Shiva's Worship according to the Sacred Texts Continued

Upamanyu said

There are other things about the worship that I have not mentioned, because I feared losing the thread. I will now give them briefly, not in detail. After the lamps are offered but before the oblations, when the moment for the lamp-waving has come, he should worship the enclosures, from Ishana to Sadyojata. In the first enclosure he does japa of Shiva and Shivaa with a mantra to Rudra, ending with the astra mantra. The foundations of these enclosures are said to lie in the north-east, east, south, north, west, south-east, south, south-west, west and north-west, then the north-east and the four directions, and this is done with a combination of mantras. Or the whole worship can be done within the heart using the astra mantra. Outside, a learned person worships Shakra in the east, Yama in the south, Varuna in the west, the lord of riches in the north, Isha in the north-east, Anala in the south-east, Nirriti in the south-west, the wind god in the north-west, Vishnu in the south-west and Vidhatri in the north-east. Vajra and the other weapons are worshipped outside the lotus, and the guardians of the worlds in their well-known forms in order. The deities of all the enclosures are pictured comfortably seated with joined hands, looking toward Deva and Devi. He addresses them with the word "Namah," bows in order and worships them with flowers. Along with the enclosure, the foundation of the enclosure must also be worshipped. Yoga, meditation, japa and oblations can be inner or outer. The oblations can be of six kinds: pure rice, rice with mudga, sweet milk rice, a mixture of curd and molasses, and a stream of honey. There can be many side dishes, lumps of jaggery mixed with curd, or excellent churned curd. The best food can include cakes and juicy fruit. Very cool water with red sandalwood paste and flowers in it can be given to drink. A piece of areca nut touched with cardamom juice, and betel leaves mixed with khadira, can be given.

White and golden colours are auspicious and recommended. Powder of white rock may be used but must not be rough or tainted. Camphor, kankola and fresh jati flowers are auspicious. Unguents may be of sandalwood, the better being that from the base of the wood; kasturi, saffron and the juice of musk can be used. The flowers must be fragrant, sacred and auspicious. In worshipping Shiva one should not use flowers with no smell or a foul smell, polluted or tainted ones, or those which have fallen by themselves. The garments offered must be soft and shot with gold. Among ornaments, bangles that shimmer like lightning are distinguished. In every direction the place is perfumed with essence of camphor, aloe, sandalwood, incense and flowers. Incense mixed with sandalwood, aloe, camphor, powdered guggula, ghee and honey is praised. Lamps lit continually with fragrant ghee from a tawny cow mixed with camphor are praised. The five products of the cow and sweet milk, curd and ghee from a tawny cow are loved by Shambhu, for drinking and bathing. Auspicious seats should be made of ivory set with gold and jewels, with colourful spreads. Beds should be beautiful and comfortable, with high and low pillows of soft cotton. For bathing and drinking, water from rivers that flow to the ocean is best, cool and strained through cloth. The beautiful umbrella must be like the moon, decorated with dazzling pearls, its handle of divine gold set with the nine jewels. The two whisks must be soft and delicate, polished with gold, like two swans with jewelled handles. The mirror must be pleasant, smeared with divine unguents, studded all round with jewels and decorated with garlands. The conch must give a deep sound and have the colour of a swan, the moon or a kunda flower, its mouth, back and sides adorned with gold and jewels. The kahalas must be beautiful and make many sounds, of gold decorated with pearls. One should try to arrange many kinds of drums, bheri, mridanga, muraja, timiccha, pataha and others, whose sounds resemble the roar of the ocean. All vessels and pots must be beautiful and all stands made of gold.

Mahesha Shiva is the supreme self, and his abode should be built like a king's residence with all the features given in the craft texts: lofty walls and turrets like mountains, door planks of gold set with many jewels, hundreds of pillars of molten gold, an excellent canopy decorated with pearls, and gates decorated with coral. The top of the mansion has pot-shaped domes like divine crowns, ornamented and marked with the sign of the king of weapons. On every side the residence is surrounded by mansions fit for kings, with lofty terraces. The royal roads are ornamented, and there are excellent waiting places in the directions and sub-directions. Inside and outside there are richly ornamented walls. There are thousands of excellent women skilled in song and dance, many men skilled in veena and flute, warriors with elephants, horses and chariots on guard, many gardens full of flowers, many excellent lakes and dazzling ponds on every side. There are brahmanas who know the truth of the Vedas and Vedanta, skilled in Shiva's texts, devoted to Shiva's ashrama, showing the signs given in Shiva's texts, serene, prosperous, smiling and always engaged in virtuous conduct. They serve the glorious Shiva Maheshvara.

In this way, as capacity allows, one should build Shiva's temple for outer worship. It can be of stone, ivory, wood, brick or only clay. The divinity's home should be in a sacred forest, on a mountain or on a river bank. Worship can also be done in another auspicious spot or even at home. Rich or poor, one must use one's capacity without deception. The articles used must be earned by legitimate means and devoutly offered to the divinity. Even if the earning was not legitimate, if one worships Shiva with devotion, the lord comes under the devotee's sway and nothing is harmed. If the objects were earned legitimately but the worship lacks devotion, no fruit is gained. Devotion alone matters. If one does this for Shiva according to one's wealth, whether the expense is great or small, the fruits of the rich and the poor are the same. A man of small means who is moved by devotion can reach a greatness that one without devotion cannot. A person without devotion who offers everything he owns to Shiva does not gain the fruit. Devotion alone matters. If one lacks devotion to Shiva in one's self, it is said that even fierce austerities and great sacrifices cannot take one to Shiva's divine city.

Krishna, this is the most secret of all secrets about Maheshvara: a devotee with devotion to Shiva is liberated, and there should be no doubt. Japa with Shiva's mantra, meditation, oblations, sacrifices, austerities, learning, gifts and study all lead to such feeling. A man lacking feeling who does everything will not be freed; one with feeling who does nothing will be liberated even so. A thousand chandrayana vows, a hundred Prajapatya vows and months of fasting amount to nothing for Shiva's devotee. In this world, people who are not devotees torment themselves with austerities in mountain caves for petty pleasures. A devotee is freed by his feeling. Sattvic feelings lead to that sort of liberation, so yogis engage in karma based on sattva. Those swept by rajas do rajasic karma that leads to siddhi. Asuras and rakshasas are full of tamas and worship Isha for worldly goals, and there are other people like them. Whether one rests on sattvic, rajasic or tamasic feelings, so long as one worships with devotion one gains what is auspicious. The boat of devotion has been built to save a person from the ocean of sin, so for one full of devotion, what use are rajas and tamas? Krishna, if an outcaste, a low person, a fool or a fallen person takes refuge in Shiva, he is worshipped by all gods and asuras. So every effort should be made to worship Shiva with devotion. A person lacking devotion gains no fruit. Krishna, I will tell you a great secret; listen. This is the firm conclusion of those who know the Vedas and sacred texts and have thought them through.