Posted by: adbhutam | February 17, 2020

‘Trimurti’ in Kshemendra’s Bharatamanjari – Both Vishnu and Shiva

In the Bharatamanjari, a condensation of the Mahabharata in his own words, Kshemendra has penned verses describing various events of the MB.  Here are a few examples where the term ‘Trimurti’ is applicable to both Vishnu and Shiva in different instances:
  Bharatamanjari   
http://www.sanskrit-linguistics.org/dcs/index.php?contents=texte&PhraseID=551326
Here Trimurti is Vishnu: 

papraccha pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ duḥkhito jayakāraṇam // (317.2) Par.?tamabravīcchāntanavo rājannukto ‘si sarvadā / (318.1) Par.?devena viṣṇunā guptā na jeyāḥ pāṇḍavā iti // (318.2) Par.?purā bhūbhāraśāntyarthaṃ svayaṃbhūrmunisaṃsadi / (319.1) Par.?prādurbhūtaṃ svayaṃ viṣṇuṃ tuṣṭāva sahasāṃ nidhim // (319.2) Par.?jaya viśveśa viśvātmanviśvaksena sudhānidhe / (320.1) Par.?amandaciddhanānanda saṃvitsamarasadyute // (320.2) Par.?namastubhyaṃ jagatsargasthitisaṃhārakāriṇe / (321.1) Par.?trivikramāya mahate triguṇāya trimūrtaye // (321.2) Par.?

Here Trimurti is Shiva:  Arjuna’s stuti:


bhaktyā tuṣṭāva varadaṃ vareṇyaṃ harṣanirbharaḥ // (260.2) Par.?namo bhavāya bhuvanaprabhavāpyāyakāriṇe / (261.1) Par.?namaḥ śarvāya niḥśeṣaduṣkarmaviṣahāriṇe // (261.2) Par.?namo rudrāya daityendradrāvitendrabhayacchide / (262.1) Par.?namaḥ śivāya bhīmāya śrīkaṇṭhāya kapāline // (262.2) Par.?ugrāya śreyasāṃ dhāmne vāmārdhāyordhvaretase / (263.1) Par.?vyālākulāya sevyāya niṣkalāya kalābhṛte // (263.2) Par.?triguṇāya trinetrāya tryambakāya trimūrtaye / (264.1) Par.?saṃkalpakalpavṛkṣāya namastubhyaṃ triśūline // (264.2) Par.?
http://www.sanskrit-linguistics.org/dcs/index.php?contents=texte&PhraseID=557256

Here Shiva is Trimurti,  Upamanyu stuti:
śaśāṅkaśakalottaṃsa śiva śānta maheśvara // (1370.2) Par.?namastubhyaṃ jagatsargasthitisaṃhārakāriṇe / (1371.1) Par.?brahmopendrendravapuṣe triguṇāya trimūrtaye // (1371.2) Par.?iti stutipadairdivyairvedaproktaiśca nāmabhiḥ / (1372.1) Par.?sahasrasaṃkhyaiḥ sa munistuṣṭāva śaśiśekharam // (1372.2) Par.?evamīśvarasambaddhāḥ kṛtvāhaṃ muninā kathāḥ / (1373.1) Par.?
In the above stuti of Upamanyu, the Shiva Sahasranama of the Mahabharata is what is alluded to by Kshemendra. The names are ‘vedaprokta’ (stated in the Veda, like Sri Rudra prashna) says the text. This word   brahmopendrendra-vapuṣe  of the above text reminds us of the Atharvashikhopanishat: ब्रह्मविष्णुरुद्रेन्द्रास्ते सम्प्रसूयन्ते [Brahma, Upendra (Vishnu), Rudra and Indra are all born of the (Turiya) Shiva.]
Om Tat Sat


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