Kāpālika's Bhairava and Vaidika's Agni: A comparison

jayati vyomakeśo ̍asau yaḥ sargāya bibharti tām |

aindavi śirasā lekhāṁ jagad bījāṅkurākṛtim ||

Let there be victory unto Him whose disheveled hair spread filling the space. Who has manifested the world and maintains it, who bears crescent moon on his head and who is the seed of this universe.

By the periodic closing and opening of the eyes he has manifested the day and night. Spreading his lashing, bristly mass of hair he has covered the sky till horizons drinking the cloud streams released from the fissures of skull bowl held in his hands, having shattered the ear drums of listeners with his terrifying roar, the ancient corpse eater dances !!

Kāpālika school of ancient Pāśupata Śaivas revoles around the Bhairava ectype of Rudra. Some sādhakas in this tradition engage in what is known as niḥsañkācāra which involves consuming brain matter obtained from burning corpses. This practice is actually deep rooted in the ancient Vaidika thought. In the śrutis, devatā Rudra is closely associated with Agni to the level right in the Ṛig Veda itself they are identified as one - tvaṁ agne rudro asuro mahodivaḥ...

Agni is said to have two forms on the earthly realms.

1). Havyavāha - the form of Agni which consumes the oblations offered to devatās and delivers them their offerings

2). Kravyāda - the form which it consumes the dead bodies wince cremated and also carries oblations for one's deceased ancestors.

The former is auspicious and second is considered inauspicious. Hence in homa karmas kravyādāgni is removed from agni - "kravyādaṁ agniṁ prahiṇomi dūram "

This dichotomy in Agni is seen in the self of Rudra also.

As Śiva, he is the most auspicious. He is daivo-bhiṣak - the divine physician. He is also Jalāṣa-bheṣaja - one who carries medicines to cure ailments. On the other hand he is Rudra the Goghna - (killer of cattle), Puruṣaghna - (killer of humans).

The former is auspicious and second is considered inauspicious.

In the later day Śaiva śāsanas Bhairava is conceived as this form of kravyāda agni. His common iconography depicts him as standing on a śava with his hair ablaze. However in the Kāpālika tradition Bhairava still remains the Supreme Lord with whom the sāddhka attains Sāyujya after completing his sādhana in śmaśāna.

netrākuñcana sāraṇa krama kṛta pravyakta vaktam dino

dik cakrānta visarapi sallari satā bhārāvaruddhāṁbaraḥ

hasta nyasta kapāla kandara darī muktābhra dhāraḥ piban

unmukta dhvani bhinna karṇa kuharaḥ Kravyāda ayaṁ nṛtyati

Śloka describes Bhairava Dancing in the cremation grounds drinking water from a skull bowl (kapala Patra or khappar). This has two meanings to it. In the celestial plane the clouds pouring rains are identified as kapāla held by Bhairava. On the other hand the water flowing from the fissures of the skull is a metaphor for amṛta-sraavaṇa within the skull, which a yogin is supposed to experience when practicing Bhairavācāra. His ear splitting roar also refers to sound created by ḍamaru which gave rise to Pāniṇi's grammar.

🙏 Jayatu Bhairavanath 🙏

🙏 Namo Narasiṁha 🙏