Brahmā’s praise of Nārāyaṇa to take up Hayagrīva rūpa to kill Madhu and Kaiṭabha from the Mahābhārata(Śāntiparvan)

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Hayagrīva slaying an asura(Kalighat painting)

brahmovāca।
oṃ namaste brahmahṛdaya namaste mama pūrvaja ।
lokādyabhuvanaśreṣṭha sāṅkhyayoganidhe prabho ॥
vyaktāvyaktakarācintya kṣemaṃ panthānamāsthitaḥ ।
viśvabhuksarvabhūtānāmantarātmannayonija ।
ahaṃ prasādajastubhyaṃ lokadhāma svayaṃbhuvaḥ ॥
tvatto me mānasaṃ janma prathamaṃ dvijapūjitam ।
cākṣuṣaṃ vai dvitīyaṃ me janma cāsītpurātanam ॥
tvatprasādāttu me janma tṛtīyaṃ vācikaṃ mahat ।
tvattaḥ śravaṇajaṃ cāpi caturthaṃ janma me vibho ॥
nāsatyaṃ cāpi me janma tvattaḥ pañcamamucyate ।
aṇḍajaṃ cāpi me janma tvattaḥ ṣaṣṭhaṃ vinirmitaṃ ॥
idaṃ ca saptamaṃ janma padmajanmeti vai prabho ।
sargesarge hyahaṃ putrastava triguṇavarjita ॥
prathamaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ pradhānaguṇakalpitaḥ ।
tvamīśvaraḥ svabhāvaśca bhūtānāṃ tvaṃ prabhāvana
tvayā vinirmito’haṃ vai vedacakṣurvayotiga ।
te me vedā hṛtāścakṣurandho jātosmi jāgṛhi ।
dadasva cakṣūṃṣi mama priyo’haṃ te priyosi me ॥

In Devanagari

ब्रह्मोवाच।
ॐ नमस्ते ब्रह्महृदय नमस्ते मम पूर्वज ।
लोकाद्यभुवनश्रेष्ठ साङ्ख्ययोगनिधे प्रभो ॥
व्यक्ताव्यक्तकराचिन्त्य क्षेमं पन्थानमास्थितः ।
विश्वभुक्सर्वभूतानामन्तरात्मन्नयोनिज ।
अहं प्रसादजस्तुभ्यं लोकधाम स्वयंभुवः ॥
त्वत्तो मे मानसं जन्म प्रथमं द्विजपूजितम् ।
चाक्षुषं वै द्वितीयं मे जन्म चासीत्पुरातनम् ॥
त्वत्प्रसादात्तु मे जन्म तृतीयं वाचिकं महत् ।
त्वत्तः श्रवणजं चापि चतुर्थं जन्म मे विभो ॥
नासत्यं चापि मे जन्म त्वत्तः पञ्चममुच्यते ।
अण्डजं चापि मे जन्म त्वत्तः षष्ठं विनिर्मितं ॥
इदं च सप्तमं जन्म पद्मजन्मेति वै प्रभो ।
सर्गेसर्गे ह्यहं पुत्रस्तव त्रिगुणवर्जित ॥
प्रथमः पुण्डरीकाक्षः प्रधानगुणकल्पितः ।
त्वमीश्वरः स्वभावश्च भूतानां त्वं प्रभावन
त्वया विनिर्मितोऽहं वै वेदचक्षुर्वयोतिग ।
ते मे वेदा हृताश्चक्षुरन्धो जातोस्मि जागृहि ।
ददस्व चक्षूंषि मम प्रियोऽहं ते प्रियोसि मे ॥

Copypasting Ganguli’s translation(since I’m very short on time): http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c047.htm

“Brahma said, ‘I bow to thee, O heart of Brahman. I bow to thee that hast been born before me. Thou art the origin of the universe. Thou art the foremost of all abodes. Thou, O puissant one, art the ocean of Yoga with all its branches. Thou art the Creator of both what is Manifest and what is Unmanifest. Thou treadest along the path whose auspiciousness is of inconceivable extent. Thou art the consumer of the universe. Thou art the Antaralock (Inner Soul) of all creatures. Thou art without any origin. Thou art the refuge of the universe. Thou art self-born; for origin thou hest none that is not thyself. As regards myself, I have sprung through thy Grace. From thee have I derived my birth. My first birth from thee, which is regarded sacred by all regenerate persons, was due to a fiat of thy Mind. My second birth in days of yore was from thy eyes. Through thy Grace, my third birth was from thy speech. My fourth birth. O puissant Lord, was from thy ears. My fifth birth, excellent in all respects, was from thy nose. O Lord, My sixth birth was, through thee, from an egg. This is my seventh birth. It has occurred, O Lord, within this Lotus, and it is meant to stimulate the intellect and desires of all the beings. At each Creation I take birth from thee as thy son, O thou that art divested of the three attributes. Indeed, O lotus-eyed one, I take birth as thy eldest son, made up of Sattwa the foremost of three attributes. Thou art endued with that nature which is Supreme. Thou springest from thyself. I have been created by thee. The Vedas are my eyes. Hence, I transcend Time itself. Those Vedas, which constitute my eyes, have been taken away from me. I have, therefore, become blind. Do Thou awake from this Yoga-sleep. Give me back my eyes. I am dear to thee and thou art dear to me.

For shivarAtri:arjuna with shiva kirATa,along with his hymn to him(from the Mahabharata,vana parva)

Screenshot_2019-03-03_19-21-42

 

From the Vana Parva,text of arjuna’s stotra along with Ganguli’s translation(Am using the Kumbhakonam recension)

kapardinsarvabhūteśa bhaganetranipātana ।
[devadeva mahādeva nīlagrīva jaṭādhara ॥ 3-39-74 (17332)
kāraṇānāṃ ca paramaṃ jāne tvāṃ tryambakaṃ vibhum ।
devānāṃ ca gatiṃ devaṃ tvatprasūtamidaṃ jagat ॥ 3-39-75 (17333)
ajeyastvaṃ tribhirlokaiḥ sadevāsuramānuṣaiḥ ।
śivāya viṣṇurūpāya viṣṇave śivarūpiṇe ॥ 3-39-76 (17334)
dakṣiyajñavināśāya harirūpāya te namaḥ ।
lalāṭākṣāya śarvāya mīḍhuṣe śūlapāṇaye ॥ 3-39-77 (17335)
pinākagoptre sūryāya maṅgalyāya ca vedhase ।
prasādaye tvāṃ bhagavansarvabhūtamaheśvara ॥ 3-39-78 (17336)
gaṇeśaṃ jagataḥ śambhuṃ lokakāraṇakāraṇam ।
pradhānapuruṣātītaṃ paraṃ sūkṣmataraṃ haram ॥ 3-39-79 (17337)
vyatikramaṃ me bhagavankṣantumarhasi śaṃkara ।
bhagavandarśanākāṅkṣī prāptosmīmaṃ mahāgirim ॥ 3-39-80 (17338)
dayitaṃ tava deveśa tāpasālayamuttamam ।
prasādaye tvāṃ bhagavansarvalokanamaskṛtam ॥ 3-39-81 (17339)
kṛto mayā’yamajñānādvimardo yastvayā saha ।
śaraṇaṃ pratipannāya tatkṣamasvādya śaṃkara ॥

कपर्दिन्सर्वभूतेश भगनेत्रनिपातन ।
[देवदेव महादेव नीलग्रीव जटाधर ॥ ३-३९-७४ (१७३३२)
कारणानां च परमं जाने त्वां त्र्यम्बकं विभुम् ।
देवानां च गतिं देवं त्वत्प्रसूतमिदं जगत् ॥ ३-३९-७५ (१७३३३)
अजेयस्त्वं त्रिभिर्लोकैः सदेवासुरमानुषैः ।
शिवाय विष्णुरूपाय विष्णवे शिवरूपिणे ॥ ३-३९-७६ (१७३३४)
दक्षियज्ञविनाशाय हरिरूपाय ते नमः ।
ललाटाक्षाय शर्वाय मीढुषे शूलपाणये ॥ ३-३९-७७ (१७३३५)
पिनाकगोप्त्रे सूर्याय मङ्गल्याय च वेधसे ।
प्रसादये त्वां भगवन्सर्वभूतमहेश्वर ॥ ३-३९-७८ (१७३३६)
गणेशं जगतः शम्भुं लोककारणकारणम् ।
प्रधानपुरुषातीतं परं सूक्ष्मतरं हरम् ॥ ३-३९-७९ (१७३३७)
व्यतिक्रमं मे भगवन्क्षन्तुमर्हसि शंकर ।
भगवन्दर्शनाकाङ्क्षी प्राप्तोस्मीमं महागिरिम् ॥ ३-३९-८० (१७३३८)
दयितं तव देवेश तापसालयमुत्तमम् ।
प्रसादये त्वां भगवन्सर्वलोकनमस्कृतम् ॥ ३-३९-८१ (१७३३९)
कृतो मयाऽयमज्ञानाद्विमर्दो यस्त्वया सह ।
शरणं प्रतिपन्नाय तत्क्षमस्वाद्य शंकर ॥

[O Kapardin, O chief of all gods, O destroyer of the eyes of Bhaga, O god of gods, O Mahadeva, O thou of blue throat, O thou of matted locks, I know thee as the Cause of all causes. O thou of three eyes, O lord of all! Thou art the refuge of all the gods! This universe hath sprung from thee. Thou art incapable of being vanquished by the three worlds of the celestials, the Asuras, and men. Thou art Siva in the form of Vishnu, and Vishnu in the form of Siva. Thou destroyedest of old the great sacrifice of Daksha. O Hari, O Rudra, I bow to thee. Thou hast an eye on thy forehead. O Sarva, O thou that rainest objects of desire, O bearer of the trident, O wielder of the Pinaka, O Surya, O thou of pure body, O Creator of all, I bow to thee. O lord of all created things, I worship thee to obtain thy grace. Thou art the lord of the Ganas, the source of universal blessing, the Cause of the causes of the universe. Thou art beyond the foremost of male beings, thou art the highest, thou art the subtlest, O Hara! O illustrious Sankara, it behoveth thee to pardon my fault. It was even to obtain a sight of thyself that I came to this great mountain, which is dear to thee and which is the excellent abode of ascetics. Thou art worshipped of all worlds. O lord, I worship thee to obtain thy grace. Let not this rashness of mine be regarded as a fault–this combat in which I was engaged with thee from ignorance. O Sankara, I seek thy protection. Pardon me all I have done.]

Shiva and Cannabis/Bhang

 

(In case the comment gets deleted,I’m archiving it here):

 

On the onset, let’s clarify something. While the scriptural texts mention cannabis, it’s unclear if the plant was known for its psychotropic effects, or for its utility for hemp fibres. The handful of times the plant is mentioned, from the context within the texts it’s unknown how the ancients saw and used the plant.

That said, the texts are fairly clear that any mind altering substance is frowned upon. This includes the traditionally available cannabis, opium, betel nut, or alcohol. Mainstream Hinduism encourages engagement with civil society and the inculcation of dharma as guiding principles. Intoxication of any kind is seen as “checking out” of your societal responsibility and is seen as a slippery slope.

There have been groups who see the mind altering features of drugs as a tool to a greater purpose. The caveat is that these practices are only among certain dashnami sanyaasis, people who have left civil society behind and their only responsibility is to their own personal growth. They see the consciousness altering drugs as a means to disrupt the hold of maya on their perception. The goal is not to sit around and get high all day. It’s a means to an end.

Unlike the popular opinion online, ganja and other intoxicants aren’t used by mainstream Shaivite sects. In my reading of shaivite agamas, I’ve never seen a use of intoxicants of any kind. Some temples offer alcohol to Bhairava, but this isn’t universal, or indeed meant for widespread consumption. In my reading its use is similar to the Vaishnavite offering of the alcoholic Varuni mead to Balarama. It’s offered, but not really consumed by devotees. Dhatura is offered to the Linga, but not consumed. If anything, it is treated as nirmalyam, not prasadam.

In another thread to your question somebody posted a link to a Quora answer about the sacred nature of the cannabis plant. That answer gets a lot of things wrong, and confuses a lot of things, so I’ll take the opportunity to clarify this point here.

In the shaunakiya recension of the atharva veda, the text referring to (“asvattha, darbha”, etc) isn’t in the verse mentioned, XI.8.15. It doesn’t mention any plants by name. It talks about the constitution and body parts of a man. The source probably means VIII.7.20, which does mention some plants by name: the asvattha, darbha, soma, rice, and barley as remedial. No cannabis. The verse they’re referring to is not XI.8.15, but XI.6.15. Book 6 is invoking the various spirits for relief. Each verse invokes and seeks blessings from each class of spirits and deities, such as the Gandharvas, the winds, etc. In verse 15, the various kinds of plants are invoked, and their lord, Soma. The five plants mentioned represent the five kingdoms/classes of plants and not particular plants. The five classes of plants invoked are darbha, cannabis, barley, and an unknown saha (commentators usually refer to it as a type of herb). Is there anything unusual or holy about these specific plants in this context? Not really, when you consider the preceding verses are invoking all manner of things; trees, birds, and the verse immediately after invokes the blessings of niggards and demons. The hymn is invoking the blessings of all plants, animals, minerals, demons, snakes, and gods. These plants are not mentioned to be especially pure or divine. By contrast, the list of plants mentioned in book 8 (ie, not cannabis) are singled out as restorative and helpful. It’s also worth noting here that from the context that cannabis is mentioned, its unclear if the ancients valued it as a psychotropic, or as the source of hemp fibres.

As for bhang and Shiva, I can find no scriptural basis for the popular story that Shiva creates the cannabis plant, only a bunch of hearsay and “folk” stories. As for consuming cannabis and listening to mantras, the Shiva mahapurana specifically prohibits anybody consuming intoxicating drinks (along with onions, garlic, and asafoetida, among others) from hearing the text. I can find no mention of cannabis or its various forms in the Shiva mahapurana. The closest explanation I can think of is the hataki river, produced from the bodies of Shiva and Parvati. The heat dries this to produce a kind of gold called hataka, which the inhabitants make into gold ornaments. There is also mention of an intoxicating drink (presumably from cannabis) called hataka, used to seduce and delude men. There is no mention of hataka the drink as anything to do with shiva. I suspect the two different uses of the word hataka got confused over time, to the point that Shiva’s body produces cannabis, instead of gold.

However,by the time of early modern India(Aurangzeb etc era),cannabis had been associated with shiva by various ascetic orders. An example can be found in the Suraj Prakash Granth.

What caused this change(almost complete abscence in earlier sources) to revered as a meditational aid used by Shiva Himself?