Kotwal of Kashi
If you have visited Kashi, you couldn’t have missed visiting
the KaalBhairav temple. If you haven’t visited Kashi, you cannot without the
blessings of KaalBhairav. Famously called the Kotwal of Kashi, KaalBhairav has
been praised by AdiShankara in his Kaalbhariava ashtakam as the giver of all
boons and the death of death.
भानुकोटिभास्वरं भवाब्धितारकं परं
नीलकण्ठमीप्सितार्थदायकं त्रिलोचनम् ।
कालकालमंबुजाक्षमक्षशूलमक्षरं
काशिकापुराधिनाथकालभैरवं भजे ॥२॥
I sing praise of Kalabhairava,
the lord of Kashi, who is resplendent like millions of Suns, who absolves the
ocean of cycle of rebirth, who
Why is KaalBhairav called the
Kotwal of Kashi? It is believed that KaalBhairav is a protector of the city of
Kashi and no pilgrimage to Kashi is complete without the blessings of the
Kotwal.
Who is KaalBhairav? What is his
significance and what is his connection with Kashi?
Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu were
having an argument. What was the argument about? According to the Shivappuran,
Lord Brahma said, “I have five heads. So does Shiva. I can do everything that
Shiva does.” (If there is one thing our Puranas teach us that every entity in
the Brahmand has a role and a place and any one forgetting that faces their
consequences.)
At some point the argument got a
bit heated. Lord Shiva got angry and from his toe nail emerged the ferocious
looking manifestation of Shiva called the KaalBhairav. Kaala bhairav by
definition means one who is above and beyond time and place.
The angry KaalBhairav then clipped Lord Brahma’s head with
his nail. The scalp of Lord Brahma got stuck to his nail and he could not
remove it. Lord Shiva. It must be quite inconvenient to walk around with a head
stuck to your hand even if you are KaalBhairav.
Once, Lord Rama was desirous of
doing a Shiva puja. He sent Lord Hanuman, his trusted aide to Kashi to get a Swayambhu
(one that manifests by itself) Shiva ling. We did see a part of this story a
couple of weeks ago.
(https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/07/jyotirlinga-ramanathaswamy.html)
Yes, Hanuman flew to Kashi to
fulfil the wishes of his Lord. He could not identify a Swayambhu Linga at
first. Two species – a Garuda and a lizard – helped Lord Hanuman in this task.
Once he identified the Shivling, Lord Hanuman had another obstacle.
When he tried to take the Lingam
from Kashi, he was stopped by KaalBhairav. KaalBhairav said that nothing can go
out of Kashi without his consent. Hanuman argued that since the Shiva ling was
requested by Lord Rama, no permission was required. An argument and a fight
ensued. Once things ran their course, a few Gods
This minor altercation between
Lord Hanuman and Bhagwan KaalBhairav was perhaps why Lord Hanuman couldn’t
reach on time and Lord Rama decided to make a Shiva ling with his own hands at
Rameshwaram? What a blessing for us, the humans, thanks to this small but
interesting incident!! We got two Shiva lings instead of one, one made by Lord
Rama himself and one brought by Lord Hanuman with the blessings of KaalBhairav.
There is a divine play in every
puranic incident that looks perhaps like two of our divine figures are
fighting. Next time you are trying to understand why there are these kinds of
incidents depicted in our Puranic stories, please look beyond and see the
blessings at the end of the incident.
There is a local belief in Kashi
that no Garuda can fly over Kashi and no lizard can make any sound within
Kashi. This was the curse of KaalBhairav. Strange?? Do check it out on your
next trip to this ancient and timeless city.
