.

Such developments are also discernible in the Skandapurāṇa, a North Indian Purāṇa from the sixth to seventh century CE. It has a strong affiliation with Śaivism, a religious tradition centring around Śiva and promoting devotion to him. The text narrates beautiful myths about Śiva, his wife Pārvatī, their son Skanda and other confidants of Śiva; it praises Śiva with eulogies; and its doctrinal sections teach ascetic practices of Pāśupata Śaivism in particular. However, the text does not deny other gods. Several Brahmanical deities are regularly addressed, and their stories are told. Those stories were generally well-known, but had been carefully adjusted in order to fit their new context with its own distinctive style of writing and its own religious affiliation.

Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths, which must have been well-known to the Skandapurāṇa audience as well, likewise underwent various changes, resulting in unique new versions. Śiva suddenly appears at crucial moments in the stories, Viṣṇu needs the other gods to help him in battle, and he and the other gods are structurally presented as Śiva’s devotees. One of the greatest changes is the addition of sequels to the narratives. Whereas the stories usually end with Viṣṇu’s victory over the gods’ enemies and his return to his own divine shape, the Skandapurāṇa is the first available text that speaks of a continuation of the manifestations assumed by Viṣṇu. The sequels give the manifestation myths as they were known thus far completely new endings with far-reaching consequences. Narasiṃha comes face to face with Śiva in the form of a frightful creature called Śarabha; Varāha’s son ends up in a fight with Śiva’s son; and Viṣṇu is entered by a personification of sin who turns him into a dwarf again. In this article, I study these “afterlife episodes”, as I refer to them, focussing on the very end of these sections. Each manifestation myth can be divided into two parts. The first narrates why Viṣṇu stays in his manifestation and how he is released from it by Śiva. The second tells that Śiva is pleased with Viṣṇu’s good deeds and therefore grants him a boon (vara) as a reward. These boons are the topic of the article, since they are not just any vara. On the contrary, they become crucial in the incorporation of Viṣṇu in the narrative ideas of the Skandapurāṇa, including the text’s religious affiliation with Śaivism. Before addressing these topics, I will first introduce the Skandapurāṇa and the three Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths under discussion.

2. The Skandapurāṇa

Being composed in the sixth to seventh century CE in North India, the Skandapurāṇa can be counted among the early Purāṇas.2 It is a collection of theological, cosmological and mythological material. It has strong ties with Śaivism, and in particular with Pāśupata Śaivism, an early form of Śaivism whose followers consider Śiva as the ultimate deity and are entirely devoted to him. Pāśupata Śaivism is known for its ascetics with their extreme practices, such as smearing themselves with ashes, living on cremation grounds and acting like madmen (Acharya 2011, p. 460). The Skandapurāṇa deals with several ascetic practices, such as the Pāśupata yoga and the Pāśupata observance, but in less extreme forms. With the right practice, this observance (vrata) can lead to the highest goal of the Pāśupata ascetics: union with Śiva. When the ascetic finds union with Śiva, he is liberated from the continuous cycle of rebirth. The pāśupatavrata features in the more doctrinal section of the text as the means to liberation (Skandapurāṇa chp. 174–83), but also in mythological contexts, narrating how the gods perform the vrata.3

The Skandapurāṇa does not only teach Pāśupata practices, but proclaims other Śaiva beliefs and notions as well, such as an ideal Śaiva universe. In this universe, all beings—both gods and their enemies—are devoted to Śiva. They praise him, meditate upon him, and receive beautiful boons in return. The presented universe is structured along a clear hierarchy. The gods usually maintain the roles that they are known for from other sources. Brahmā, for example, remains the creator, Indra the king of the gods and Skanda the leader of the divine army. However, some of these crucial cosmic tasks are assigned by Śiva, which makes him in ultimate control of the universe. Śiva shall always remain on top of the universe, accompanied by his wife Pārvatī and his loyal assistants called Gaṇas.

This religious message is obviously expressed in myths that narrate the exploits of Śiva, his family and devotees. This ideal Śaiva universe is nevertheless also upheld in narratives in which Śiva was originally absent. Characters become Śiva’s devotees and the lord himself enters the stage, sometimes making crucial decisions at important moments. Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths are exemplary of this type of narrative in the Skandapurāṇa. Śiva and the Śaiva universe were non-existent in earlier versions of the myths. Through compositional strategies, the Skandapurāṇa composers found ways to adjust them so that ultimately, they would match the rest of the text, including the text’s affiliation with Śaivism.

3. Viṣṇu’s Manifestation Myths

Each manifestation myth of Viṣṇu in the Skandapurāṇa builds upon the premise that the enemies of the gods called Asuras have taken control of the universe,4 and that Viṣṇu assuming a particular form, apt for the circumstances at hand, conquers them. The first story that follows this basic structure is the myth of Narasiṃha, “Man-Lion” (Skandapurāṇa chp. 70–71).5 When the Asura called Hiraṇyakaśipu has conquered the entire universe, the gods are in distress. Due to a boon from Brahmā, Hiraṇyakaśipu cannot be killed in a number of circumstances, which makes it almost impossible to conquer him. He cannot be killed by gods nor by human beings, not by day nor by night, not by weapons nor by arrows. To escape these and other conditions to Hiraṇyakaśipu’s death, Viṣṇu, wanting to help the powerless gods, becomes a Man-Lion. In this form, he is able to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu with his claw and to return the control over the universe back to Indra.

The second manifestation myth is the Varāha myth, in which Viṣṇu becomes Varāha, “Boar”, to fight with Hiraṇyākṣa (Skandapurāṇa chp. 76.14–110.end).6 Hiraṇyākṣa is the younger brother of Hiraṇyakaśipu. He likewise conquers the universe and takes the earth with him to his dwelling place in the netherworld. The gods need once more the help of Viṣṇu. He becomes a Boar and dives into the cosmic ocean to the netherworld, where he kills Hiraṇyākṣa and rescues the earth. He puts her back into her original place and returns the power to Indra.

The third manifestation myth concerns Viṣṇu’s manifestation as Vāmana, “Dwarf”, to conquer Bali (Skandapurāṇa chp. 116.13cd–121.22).7 It narrates how Viṣṇu takes the form of a Brahmin with the size of a dwarf to conquer the Asura called Bali who had taken control over the universe. Vāmana asks Bali for a piece of land measuring three steps made by his dwarfish legs. As soon as Bali grants him this, Viṣṇu leaves his tiny body, becoming his all-encompassing self again, and strides thrice. He is so big that he covers the earth, sky and heaven in only three steps and reclaims the power over the universe. Bali is sent back to the netherworld and Indra regains control.

In retelling these three manifestation myths,8 the Skandapurāṇa composers followed the general story lines as they were known from other sources, maintained several key elements of the manifestation myths and preserved some essential characteristics of Viṣṇu.9 At the same time, they adjusted and integrated the stories into the new context of an engaging Śaiva Purāṇa by changing narrative elements and introducing new chapters.10 A considerable number of adjustments and innovations concerns the Śaiva ideology as expressed in the text, introducing Śiva, his superiority and his grace, and Śaiva practices and worship into the myths. The greatest innovation comes at the end of the myths. In other sources, each manifestation myth ends more or less in the same manner: Viṣṇu conquers the Asuras, returns the power to the gods and, although not always stated explicitly, leaves his manifested form and takes on his own divine body again.11 Viṣṇu’s return to his own form is to be understood here, because a manifestation should be temporary. Each crisis demands a different solution, a different manifestation.12 It is a continuous process, as already expressed in the Bhagavadgītā of the Mahābhārata (the oft-quoted “definition” of Viṣṇu’s manifestations).13

The Skandapurāṇa likewise supports the idea that Viṣṇu should always return to his own form. In the Narasiṃha myth, it is Śiva himself who reminds Viṣṇu of a boon given sometime in the past.

Skandapurāṇa v. 71.68:

tubhyaṃ viṣṇo mayā dattaḥ puṇyo hy eṣa varaḥ śubhaḥ |

ayonau sajjamānasya svayonau pratipādanam || 68 ||

“The following glorious and auspicious boon has been given by me to you, Viṣṇu: the return to your own birth, when you cling to an unnatural birth”.

The boon is Śiva’s promise that he will help Viṣṇu each time Viṣṇu stays in a form that is not originally his—in other words, a manifestation—by making him return to his own body.14 Śiva redeems this promise three times, viz. in each manifestation myth in the Skandapurāṇa, for each time, Viṣṇu does not or cannot abandon his manifested form himself and continues to live as Narasiṃha, Varāha and Vāmana, respectively, resulting in the following afterlife episodes.

4. Viṣṇu’s Afterlives and Their Place in the Narrative

Already at the very beginning of the Narasiṃha myth (Skandapurāṇa vs. 70.11–14), we learn that even though Hiraṇyakaśipu has been killed, Viṣṇu did not give up his Narasiṃha form. Narasiṃha starts to become a threat to the universe because of his destructive behaviour. The gods are afraid that he will harm living beings, so they ask Śiva to help them. Śiva consents to their wish and will undertake action. Śiva’s intervention is told after the main story of the Narasiṃha myth (Skandapurāṇa vs. 71.48–end). Śiva becomes a Śarabha, a fierce mythical creature with four feet on its back and sharp teeth.15 He approaches Narasiṃha, who immediately attacks Śarabha. Since the latter does not even flinch, Viṣṇu realizes that it is Śiva and he starts praising him. Śiva is pleased with Viṣṇu’s devotion and tells Viṣṇu that he would always help him to return to his own birth. Śarabha steps on Narasiṃha and reunites Viṣṇu with his own divine body. Just before departure, Śiva grants Viṣṇu a boon: he shall be the slayer of Daityas. This means that he officially becomes the protector of the gods, tasked to conquer the enemies.

When in the Varāha myth, Hiraṇyākṣa has been killed, the narrative continues with its afterlife episode (Skandapurāṇa chp. 108.19–110.end). The gods ask Varāha to assume his normal form again. Varāha replies that he wants to enjoy this Boar form just a little longer. In reality, a long time passes by. Varāha conceives a son called Vṛka, a real troublemaker. When Vṛka is older, he starts roaming around and arrives at the palace of Skanda, Śiva’s son. He wrecks the entire palace garden, so Skanda and his Gaṇapas, the loyal assistants of Śiva, detain and torture him. Varāha decides to help his son and goes to the palace. A battle between Varāha and Skanda and his Gaṇapas unfolds, and after various confrontations with trees, Viṣṇu’s cakra, etcetera, Skanda takes his spear, which he had just received from Śiva, and pierces Varāha’s heart with it. As a result, Varāha leaves his body and assumes his old form. Viṣṇu realizes that this is accomplished thanks to Śiva and goes to him to praise him. Śiva is pleased with Viṣṇu’s devotion and achievements and grants him a boon. Viṣṇu asks Śiva to teach him and the gods the Pāśupata observance (pāśupatavrata), in order to become victorious in battle against the Asuras. Śiva consents to Viṣṇu’s request and goes to Mount Meru to instruct them.

What these two afterlives of Viṣṇu have in common is the fact that Viṣṇu deliberately clings to his manifested form. This narrative element cannot, however, be implemented in the Vāmana myth, because one of the key indispensable narrative elements of this myth is the moment that Viṣṇu casts off his dwarfish body and becomes his own, all-encompassing self again. Since Viṣṇu had already given up his manifestation, the composers had to design a different plot twist and did so as follows (Skandapurāṇa chp. 117.21–121.22). When Viṣṇu reconquered the universe, the gods are so happy that they praise him extensively. Viṣṇu becomes so proud of himself because of this appreciation that a personification of sin, Pāpmā, enters him and turns him into a dwarf again. To expiate Pāpmā, the gods take Viṣṇu on a pilgrimage and make him perform a horse sacrifice. Śiva completes the sacrifice and purifies Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is grateful to Śiva and starts praising him. As a reward, Śiva gives Viṣṇu a boon. Viṣṇu wants to hear a teaching thanks to which he will no longer be contaminated by sin or asceticism. Śiva teaches him the Pāśupata mahāvrata, “the great observance”, the most important vow for Pāśupata ascetics. Having performed the mahāvrata, he first attains paramaiśvarya, “supremacy”, and then Śiva gives half of his body to Viṣṇu, which means that Viṣṇu reaches union with Śiva and is thus liberated from the continuous cycle of rebirth.

Although each manifestation and each storyline require different content for the afterlife episodes, all three afterlife episodes follow the same pattern, which can be divided into two parts. The first part concerns the new problem that arises when Viṣṇu continues to live as his manifestation. The cosmic order is only truly restored when he has taken on his own form again. The solution is provided by Śiva or one of his attendants by proxy. Śiva makes him return to his original body16 or provides Viṣṇu and the gods the right solution as to how this can be effectuated and completes the process himself.17 Śiva becomes the ultimate saviour who reinstates the cosmic order. The second shared part of the afterlife episodes is the fact that Viṣṇu receives a boon from Śiva. First, he obtains a major cosmic task and then, he is taught two religious observances related to Pāśupata Śaivism, viz. the pāśupatavrata.

Within these two parts, there is again one common factor: Śiva. He played a minor role, or no role at all, in the narratives until the afterlife episodes, for these parts of the storyline are adopted from other sources and had been changed in a subtler manner. However, Śiva becomes crucial, indispensable even, in the new endings which are radical innovations. The focus has shifted from Viṣṇu as the hero in the battle with the Asuras to Śiva as the ultimate saviour of the cosmic order. The message that is expressed at the conclusion of the stories is that once Viṣṇu conquered the Asuras, it is Śiva who saves Viṣṇu and who is presented as the benevolent boon-granting deity.

I would like to reiterate that the Skandapurāṇa is the first available text that adds such afterlife episodes.18 Whereas the Skandapurāṇa composers executed consequent, but relatively limited changes in the “main story”, they initiated radical innovations at the end of the narratives. The most significant innovation, in other words, has been spared for the very end to come, and it is in this part that Śiva features most prominently. This is done in all three manifestation myths of Viṣṇu and we can therefore assume that the composers made a deliberate choice to convey their most important, Śaiva message at the very end of the narrative. To explain this choice, I wish to introduce “the principle of end weight”.19 What I mean by this is the assumption that the end is the most defining part of a story because what is told at the end is what lingers in the minds of the audience and what will be remembered most vividly. Changing the end of a narrative can have a great effect on the message of the entire story. Composers can therefore take most control of a narrative, when they strategically put their most important message—that is, the message they want the audience to remember—at the end.

The story’s ending has been widely studied. Frank Kermode’s seminal The Sense of an Ending (Kermode [1967] 2000) has influenced many scholars in literary criticism on the importance of endings for a plot to be complete. Besides theoretical studies on endings, much research has been done on endings in particular genres. Barbara Herrnstein Smith’s Poetic Closure: How Poems End (Smith 1968) contains numerous examples of the endings of poems, and how they relate to the overall structure of the poem. In Closure in Biblical Narratives, Susan Zeelander (2011) studies short narratives in the Book of Genesis, categorizing them on the basis of formal devices used to close them, such as formulae, morals, prayers or deviating meter. Closing formulas are also a topic in the field of folklore. Alfred Messerli (2022), for example, shows that the figure of the storyteller, who opens and closes the tale, serves to make contact with the audience. He or she introduces the audience in the world of fairy tales and eventually brings them back to reality.

The ending as a place of influence, as I argue in the case of the Skandapurāṇa, has been expressed in several other works as well. In Closure in the Novel, Marianna Torgovnick (1981) recognizes the importance of the end by stating that “an ending is the single place where an author most pressingly desires to make his point—whether those points are aesthetic, moral, social, political, epistemological, or even the determination not to make any point at all” (Torgovnick 1981, p. 19). One of the reasons for this, she argues, is the fact that “[i]n long works of fiction, […] it is difficult to recall all of a work after a completed reading, but climatic moments, dramatic scenes, and beginnings and endings remain in the memory and decisively shape our sense of a novel as a whole” (ibid., pp. 3–4). Remembering the middle part is less of an issue in the genre of short stories. However, here too, “[t]he ending is where the forces at play in the narrative come to light”, as Florence Goyet phrases it in The Classic Short Story, 1870–1925 (Goyet 2014, p. 45). The power of endings is shown by means of stories with a “twist-in-the-tail” ending. An unexpected turn at the end can, for example, give the reader retrospective insight. Rereading the narrative with the ending in mind, one could see hints throughout the plot, which would have been unnoticed without the unexpected closure.

Another stimulating study on the importance of endings and their force within a narrative’s whole is Closing the Book on Chaucer by Timothy S. Miller (2014). The works of Chaucer do not always have an ending, and this void was occasionally filled by later authors. Miller notices that “[t]his study will confirm our intuitive but rarely theoretically articulated sense that the ending stands as the primary site of control in narrative, or rather the locus of attempts to control a given narrative, the place where competing voices and discourses struggle to regulate the reception and future use of the text” (Miller 2014, p. 9). Since the ending is the place of control, Miller continues, this also means that “[t]o change an ending will change what the text means in a given time and place; to reinterpret an ending can have the same effect” (ibid., p. 10). This was done, for example, by Scottish authors who “completed” those works of Chaucer that had no ending. Miller calls the result of this completion “a “Scotticization” of the Chaucer tradition effected through rewritings of the poet’s endings. […] Through the mediation of the endings, Chaucer becomes the property of the Scots” (ibid., p. 46). By adding Scottish endings to Chaucer’s works, the Scots try to claim the works as their own.

The works of Chaucer and their retelling by the Scots reminds us of Viṣnu’s manifestation myths and their retelling in the Skandapurāṇa. Just as some of Chaucer’s works ended up in the “hands” of the Scots, Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths arrived in a Śaiva community. Even the result of a Scotticization has a parallel with Viṣnu’s manifestation myths in the Skandapurāṇa, because Śiva and Śaivism are structurally implemented into these narratives, in particular their endings. I will explore this by focussing on the part of the afterlife episodes where Śiva grants Viṣṇu a boon. I will critically go through each boon, putting them in the context of texts and beyond, for the boons effectuate more than “just” presenting Śiva as a benevolent god. They have a strong Śaiva character, and their goal becomes clear when put into context. More concretely, in the following analysis, I will first present a detailed study of the boons by taking a close look at their content and what they tell us about Viṣṇu’s identity in the Skandapurāṇa. How does Viṣnu’s cosmic task fit his character; what kind of observance is the pāśupatavrata in these manifestation myths; is there a difference between the two pāśupatavratas; what is the result of the completion of the observances; and why is it particularly Viṣṇu who performs the most important vow of the Pāśupata Śaivas with the corresponding accomplishments? Then, in the conclusions, I will bring the gathered information together, looking for the red thread in the boons and applying the principle of end weight. If the end indeed expresses the most important message, what did the Skandapurāṇa composers want to tell us?

5. From the Asuras’ Enemy to Śiva’s Devotee

The first boon features in the Narasiṃha myth. Immediately after Śiva has reunited Viṣṇu with his own body, he grants him the following boon.

Skandapurāṇa v. 71.72:

viṣṇave ’tha varaṃ dattvā daityaghnaṃ sa vṛṣadhvajaḥ |

prakṛtistho bhavety uktvā tatraivāntaradhīyata || 72 ||

“Having given Viṣṇu the boon of slaying Daityas then [and] having said, ‘stay in your natural form’, the one with the bull as his banner (Śiva) disappeared right there”.

Śiva grants Viṣṇu “the boon of slaying Daityas”. It means that Śiva gives Viṣṇu a specific task in the Śaiva universe. He should be the conqueror of the enemies of the gods, or in broader terms, the protector of the gods and the preserver of the universe. He already fulfilled this role in this very manifestation myth, but also in many other stories. Already in the Vedas, Viṣṇu functions as the protector of the universe,20 and later, Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths in which he fights with the Asuras become exemplary of this cosmic role. In the Skandapurāṇa, Viṣṇu does not only have this task in the three manifestation myths, but also in the three other myths where he has one of the leading parts.21 It is clear that the protection of the universe is Viṣṇu’s contribution to the processes and operations in the world, as reflected in his role as the protector in countless other texts.

By framing this function in the form of a boon from Śiva, the Skandapurāṇa composers found a way to add two important elements to Viṣṇu’s cosmic role. The task first of all becomes official. It is no longer just implied that Viṣṇu should protect the universe, but he is explicitly assigned to do so. It makes Viṣnu’s presence in the universe worthwhile and firmly established. Second, the fact that Śiva grants him this task creates a hierarchy between Viṣṇu and Śiva. Although we might expect Viṣṇu to protect the universe, in the Skandapurāṇa, it is explained that it is only by the grace of Śiva that he may do so. Since Śiva grants Viṣṇu this task, he remains in control of the actions that take place in the universe. Taking the entire text into account, it shows that it is a narrative strategy of the composers to describe the gods as having the tasks they are known for, but at the same time, add an extra feature that they receive their duties from Śiva. Earlier, he had given Brahmā the role of creator22 and now, he has assigned Viṣṇu the role of preserver. The execution of these major cosmic tasks may be done by others, but there is only one god able to delegate them: Śiva.

Śiva grants another boon in the Varāha myth. When Viṣṇu has left his Boar form, he goes to Śiva’s abode and starts praising Śiva. Śiva is pleased with Viṣṇu’s devotion and effort, so he tells him that he can choose a boon, and Viṣṇu asks the following.

Skandapurāṇa vs. 110.27–28:

yadi tuṣṭo ’si no deva yadi deyo varaś ca naḥ |

tataḥ pāśupataṃ divyaṃ vratam ādeṣṭum arhasi || 27 ||

yad āśritya vayaṃ sarve saśakrāḥ sārvakāmikam |

yuddhe jeṣyāma daiteyān duḥkhaśokavivarjitāḥ || 28 ||

“If you are pleased with us, oh God (Śiva), and a boon should be given to us, then please teach the divine pāśupatavrata, so that, after having taken refuge [to that vow], which fulfils all desires, we all, including Śakra (Indra), will be victorious in battle against the Daityas, free from suffering and pain”.

In other words, Viṣṇu wants Śiva to teach him and the gods the Pāśupata observance, so that they will conquer the Daityas—or more generally, the Asuras—in battle. Śiva promises them to teach the vrata.

Skandapurāṇa v. 110.29:

ahaṃ vaḥ kathayiṣyāmi guhyam etat sanātanam |

vrataṃ pāśupataṃ divyaṃ yena kāmān avāpsyatha || 29 ||

“I will tell you this secret, eternal, divine pāśupatavrata, through which you will obtain [your] desires”.

In the sentences that follow, it is told that Śiva goes to Mount Sumeru to teach the vrata, but the reader does not get to hear the actual teaching or any additional information.

The specifics of the vrata remain, therefore, limited, and to know more about the observance, we should gain information elsewhere and compare that with Viṣṇu’s requested boon in the Varāha myth. The first source that I will use is the Skandapurāṇa itself, for the Pāśupata observance in this narrative is not a unique case. As already mentioned above, it features in other mythological narratives and it is the topic of a doctrinal section of the Skandapurāṇa (Skandapurāṇa chp. 174–83), referred to here as “the Pāśupata section”. The second source is the Pāśupatasūtra, the foundational text of Pāśupata Śaivism.23 Both sources teach the rules and practices that Pāśupatas should follow. One of the key customs is to bathe in ashes—that is, to smear oneself with ashes—as proclaimed in Skandapurāṇa v. 180.17b24 and in Pāśupatasūtra v. 1.2.25 The goal of the observance is to reach union with Śiva (Skandapurāṇa v. 180.17cd26 and Pāśupatasūtra v. 5.32).27 For Pāśupata Śaivas, reaching union with Śiva means to be liberated from the continuous cycle of rebirth. Since liberation is a goal of ascetics, the vrata is directed to Pāśupata ascetics specifically who are willing to give up their mundane life and dedicate their life to Śiva.

The short passage in the Varāha myth does not provide information on what kind of practices Viṣṇu has to do in the context of the pāśupatavrata. However, based on Viṣṇu’s goal with the vrata, we can deduce two crucial differences between on the one hand, the pāśupatavrata as established elsewhere in the Skandapurāṇa and in the Pāśupatasūtra, and on the other hand, the vrata performed by Viṣṇu. First of all, the goal is different: a spiritual goal of liberation versus a mundane goal of victory over one’s enemies. Although Viṣṇu’s wish with the observance matches his role in the Skandapurāṇa as the preserver of the universe—which he fulfils in the narratives told after the Varāha myth, such as the Vāmana myth—it does not match the goal as it is stated elsewhere. Second, based on the spiritual goal of liberation, we can assume that the people who perform the vrata are ascetics. However, up to the Varāha myth and in the narratives on wars that follow, Viṣṇu belongs to a different class of people: the kṣatriyas (kings, warriors, etcetera). Since there are still a number of wars with the Asuras to be fought, it is not possible for Viṣṇu to give up his mundane life as the preserver of the universe and to become an ascetic who is solely dedicated to Śiva. We are, in other words, dealing with a different kind of pāśupatavrata.

I suggest that we may be dealing with a vow to officially become a Pāśupata devotee through initiation, while at the same time remaining a kṣatriya and observing the rules of the warriors. There is, in fact, a medieval practice of initiation of kings into Śaivism. In ‘The Śaiva Age’, Alexis Sanderson shows that from the seventh century CE, there is epigraphical evidence for granting the king “Śaiva initiation (śivamaṇḍaladīkṣā)” (Sanderson 2009, p. 254). Whereas the initiated Śaiva usually has to adhere to severe rules, “early in the development of the Mantramārga, the Śaivas, no doubt in order to extend their recruitment and hence their influence, admitted a category of initiates who in consideration of the fact that they were incapable of taking on these onerous duties were exonerated from doing so” (ibid.). Initiated kings generally adopted an initiation name, and names ending in -gaṇa were reserved for kṣatriyas (ibid., p. 291–92, note 695). At the time of the Skandapurāṇa, Śaiva initiation was thus not exclusively for ascetics, but kings from the kṣatriya class were also able to be officially initiated as Śaivas.28 The pāśupatavrata performed by Viṣṇu, with a kṣatriya-related goal, could be an allusion to this royal practice. In that case, Viṣṇu, being a king, continues obeying his obligations as kṣatriya in general and as protector and Asura-slayer in particular, while at the same time, he officially becomes a Pāśupata Śaiva, an initiated follower of Śiva. After having officially attained a task in the Śaiva universe, he now formally joins the Śaiva community.

Even though Viṣṇu asks Śiva to teach the vrata to him and the gods, the request essentially concerns Viṣṇu. It is, after all, Viṣṇu who is assigned to fight with the Asuras and granted a boon in the first place. The fact that it is Viṣṇu who receives the pāśupatavrata and officially joins the Śaiva community must be a strategic choice of the Skandapurāṇa composers. At the time of the composition of the Purāṇa, Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism were two of the major religious traditions that had their own communities of worshippers, sought financial support from royal courts and created temples, monuments, material art and texts.29 The Skandapurāṇa composers must have been aware of the significant presence of Vaiṣṇavism and the prominent role Viṣṇu takes in the living community of that time. By making Viṣṇu an official follower of Śiva and an adherent of Śaivism, they communicate a supremacy of Śiva over Viṣṇu and that of Śaivism over Vaiṣṇavism.

Viṣṇu’s incorporation into the Śaiva community and his devotion to Śiva become even more encompassing in the Vāmana myth. When Viṣṇu is freed from Pāpmā, he realizes that this was thanks to Śiva and he goes to Śivakūṭa to perform a horse sacrifice30 and worship Śiva for 1006 years and six months. Because of Viṣṇu’s devotion to Śiva, Śiva offers him a boon.

Skandapurāṇa v. 121.16:31

bhagavan pāpmanā vāpi tapasā vāpi lokapa |

lepo32 na me yathā syād vai tan mamācakṣva kālahan || 16 ||

“Oh lord, oh protector of the world, oh slayer of time, tell me how there may be no contamination by sin or asceticism for me”.

Viṣṇu’s request not to be polluted by sin or asceticism is essentially a request to stay pure and faultless. It is significantly different from Viṣṇu’s request in the Varāha myth, for which he had a mundane goal in mind. The present boon, as will become clearer as we read on, has a spiritual aim. The means to reach the non-contamination is provided by Śiva in the next verse: “perform the secret mahāvrata (‘great observance’)” (guhyaṃ cara mahāvratam, Skandapurāṇa v. 121.17d). The following verses give us more information on this vow and speak of Viṣṇu performing it.

Skandapurāṇa vs. 121.18–19:

pañcārthaṃ kṛtarakṣaṃ taṃ33 sarvadharmāvahaṃ śubham |

yogaṃ yantraṃ vrataṃ caiva paramaiśvaryasādhanam || 18 ||

yat tat pāśupataṃ divyaṃ vidhānaṃ sārvakāmikam |

tac cīrtvā dvādaśa samāḥ paramaiśvaryam āptavān || 19 ||

“Having performed for twelve years that divine, wish-fulfilling Pāśupata practice (yat… samāḥ, 19a–c), which is [known as] pañcārtha34 and protects, which is the vehicle of all dharmas and glorious, which is the [best] practice, instrument and observance, and leads to supremacy, he (Viṣṇu) obtained supremacy”.

In light of the Varāha myth earlier, it is striking that the mahāvrata is also qualified as “pāśupata”. Having already performed a pāśupatavrata together with the gods in order to be victorious against the Asuras, Viṣṇu now performs another pāśupatavrata. This time, he performs it alone and for the sake of non-contamination. In order to get a better understanding of what kind of pāśupatavrata this is, we can compare it again with passages of the Pāśupata section of the Skandapurāṇa and the Pāśupatasūtra.

The mahāvrata itself is described in the Pāśupata section of the Skandapurāṇa (Skandapurāṇa vs. 180.10–11). It is qualified as “the totality of practices [related to] ashes” (bhasmasādhanamātraṃ, Skandapurāṇa v. 180.10c), and “by performing it, [the practitioners] are liberated” (sevanād yasya mucyante, Skandapurāṇa v. 180.11c). This is reminiscent of the Pāśupatasūtra’s description of the pāśupatavrata. The Pāśupatasūtra prescribes practices involving ashes, including bathing (Pāśupatasūtra v. 1.2, see note 25), sleeping (Pāśupatasūtra v. 1.3, bhasmani śayīta, “one should sleep in ashes”), and “bathing again” (Pāśupatasūtra v. 1.4, anusnānam). These are all done for the sake of liberation, which is understood as complete union with Śiva (Pāśupatasūtra v. 5.32, see note 27). The fact that the mahāvrata is qualified as pāśupata in the Vāmana myth therefore strongly suggests that we are dealing with this kind of pāśupatavrata, that is, one directed to a Pāśupata ascetic who abandons his mundane life (instead of one directed to a king who formally joins the Pāśupata community as assumed in the Varāha myth). When we learn about the result of Viṣṇu’s performance of the mahāvrata, it becomes even more apparent that Viṣṇu performed the pāśupatavrata as it is imagined in the Pāśupata section of the Skandapurāṇa and the Pāśupatasūtra.

The result is that Viṣṇu attains paramaiśvarya, “supremacy”. Someone who has reached this state is able to become very small or very big or adopt one of the other “eight qualities” (aṣṭaguna).35 This state is not for everybody. On the contrary, it is often ascribed to the Siddhas, the “accomplished” Yogins, who are in an advanced stage in their spiritual path to liberation. The state of paramaiśvarya has a particularly interesting parallel with the Pāśupata section of the Skandapurāṇa, where several references to paramaiśvarya are found. According to Skandapurāṇa v. 180.8, someone who has received a teaching in the pāśupatavrata, obtains knowledge and supremacy in yoga and is liberated.36 This is exactly the same path that Viṣṇu treads. After practicing the observance, Viṣṇu attains paramaiśvarya and final liberation is, in fact, the last step, as can be deduced from the following verse.

Skandapurāṇa v. 121.20:

tasya devaḥ svayaṃ śūlī tuṣṭaḥ prekṣya tathāvidham |

śarīrārdhaṃ dadau tasmai tad abhūd viṣṇuśaṃkaram || 20 ||

“God (Śiva) himself, the one with the trident, being pleased with him (Viṣṇu), having watched [him] in that state [of paramaiśvarya], gave half of his body to him. [As a result,] that (tad) [body of Viṣṇu] became Viṣṇu-Śaṃkara (Viṣṇu-Śiva)”.

This is the penultimate sentence of the Vāmana myth, and something extraordinary happens at this very last moment: Śiva gives half of his body to Viṣṇu,37 so that Viṣṇu’s body becomes one with Śiva’s.38 This is a narrative representation of the highest goal of a Pāśupata ascetic, which is to reach union with Śiva. In other words, Viṣṇu becomes liberated from the continuous cycle of rebirth. Viṣṇu’s final liberation is the climactic state of his adherence to the ideal path of the Pāśupata ascetic, which starts with complete devotion to Śiva, continues with the attainment of supremacy and concludes with union with Śiva, which is granted by Śiva himself.39 The fact that it is Viṣṇu who fulfils the ideals of the Pāśupata ascetic is telling for the same reasons as why Viṣṇu officially became part of the Śaiva community: to incorporate Viṣṇu, who had an established religious tradition of his own in the historical landscape of the Skandapurāṇa, into the Skandapurāṇa and Śaivism at large. Since Viṣṇu and the religious tradition related to him were a force to reckon with, the composers gave him a special treatment. He is not just any Śiva worshipper, not just any Pāśupata Śaiva, he is the ideal Pāśupata ascetic who reaches their highest goal: union with Śiva.40 By fully incorporating Viṣṇu into Śaivism, absorbing him, as it were, into Śiva’s body, the hierarchy between Viṣṇu and Śiva is indisputable.

6. Conclusions

The concluding section of an article is usually the place where the author brings the most important findings together, recapitulating the outcomes that the reader should remember. The Skandapurāṇa composers did not finish with a summary, but given the content of the closing chapters of their retellings of Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths, the composers probably wanted their audience to remember their concluding message in particular. This “principle of end weight” that the end contains the most important message and that it is the most defining part of a narrative where the most control can be exercised, can be observed in these retellings, for the contrast between the afterlife episodes and the “main stories” as found in other Purāṇas could not be bigger.

Although the Skandapurāṇa retellings of the Narasiṃha, Varāha and Vāmana myth are unique from beginning to end, the main story lines have been largely followed, and Śiva plays only a minor role or no role at all until the afterlife episodes. It is a completely different story when we reach the final part. Since Viṣṇu is attached to his manifestation—either voluntarily or against his will—he becomes dependent on Śiva for a solution. After Viṣṇu had bravely conquered the Asuras, Śiva suddenly appears on the stage as the ultimate saviour, because it is he who releases Viṣṇu from his manifested form and thus truly restores the cosmic order.

And Śiva’s presence does not end there, nor the power dynamics between Śiva and Viṣṇu. When Viṣṇu has returned to his own form, he realizes that this is thanks to Śiva and starts praising him. We get to know Śiva as a benevolent god, because he wants to grant Viṣṇu a boon as a reward for his devotion. Looking at the three boons together from a Śaiva ideological perspective, the boon gets more valuable. With the first vara in the Narasiṃha myth, the boon of slaying Daityas, Viṣṇu obtains a prominent and permanent role in the Śaiva universe as the protector of the gods and the universe. Since Śiva gave him this position, Śiva remains in control and on top of the Śaiva universe as it is presented throughout the text. The hierarchy between the two deities becomes even more apparent in the following two afterlife episodes, where Viṣṇu performs the most important observance for Pāśupata Śaivas twice: the pāśupatavrata. The first performance of the vrata narrated in the Varāha myth seems to be a king’s initiation into Pāśupata Śaivism. Viṣṇu becomes an official royal member of the Śaiva community, which incorporates him into Śaivism. In the next afterlife episode of the Vāmana myth, he is even presented as the ideal Pāśupata ascetic, performing the pāśupatavrata as it is known from ascetic treatises, achieving paramaiśvarya, “supremacy”, and reaching union with Śiva—the highest goal of the Pāśupata ascetic.

Throughout the epic and Purāṇic corpus, Viṣṇu has many faces and forms. However, the Skandapurāṇa is the first and perhaps the only Purāṇa to present him as a Pāśupata ascetic. This unprecedented identity switch teaches us about the hierarchy between Śiva and Viṣnu, about to whom one should devote one’s time, money and, ultimately, one’s life. According to the Skandapurāṇa, Viṣṇu becomes absorbed in the Śaiva universe, in Śiva’s body and in Śaivism at large. And this new characterization of Viṣṇu is expressed precisely at the very end of each manifestation myth; the part that will linger in the minds of the audience.