In the anushAsana parva, nArada tells Krishna the glory of mahAdeva as a tapasvI, which led to him describing the latter’s discourse with umA. Will interpret that section here, as it provides a good insight into the guNAs of mahAdeva as a sAdhaka-mUrti of bhagavAn.
तपश् चचार धर्मात्मा वृषभाङ्कः सुरेश्वरः पुण्ये गिरौ हिमवति सिद्धचारणसेविते [Once mahAdeva, the bull-bannered Lord of gods, of dhArmic mind, performed penances in the pure Himavat, attended by siddhas & charanas]
“वृषभाङ्कः” – the bull signifies performance of Vedic duties+
“धर्मात्मा” – whose mind is filled with “dharma” – the means by which bhagavAn is worshipped. It implies he performs these duties by dedicating fruits to Hari.
And he is performing “tapas” – bhakti yoga.
So he is “सुरेश्वरः” – Thus, he is the master of gods, and also bhaktAs+
तत्र देवो मुदा युक्तो भूतसंघ शतैर् वृतः नानारूपैर् विरूपैश् च दिव्यैर् अद्भुतदर्शनैः [There the god was yoked to blissful meditation on Brahman, surrounded by diverse, unnatural bhUtAs appearing wonderful like gods] The bhUtAs looked like gods due to bhAgavata-sambandha+
दृष्टिकान्तम् अनिर्देश्यं दिव्यम् अद्भुतदर्शनम् . स गिरिस् तपसा तस्य भूतेशस्य व्यरोचत [The place was agreeable to look at, indescribable in beauty like a celestial abode, appearing wondrous on Earth. That mountain was shining due to the meditation of the ruler of yogIs]+
“भूतेश” – One who rules bhaktAs like nArada, sanat-kumAra etc. Or, one who rules his senses called “bhUtAs” by meditation on Brahman, restraining them.
Azhwar says naraka became svarga when yama & mudgala talked about bhagavAn.
Likewise, Himavat was beautiful by Shiva's dhyAna.
तं महोत्सव संकाशं भीमरूपधरं पुनः दृष्ट्वा मुनिगणस्यासीत् परा प्रीतिर् जनार्दन [janArdana! The munis attained extreme bliss, seeing that god filled with great joy of Brahman, with a form full of marks of upAsana]+
“जनार्दन” – He who is fit to be worshipped by all. So, seeing shiva worship him gave the munIs joy.
“भीमरूपधरं” – “भीम” = “भृता माः” – That form, which bears pramANAs - of what? Of his bhakti. Ie, his form has marks that show he is an upAsaka. These marks are described next+
तत्र देवो गिरितटे दिव्यधातुविभूषिते पर्यङ्क इव विभ्राजन्न् उपविष्टो महामनाः [The broad-minded god shining with j~nAna, sat on a slope adorned with divine minerals, like a comfortable seat]
“महामनाः”- Broad-minded due to bhakti. Krishna calls his bhaktAs “उदारा:” (gIta 7.18)+
व्याघ्रचर्मपरीधानो गजचर्मोत्तरच्छदः । व्यालयज्ञोपवीतश्च लोहिताङ्गद भूषणः [He had a cloth of tiger skin around his waist, with the cloth of an elephant skin as his upper garment, with the snake as yaj~nopavIta and red bracelets on his arms]. The snake is fierce. By wearing them or their skins, mahAdeva shows that he has great strength, conducive for karma yoga or performance of strenuous duties – just like garuDa who wears snakes. Only a strong person can wear a snake as yaj~nopavita+
The lower garment is the skin of a tiger, while upper garment is the skin of an elephant or lion.
By “lower garment”, we can metaphorically say the body is the lower garment, while the mind is the upper garment for the Atma+
“व्याघ्रचर्मपरीधानो” – A tiger is fierce & represents kAma in shAstra.
By wearing it’s hide as lower garment, mahAdeva shows he has subdued kAma (tiger) & wears its’ “skin” – he outwardly performs worldly duties with his body, but is really doing them with detachment to fruits+
“गजचर्मोत्तरच्छदः” – The elephant, difficult to tame, signifies attachments. It’s skin is the upper garment, ie, the mind.
It signifies mahAdeva has quelled worldly attachment in the mind and wears it’s “skin” – an “attachment” to bhagavAn by meditation.
“लोहिताङ्गद भूषणः” – He wears 2 bracelets which are “red”. The color “Red” signifies anger in shAstra. This is anger towards samsAra, ie, constantly meditating on its’ defects. So, the bracelets signify that mahAdeva has the guNAs of shama and dama which are conducive for this.
हरिश्मश्रुर् जटी भीमो [With a tawny beard, matted locks, a form that looked terrible due to strain of penances] “Beard” denotes whole form, which is golden due to Yoga.
Also “श्मश्रुर्” can mean “mukha (sman)+sri” – That which abides in the mind. So “हरिश्मश्रुर्” means – He who has Parabrahman called “Hari” inhabiting his mind.
“भीम” –The intensity of the effort of bhakti yoga shows in his form, he appeared emaciated and strained+
भयकर्ता सुरद्विषाम् अभयः सर्वभूतानां भक्तानां वृषभध्वजः
[Who creates fear for the haters of gods, gives fearlessness (of j~nAna) to devotees, who is renowned among bhagavad bhaktAs as having the bull (dharma) as his banner]+
Since he is a bhakti yogI, he also performs pleasing acts for bhagavAn – by eliminating the daityAs, by bestowing j~nAna to devotees. Thus he is renowned as having a bull-banner given by brahmA. By this, bhaktAs know him as the son and disciple of brahmA, and a great upAsaka
दृष्ट्वा तम् ऋषयः सर्वे शिरोभिर् अवनीं गतः . विमुक्ताः सर्वपापेभ्यः क्षान्ता विगतकल्मषाः [Seeing him, all the rishis bowed to him, heads touching the ground. Those sages of even minds became freed from all sins obstructing bhakti yoga and pure in mind.]
“क्षान्ता” means the rishis had sama-darshaNa due to knowledge of the jIvAtma, seeing the self in all beings. By mahAdeva’s anugraha, their sins obstructing bhakti yoga were dispelled and their mind became pure, ie, attained clarity of knowledge to meditate on bhagavAn
तम् अभ्ययाच् छैलसुता भूतस्त्री गणसंवृता हर तुल्याम्बर धरा समानव्रतचारिणी [To him (mahAdeva), came the daughter of Himavat, surrounded by the wives of the bhUtAs, similar to Hara in terms of attire and observance of shAstric duties]+
“हर तुल्याम्बर धरा ” – It does not mean umA was wearing skins like mahAdeva, but that her attire was also, like his, modest and indicative of her vairAgya. The name “Hara” means destroyer of kAma and signifies his vairAgya --- she has equal vairAgya to his
“समानव्रतचारिणी” – mahAdeva has undertaken the vow of bhakti yoga which is an arduous path and requires strict observances. Likewise, umA, has forgone comforts of marital life, and engages in similarly strict austerities of serving her husband’s needs, with j~nAna & vairAgya+
बिभ्रती कलशं रौक्मं सर्वतीर्थजलोद्भवम् . गिरिस्रवाभिः पुण्याभिः सर्वतो ऽनुगता शुभा [She was holding a golden water pot with the waters from all the holy rivers.] mahAdeva’s penances generate heat. Bhakti yoga also requires purity. So umA performs abhisheka with water from puNya-nadIs with bhagavad sambandha, which imparts purity to mahAdeva. As said by her+
इमास् तु नद्यो देवेश सर्वतीर्थोदकैर् युताः उपस्पर्शन हेतोस् त्वा समीपस्था उपासते
[umA said: Ruler of gods! These rivers imbibing waters of puNya-tIrthAs with bhagavad-sambandha, are approaching you, worshipping you as a great devotee & enabling you to bathe in them]. This section thus beautifully describes mahAdeva’s nityAnushtAna and upAsana.
source https://twitter.com/DefiledGod/status/1531149836094828546?t=EHmDUDnGXDKAGes1TEDlSA&s=19
