sacred. Important pilgrimage places
along this tributary include Gangotri
near its headwaters, Uttarkashi, and
Devaprayag.
Bhairava
(“terrible”) A wrathful and powerful
divine attendant of the god Shivawho is
often identified as a form of Shiva him-
self. According to the Shiva Purana, a
sectarian scripture, Bhairava is produced
when the god Brahmainsults Shiva, and
Shiva’s rage takes concrete form as
Bhairava. After his birth, Bhairava’s first
act is to cut off one of Brahma’s heads—
the one whose mouth has uttered the
insult—thus leaving the god with four
remaining heads. Since Brahma is con-
sidered a brahminpriest, this act makes
Bhairava guilty of brahmin murder, the
most serious of the four great crimes
(mahapataka). As a sign of the enormity
of his act, Brahma’s severed head sticks
to Bhairava’s hand; as penance
(prayashchitta) Bhairava has to wander
the countryside as a beggar, displaying
Brahma’s severed head as a continual
advertisement of his crime. In his travels
Bhairava visits many pilgrimage places
(tirtha), but none of them have the
power to cleanse him from the sin of
brahmin murder. He finally obtains a
pardon in the city of Benares, at a site
named Kapalamochana(“releasing the
skull”). As soon as Bhairava bathes there,
Brahma’s head falls from his hand into
the Ganges—a sign that his crime had
been expiated.
Although often seen as Shiva’s atten-
dant, Bhairava is important in several
different contexts. He is often portrayed
as the consort of powerful, independent
goddesses such as Durga and Kali,
although he is subordinate to them,
befitting their status as supreme deities.
Bhairava’s associations with wrath and
power have made him popular with
practitioners of the secret ritual tradition
known as tantra, who may invoke him
for magic powers or other favors.
Bhairava is also popular with the Naga
class of the Dashanami Sanyasis, ascetic
devotees (bhakta) of Shiva who formerly
made their living as traders and merce-
nary soldiers; this group sees him as a
divine image of themselves. Some of the
ambivalence associated with Bhairava is
symbolized by his animalvehicle, the
dog, which in Hindu culture is almost
invariably a scavenger and considered
highly impure.Bhairava Akhara
Another name for the Juna akhara, a
particular subgroup of the Naga class
of the Dashanami Sanyasis, who are
devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva. See
Juna akhara.Bhairava Jayanti
Annual festival on the eighth day of
the dark, or waning, half of the
lunar month of Margashirsha
(November–December), which is cele-
brated as the birthday of Bhairava.
Bhairava is a wrathful and powerful form
of the god Shivaand is actually the god’s
anger personified. He emerges from
Shiva’s forehead after Shiva has been
insulted by the god Brahma, and
Bhairava’s first act is to cut off the head of
Brahma that has uttered the insult, leav-
ing the god with four heads. Bhairava’s
wrath gives him an aura of danger but
also the power to help his devotees
(bhakta), who worshiphim to attain
success, remove obstacles, and recover
from disease. On this festival people
worship Bhairava, Shiva, and Shiva’s
wife, Parvati, as well as Bhairava’s ani-
malvehicle, the dog. People are encour-
aged to worship through the night and to
pass this time by telling mythic stories of
Bhairava, Shiva, and Parvati.Bhairavaprakasha
(“brilliance of Bhairava”) Name given to
the spear that is the symbolic weapon of
the Mahanirvani akhara, a particular
group of the Naga class of the
Dashanami Sanyasis. The Dashanami
Nagas are devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shivaand are organized into differentBhairava