Kotwal of Kashi

 

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 is supreme, who has a blue neck, who fulfils one’s desires, who has three-eyes, who is the death of death, who has lotus-like eyes, whose trident supports the world and who is immortal. 

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.

 KaalBhairav then went to the city of Kashi and was freed of his brahmahathi dosha. He guards over the city of Kashi with zeal and doesn’t allow anyone to take anything from the city.

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 intervened and requested KaalBhairav to allow Hanuman to carry the lingam to Rameshwaram to be worshipped by Lord Rama. KaalBhairav graciously agreed.

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.