For many, Pashupatinath of Kathmandu, Nepal is the place of Lord Shiva’s appearance. However, Shiva (being the greatest mystic) his place of appearance and the details of his appearance remain a matter of debate. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala the birth of Lord Shiva is celebrated on shukla chaturdashi in the month of Paush, which falls on Ardra nakshatra. Some mistakenly think that Shivaratri is the birthday of Lord Shiva. In fact it is Lord Shiva’s favorite day since it was then that he wed Goddess Parvati. Shivaratri falls on the 13th day of krishna paksha of Magh month or Shravana nakshatra. The observance of this very auspicious day shows that jyotish has been used since time immemorial for calculating favorable dates and observing special occasions. It is interesting to mention that this day is even celebrated in accordance to Greek and Thracian mythology and later was transferred into the tradition of the Roman Empire as the day of the fanciful god of nature and wine (soma-rasa) Dionysus or Bacchus. This Bacchus is often depicted consuming drinks reminding one of Lord Shiva drinking the poison produced after the churning of the milk ocean. In modern times this celebration was changed St. Valentine’s, or the day of lovers. Hence many present festivities can be traced back to Lord Shiva though Shiva himself remains an enigma.
Rudra is an expansion of Shiva. He is manifested from between the eyebrows of Lord Brahma. Immediately after his manifestation, Rudra demanded to have a name and residency and Brahma gave him eleven names and designated the following places as his dwellings:
The egocentric attitude is a manifestation of the Rudra principle in the heart, wherein anger is generated. This anger develops in the heart and is further manifested through various senses, like the eyes, hands and legs. When a man is angry he expresses such anger with red-hot eyes and sometimes makes a display of clenching his fists or kicking his legs. This exhibition of the Rudra principle is the proof of Rudra’s presence in such places. When a man is angry he breathes very rapidly, and thus Rudra is represented in the air of life, or in the activities of breathing. When the sky is overcast with dense clouds and roars in anger, and when the wind blows very fiercely, the Rudra principle is manifested, and so also when the sea water is infuriated by the wind it appears in a gloomy feature of Rudra, which is very fearful to the common man. When fire is ablaze we can also experience the presence of Rudra, and when there is an inundation over the earth we can understand that this is also the representation of Rudra. (SB 3.12.11, purport)
Despite the fact that Rudra is born–or rather manifested from the eyebrows of Brahma–the Lord of destruction is unborn; for how could one who is born (and therefore dies) survive his own destruction of the Universe? Many followers of Shiva worship him in this indestructible form by chanting the mritunjaya mantra, lit. “the chant that is victorious death.”
The indestructible Lord Shiva bestowed his blessings upon the nava-grahas of jyotish that they may preside over the fates of all who are born in this universe. Each one of the planetary deities performed his own separate penance near Lord Shiva’s tapo-bhumi. Mahadeva protected Brihaspati by cursing the Moon on amavashya tithi, the day when Lord Chandra stole Tara, the wife of the Deva-guru. To this day those born on amavashya may suffer the pangs of the dark lunar phase due to Tara’s ordeal at the hands of the Moon god. Nonetheless, Shiva is known as Chandrashekhar because he also favors the Moon god by wearing his crescent as the ornament of his head.
Not only do the devatas adore the favors they receive from Lord Shiva, the demons often approach him knowing him to be Ashutosh, easily pleased. Ravana worshiped Shiva and for that was granted shastric wisdom and knowledge of jyotish. Ravana’s astrological compilation is thought to be the legendary Ravana Samhita. However, this work is mostly lost as much as the mighty Ravana himself was destroyed by Shri Ram. Some pandits have pieced together what they consider what remains of Ravana Samhita, which today is called the Lal Qui’ tab or red book.
A few combinations in Vedic astrology reveal blessings of Lord Shiva carried here from a previous birth:
Shiva yoga is formed when the lord of the 5th house (vidya) is in the 9th house (dharma), the lord of the 9th house is in the 10th house (karma), and the lord of 10th house in the 5th house. The result is that the person will be a big trader, a conqueror and commander of armies. He will also possess divine wisdom and will lead a virtuous life.
Hara yoga is an unusual combination that is formed when there are benefics in the 4th, 8th or 9th houses respectively from the lord of the 7th (ruling partners). If the benefic is Jupiter, the result is happiness; the Moon satisfies mental desires; Venus give pleasures and Mercury appeases obsessions. Overall, Hara Yoga gives a fondness for material pleasures and conquest over enemies. In some charts this reveals one who may have supplicated Mahadeva for material benefits and should re-think his priorities (and beg for his devotional blessings) before this human form of life is wasted.
Lord Shiva’s dual blessings are described by Shrila Prabhupada in his Bhaktivedanta Purports to SB 4.30.2
“Actually, Lord Mahadeva is one of the great demigods within this material world. Generally his blessings bestowed on ordinary people mean material happiness. The predominating deity of this material world, Durga, is under the control of Lord Mahadeva, Girisha. Thus Lord Mahadeva can offer anyone any kind of material happiness. Generally people prefer to become devotees of Lord Girish to obtain material happiness, but the Prachetas met Lord Mahadeva by providential arrangement. Lord Mahadeva instructed them to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he personally offered a prayer. As stated in the previous verse (rudra-gitena), simply by chanting the prayers offered by Lord Shiva to Vishnu, the Prachetas were transferred to the spiritual world.”
Though the planetary deities, the nava-grahas each seek the blessings of Lord Shiva, as one of the controllers of this material world he quite naturally remains detached from astrology. It is said that once when Lord Siva discovered some astrologers intruding into his personal affairs, he became furious and cursed the astrologers. Since then, due to his wrath, astrologers cannot interpret horoscopes identically and neither can they ever agree with each other on astrological interpretations. It is no wonder that material learning fails to impress Mahadeva. Shiva is far more pleased by a devotee’s service at the feet of the devotee of His worshipful Lord Shri Krishna than he is impressed by mere material knowledge.
Rudra is an expansion of Shiva. He is manifested from between the eyebrows of Lord Brahma. Immediately after his manifestation, Rudra demanded to have a name and residency and Brahma gave him eleven names and designated the following places as his dwellings:
The egocentric attitude is a manifestation of the Rudra principle in the heart, wherein anger is generated. This anger develops in the heart and is further manifested through various senses, like the eyes, hands and legs. When a man is angry he expresses such anger with red-hot eyes and sometimes makes a display of clenching his fists or kicking his legs. This exhibition of the Rudra principle is the proof of Rudra’s presence in such places. When a man is angry he breathes very rapidly, and thus Rudra is represented in the air of life, or in the activities of breathing. When the sky is overcast with dense clouds and roars in anger, and when the wind blows very fiercely, the Rudra principle is manifested, and so also when the sea water is infuriated by the wind it appears in a gloomy feature of Rudra, which is very fearful to the common man. When fire is ablaze we can also experience the presence of Rudra, and when there is an inundation over the earth we can understand that this is also the representation of Rudra. (SB 3.12.11, purport)
Despite the fact that Rudra is born–or rather manifested from the eyebrows of Brahma–the Lord of destruction is unborn; for how could one who is born (and therefore dies) survive his own destruction of the Universe? Many followers of Shiva worship him in this indestructible form by chanting the mritunjaya mantra, lit. “the chant that is victorious death.”
The indestructible Lord Shiva bestowed his blessings upon the nava-grahas of jyotish that they may preside over the fates of all who are born in this universe. Each one of the planetary deities performed his own separate penance near Lord Shiva’s tapo-bhumi. Mahadeva protected Brihaspati by cursing the Moon on amavashya tithi, the day when Lord Chandra stole Tara, the wife of the Deva-guru. To this day those born on amavashya may suffer the pangs of the dark lunar phase due to Tara’s ordeal at the hands of the Moon god. Nonetheless, Shiva is known as Chandrashekhar because he also favors the Moon god by wearing his crescent as the ornament of his head.
Not only do the devatas adore the favors they receive from Lord Shiva, the demons often approach him knowing him to be Ashutosh, easily pleased. Ravana worshiped Shiva and for that was granted shastric wisdom and knowledge of jyotish. Ravana’s astrological compilation is thought to be the legendary Ravana Samhita. However, this work is mostly lost as much as the mighty Ravana himself was destroyed by Shri Ram. Some pandits have pieced together what they consider what remains of Ravana Samhita, which today is called the Lal Qui’ tab or red book.
A few combinations in Vedic astrology reveal blessings of Lord Shiva carried here from a previous birth:
Shiva yoga is formed when the lord of the 5th house (vidya) is in the 9th house (dharma), the lord of the 9th house is in the 10th house (karma), and the lord of 10th house in the 5th house. The result is that the person will be a big trader, a conqueror and commander of armies. He will also possess divine wisdom and will lead a virtuous life.
Hara yoga is an unusual combination that is formed when there are benefics in the 4th, 8th or 9th houses respectively from the lord of the 7th (ruling partners). If the benefic is Jupiter, the result is happiness; the Moon satisfies mental desires; Venus give pleasures and Mercury appeases obsessions. Overall, Hara Yoga gives a fondness for material pleasures and conquest over enemies. In some charts this reveals one who may have supplicated Mahadeva for material benefits and should re-think his priorities (and beg for his devotional blessings) before this human form of life is wasted.
Lord Shiva’s dual blessings are described by Shrila Prabhupada in his Bhaktivedanta Purports to SB 4.30.2
“Actually, Lord Mahadeva is one of the great demigods within this material world. Generally his blessings bestowed on ordinary people mean material happiness. The predominating deity of this material world, Durga, is under the control of Lord Mahadeva, Girisha. Thus Lord Mahadeva can offer anyone any kind of material happiness. Generally people prefer to become devotees of Lord Girish to obtain material happiness, but the Prachetas met Lord Mahadeva by providential arrangement. Lord Mahadeva instructed them to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he personally offered a prayer. As stated in the previous verse (rudra-gitena), simply by chanting the prayers offered by Lord Shiva to Vishnu, the Prachetas were transferred to the spiritual world.”
Though the planetary deities, the nava-grahas each seek the blessings of Lord Shiva, as one of the controllers of this material world he quite naturally remains detached from astrology. It is said that once when Lord Siva discovered some astrologers intruding into his personal affairs, he became furious and cursed the astrologers. Since then, due to his wrath, astrologers cannot interpret horoscopes identically and neither can they ever agree with each other on astrological interpretations. It is no wonder that material learning fails to impress Mahadeva. Shiva is far more pleased by a devotee’s service at the feet of the devotee of His worshipful Lord Shri Krishna than he is impressed by mere material knowledge.