Chapter 28 of 51 · Uma Samhita · Overall chapter 342 of 464
Beholding the Shadowy Being
Shiva concludes the yogic instruction with a shadow-divination technique revealing a person's fate through the colour and completeness of their own projected shadow, and a final, cryptic description of the coiled, serpent-like Bindumalini, perceiving which grants the fruits of every tirtha, donation and sacrifice combined.
Devi said
Lord of the gods, Mahadeva, you have told of deceiving Kala, the nature of shabda-brahma and the excellent signs of yoga, and briefly mentioned the excellent knowledge about the shadowy being. For yogis' welfare, please tell me this in detail.
Shankara replied
Goddess, listen. I will describe the signs of the shadowy being. A man who knows it properly is freed from all sins. He should sit with his back to the sun or moon, in white garlands and garments, adorned with fragrances and incense. Then he should recall the great mantra of nine syllables united into one, which gives all desired fruits, and look at his own shadow. When he next looks at the sky and sees a white shadow, his self becomes one with Shiva, the supreme cause. Those who know time say he then gains brahman and is freed from sins like killing a brahmana. If he sees a headless shadow, within six months the yogi will lose all power of speech. A white shadow is a sign of dharma, a black one of sin. A red shadow is a sign of bondage, a yellow one of enmity. A shadow without arms means the destruction of relatives, one without a mouth means fear of hunger, one without hips means the wife's death, one without calves means loss of wealth, and one without feet means exile to another country. I have told these indications, Maheshvari, and a man must try to reflect on them. He must properly see the supreme self within his own self, and then do japa of the nine-syllable mantra in his mind. After a year there is nothing the reciter cannot accomplish, and he gains anima and the other powers and can travel through the sky. I will now tell of another power, impossible to counter or know. Those with knowledge in this world see it standing before them. It is hard to know in this world and is drawn as a coiled snake, mounted on a vehicle, its dimensions unseen and unread. Its head is set above the universe, and the Vedas constantly praise it. It is the mother of all learning and is chanted of as the secret knowledge, the power of travelling through the sky, present in all living beings. It is visible and invisible, motionless, manifest and unmanifest, constant and eternal, colourless yet coloured, and called Bindumalini. A yogi who constantly sees it accomplishes every aim. Whatever fruit comes from bathing in all tirthas, from gifts and from all sacrifices, a person who sees Bindumalini gains it all. I tell you truly, Goddess. Not to say more, one gains all one desires, so a learned man pursues yoga and this knowledge. Success in yoga comes by practice, so one should practise; perfect understanding and liberation come by practice, and since it is the cause of liberation a learned person must always practise. Shankara said he had thus told what gives enjoyment and liberation, and asked what other truth she wished to know.
Suta concluded
Lords among sages, hearing Brahma's son's words of supreme meaning, Vyasa, son of Parashara, was supremely satisfied and bowed again and again to Sanatkumara, Brahma's omniscient son and ocean of compassion. Kaleya Vyasa, lord among sages, praised him so: best of sages, from you I have learnt brahman; I bow to you; knower of brahman, you are blessed. So the great sage, Brahma's son, was praised by Kaleya, who was filled with great bliss and silent with joy. Shounaka, worshipped by Vyasa and happy and pleased, Brahma's son took leave of him and went to his own abode, and Vyasa did the same. Suta said he had thus described the conversation of Sanatkumara and Kaleya, which increases knowledge and brings happiness.
Retold in our own words from Bibek Debroy's English translation of the Shiva Purana (Penguin Classics). Names, numbers and the order of events follow the source.