[Advaita-l] Shiva is upāsya for Vaidikas - Veda Vyasa

[V Subrahmanian]

In the Harivamśa, there is a stuti of Śiva addressed to Viṣṇu. At the end
of that stuti, Śiva says to the 'vipra-s' (Brāhmaṇa-s):

ध्यात्वा मां सर्वयत्नेन ततो जानीत केशवम् ।

उपास्योऽहं सदा विप्रा उपास्येऽस्मिन् हरौ स्मृतः ॥ 3.89.14 ॥

[O Brāhmaṇa-s, having meditated upon me by all efforts, then realize
Keśava. In this meditation on Hari, it is always held that I am the one to
be meditated upon.]

The setting is that Śiva, along with a number of followers which includes a
large variety of categories of gaṇas, gandharvas, muni-s, the last of whom
are engaged in the reading out of the Vedavākyas, with the ancillary limbs
(vedānga-s), equipped with kamanḍalu, darbha-mat in their hand, etc.
marched to the location where Krishna is in meditation, tapas, in Kailāsa.

तथान्ये मुनिवीराश्च ध्यायन्तः परमेश्वरम् ।। 3.86.10 ॥

पठन्तो वेदवाक्यानि साङ्गानि विविधानि च ।

कुण्डिकास्थकराः केचित् केचित् कुशविचारिणः ॥ 3.86.11 ॥

कौपीनवसनाः केचित् .....

It is clear from the above that these were vaidika-s.



From the above it becomes clear that:

1. For the 'shāstram' that is the vākyam of Veda Vyasa, the upāsya, the one
fit to be meditated upon, is Śiva.

2. Even though the upāsya is Hari, in that upāsana, it is Śiva that is
meditated upon.

3. That shows that the 'heart' of Hari is Śiva.

4. This is yet another implication of the 'शिवस्य हृदयं विष्णुः, विष्णोश्च
हृदयं शिवः’ which is chanted by a large section of smarta-s in their daily
thrice sandhyā vandanam.

5. Apart from establishing Hari-Hara abheda, the above verse also confirms
that there is no bar of whatever manner on the upāsanā of Śiva for
vaidikas, just as there is no injunction on vaidikas that Hari alone is to
be held as the supreme.  For it is Veda Vyasa who has said the following:

Shankara further cites in the VSN bhāṣya a few verses from the Harivamṣa 3.88.
61, 61, 62 which are addressed by Maheśwara during the Kailāsa yātra episode
:


अहं त्वं सर्वगो देव त्वमेवाहं जनार्दन ।

आवयोरन्तरं नास्ति शब्दैरर्थैर्जगत्त्रये ॥


[I am thou and thou alone am I, O Janārdana.  There is no difference
between us, by word or by sense in all the three worlsd.] That is being
elucidated in the sequel:


नामानि तव गोविन्द यानि लोके महान्ति च ।

तान्येव मम नामानि नात्र कार्या विचारणा ॥


[O Govinda, your esteemed names alone are mine as well; no doubt need to be
had in this regard] There Veda Vyasa, through Shiva, conveys that all the
names of Viṣṇu, including the name ‘Nārāyaṇa’ are that of Śiva.  Thus the
thousand names of Viṣṇu are also those of Śiva since there is no difference
in name and sense between the pair Hari and Hara.


त्वदुपासा जगन्नाथ सैवास्तु मम गोपते ।

यश्च त्वां द्वेष्टि भो देव स मां द्वेष्टि न संशयः ॥


[The worship/meditation of You, O Gopati, let that be meditation on me too.
He who hates you O Deva, hates me too, undoubtedly.]

If Veda Vyasa were to pass an edict that it is Narayana/Vishnu alone that
is upāsya or held to be the highest by vaidikas, it would become
unavoidable that his name 'Veda' Vyasa will be questionable. He himself
will cease to be a vaidika. And the śāstram will cease to be a śāstram if
it would make such an injunction.

regards
subrahmanian.v