Batuk Bhairav

Batuk Bhairav

According to Shiva Purana, Batuk Bhairav is a group of gods who are worshipped before the commencement of the worship of Lord Shiva. The gods were originally the sons of a great Brahmin devotee of Shiva. The Brahmin with his sincere worship had highly satisfied Shiva and He granted godly status to the sons of the Brahmin. Shiva then granted a boon that anyone who wanted to worship Him would have to first worship the sons of the Brahmin. These sons of the Brahmin came to be known as ‘’’Batuk Bhairav’’’. Literally the first word ‘Batuk’ means ‘he who is the son of a Brahmin.

One of holiest place of Nepal, Devghat accommodates a secret temple of Batuk Bhairav. The image of the god lay in the form of Shiva Linga which is situated under a Pipal tree. This temple of the Batuk Bhairav is famous for removing the evil effects of Rahu and Saturn (most harmful grahas on a birth chart).

The ancient text Shakti Sangam Tantra in its Kali Khand chapter has mentioned the origin of Lord Batuk Bhairav. According to the text, once a demon named Aapat had gained powers through Sadhanas and he used it to harass everyone including the gods. The gods then got together and started to think of ways to find a solution to this problem. As they started concentrating, their powers appeared as a flash of light and took the form of a five year old child, Batuk. The child, then, killed the demon and saved the gods which is why he is known as Aapat Uddharak Batuk Bhairav.

In tantra and other Hindu puja, this is the most worshiped form of Lord Bhairav among the various forms of Bhairav. All other forms of Bhairav are terrifying apart from this as this is in the form of a child. He is also known as the child form of Lord Shiva. The image of Batuk Bhairav is displayed with a dog accompanying him, which is symbolized as dharma.

He is said to be pleased by the devotion of the worshippers and conducting puja and homam is said to take away all the obstacles and cleanse the soul. Also, the dogs, especially the black dogs are considered to be the form of Bhairav and feeding the dogs every Saturday and taking care of them is also said to please the god and bring good fortune.