Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

For the welfare of creatures, the waters have been evolved by Siva as their ultimate resort. The waters alone
constitute Bhu, Bhuvah, Svah, anna (cooked rice) as well as nectar. The waters are the vital breaths of the worlds, the
living beings, the worlds themselves. On what avail is much talk? The world of mobile and immobile beings is
constituted by the waters.
Lord Siva is the overlord of the waters. He is glorified as such. The universe is identical with him. What is
there to wonder at in this? The designation Narayana was acquired by Visnu by the grace of the waters. Visnu is the
abode of worlds and waters constitute his abode. When the mobile and immobile beings are being burned by the fire
and tossed up as smoke by the wind, the vapours that go up urged by the wind from the clouds (Linga-Purana I, 54:34-
38, p. 212-213).
Hence the mixture of smoke, fire and wind is called cloud. The word abhra (cloud) is derived as follows:
“that which showers water”. The lord of the clouds is the thousand-eyed Indra. The clouds originated from sacrifical
smoke is conductive to the welfare of the twice-born. The cloud originating from the smoke of the forest fires, is
conductive to the welfare of the forests (Linga-Purana I, 54:39-40, p. 213).
O brahmins. The clouds originating from the smoke of the dead bodies brings about evil. The clouds
originating from the smoke of the fire during magic rites brings about the destruction of living beings (Linga-Purana I,
54:41, p. 213).
The moon increases in force in the beginning of the bright half and is stationed in the way of the sun. Day by
day it gets refilled till the end that half. The sun develops and nourishes it. It is drunk up by Devas during the dark
half. It is being drunk in the continuity for fifteen days by Devas. The sun refills it part by part by his single ray
Susumna: Thus the physical body of the moon is developed and nourished by the vigour of the sun (Linga-Purana I,
56:4-6, p. 222).
On the full moon day it appears with its full white disc. Beginning with the second and ending with the
fourteenth day in the dark half, Devas drink up the moon that was nourished and developed day by day during the
bright half. They drink the watery honey and nectar that had been accumulated in the course of half a month, thanks to
the splendour of the sun. They sit near the moon for a single night on the full moon day for drinking up the nectar
from the moon, along with the sages and Pitrs.
The digits of the moon facing the sun get diminished daily, being drunk up from the beginning to the end of
the dark half. Thirtysix thousand three hundred and thirty three Devas drink the moon. After the moon has been drunk
for half a month, day by day by them, those excellent Devas go away on the new moon day. On the new moon day the
Pitrs occupy the Moon.
When the fifteenth part remains as the last digit, the groups of Pitrs occupy this in the afternoon. For the
duration of two kalas (units of time) they drink up the remaining digit – the nectar of svadha that has oozed out of the
rays on the Amavasya day. After drinking the nectar they attain full satiety for the whole of month and then go away.
By the time the remaining digit of the moon drunk by the Pitrs gets dissolved, a fifteenth part is replenished. The
increase and the decrease of the moon in the beginning of each fortnight is on the sixteenth day. The increase in the
moon is thus due to the sun (Linga-Purana I, 56:7-18, p. 222).
It is cited that the sun is fire and the moon is water. The other five planets are known as lords who move
about as they please (Linga-Purana I, 60:1, p. 231). The disc of the moon is of nature dense water. The disc of the sun
is white and is of nature of dense fire (Linga-Purana I, 61:7, p. 234).
The Holy Rite Pasupata
We are all Pasus of that intelligent lord of Devas. Eschewing Pasutva and adopting the holy rite Pasupata, the eternal
Mahadeva in the Linga form should be worshipped…O excellent Devas, it was for the liberation from bondage that
this has been mentioned by the lord himself. By performing the Pasupata rite in this manner and by worshipping the
great lord in the Linga formerly seen by me and the noble-souled Visnu, O Devas, people cease to be Pasus within a
year (Linga-Purana I, 73:10-21, p. 365-366).
Even after striking and destroying all living beings, and after burning this entire universe if one should
worship the only God Virupaksa (i.e. Siva), one is never tarnished with sins.
After saying, “My Linga is made of rock, it is bowed to by all Devas”, Brahma worshipped Rudra, the lord of
the three worlds at the outset and eulogised the three-eyed lord of Devas with pleasing words. Ever since then, Indra
and others too worshipped the lord directly and performing the Pasupata rite and smearing their bodies with ashes
(Linga-Purana I, 73:26-29, p. 366).
The heaven is the head of Lord, the sky [the world of mortals] is his umbilicus, the moon, sun and fire are his
eyes, the quarters are his ears. The nether worlds constitute his feet, the ocean is his clothes, Devas are his arms, the
constellations are his ornaments, Prakrti is his wife, Purusa is Linga. From his face issued forth all the Brahmins,
Brahma, Indra, and Visnu. The Ksatriyas issued from his arms. The Vaisyas issued form his thighs and Sudras from
his feet. Puskara Avartaka and other clouds are his hairs. The winds are born of his nose. The Sruti and Smrti texts
constitute his gait (Linga-Purana I, 75:7-11, p. 370).
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