Bhairava Jayanti! 22/23rd November - What To DO
A short guide to Bhairava Jayanti, connecting to the ferocious form of Shiva for your growth, removal from suffering and overcoming obstacles
Today evening starts the sacred time of Kaal Bhairav Jayanti, which occurs once in a year during Krishna Paksh Ashtami in the Margashirsh month in the Vedic calendar (according to the Kashi calendar).
Since there is so much confusion around the dates, let me clear this up first.
Though the Tithi (time period) of Ashtami starts FRIDAY 22nd EVENING (approx 10pm in the ancient Varanasi calendar), the entire day of 23rd will be counted as Kaal Bhairav Jayanti in Kashi because it is Ashtami during the SUNRISE of Saturday 23rd.
Hence some people start their sadhana on 22nd night, but Kaal Bhairav Jayanti is technically celebrated tomorrow - Saturday. Which means that you can do your spiritual practice today evening AND tomorrow as well!
Now that we’ve cleared that confusion,
Let’s come to the properties of Kaal Bhairav (more generally speaking, Bhairava the fierce form of Shiva) and why is he such an important deity.
He is very important to support you if you are seeking to
get rid of addictions and come into your own power
grow in your spiritual journey
supports your material growth in the world
spiritual protection
reach the next level of your life
control difficult planets that screw up your reality
attain moksha (just casually, but for real - lol)
So let’s talk more about the traditions and then get into the PRACTICE :)
Who is Bhairava and what are his qualities
Bhairava is categorised as an Ugra Devata (generally speaking fierce but on a metaphysical level, this means highly active) deity.
He is a protector form of Shiva and therefore helps with removal of negative energies, weakness and also controls the negative impacts of Rahu, Saturn and Mars. His vehicle is a black dog.
He is also the Kotwal of Kashi, the guardian, and he must be visited on any trip to Kashi as well as Ujjain too.
Bhairava is worshipped as a necessity for any form of Shakti worship. There are multiple forms of Bhairava and he is present in every single Shakti temple!
Bhairava Jayanti Spiritual Practice
Here is a short practice that you can do for Bhairav Jayanti, no matter what level you are at and if you have no prior experience!
The important thing here is to connect with the energies of Bhairava with a pure intention.
We will do this practice as a simple combination of healing and Vedic methods.
Write down an assessment of you life as it is right now. And then write down the top 3 patterns in your life that you want to break. Be it an addiction, procrastination, self doubt etc. Your OWN internal universe. And then meditate on the qualities that you would like to invite into your life, for example PATIENCE to counter anger, positivity to counter that morning dread etc. Write this down. Now offer this to Bhairav baba in your practice to remove these difficulties and give you the strength to become the best version of yourself.
Bring a picture of Batuk Bhairava, keep it in the East direction and make sure you are sitting facing East. Light a lamp and incense, and offer some flowers. Be sure to sit on an asana and not directly on the floor.
After this, do some gentle breathing. Observe your breathing for at least 3 minutes to tune into your energy.
First chant a Ganesh shloka or Aum Gam Ganapataye Namah. Then chant Guru shloka. You can also just do this with intuitive intention if you don’t know any shloka. Dakshinamurthy form of Shiva is the Guru form of Shiva.
Then make the Sankalp or intention that you are chanting Kaal Bhairav Ashtakam for your own spiritual upliftment. Here is a statement you can make in English “I am doing this Kaal Bhairav Ashtakam recitation of as many times as I have the strength to, to invite the grace of Bhairav baba into my life, clear away my karmic patterns and limiting beliefs, and to bring me into alignment with my highest abundance, joy and divine soul purpose.”
Read the Kaal Bhairav Ashtakam and do this 3 times out loud. If you find it difficult just do once but ideally 3 and if you can then 8 times.
After finish your recitation, you can observe your breathing once again. Imagine that a giant white light is coming from the top of your head and filling you with strength, abundance and all the goodness int he universe. We must remember that Bhairava is the whole universe and not just outside. Our own soul is the source.
Surrender all your worries and struggles into Bhairava Baba and offer your practice to him, asking for forgiveness for any mistakes made.
Before getting up, simply touch the earth and thank Mother Earth for supporting your practice.
This is a short, simple practice for beginners without too many steps. There is a lot more that you can do, and I can already shared a FULL guide to mantra chanting earlier in my Substack with all the steps there!
Apart from this, try to visit a Bhairav temple and offer him the blue flowers which he loves, and at home flowers and jaggery water! Please pray for the protection of our temples and tirth kshetras especially. I will share you updates from here in Kashi and deep gratitude to all those who contributed for Batuk Bhairava puja for this purpose.
May the Kotwal of Kashi clear away your struggles and lead you to your highest soul expression.
Aum Bhairavaya Namah
