Shiva as alchemist

 

- Welcome, stranger!

A kind of sequel to the previous blog post. I want to see this place! 

Who is Hatakeshvara?

Hāṭakeśvara (हाटकेश्वर) is a form of Śiva, particularly associated with the subterranean realm Vitala in Purāṇic cosmology. The name is usually understood as "Lord of Hāṭaka", with hāṭaka meaning gold (especially a particular kind of sacred or subterranean gold).

He is a rather obscure but fascinating Śaiva form.

Hāṭakeśvara in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa

The key passage is 5.24.16, in the description of the seven lower worlds.

The text describes Śiva and his consort Bhavānī dwelling in Vitala. Through the power of their union, a special form of gold called Hāṭaka is produced from the subterranean waters.

The inhabitants of Vitala use this gold to make ornaments and enjoy extraordinary wealth.

So the basic symbolism is:

Śiva + Śakti → subterranean fire/energy → Hāṭaka (gold)

Hāṭakeśvara is therefore an unusual Śiva manifestation connected with chthonic power, fire, fertility, transformation and precious metals.

The name

Hāṭaka = a type of gold
Īśvara = Lord

Hence:

Hāṭakeśvara = "Lord of Hāṭaka (gold)."

The Bhāgavata passage actually makes the connection more explicit by saying that Hāṭakeśvara is the name by which Śiva is known there.

His consort

The text associates him with Bhavānī (Pārvatī).

This is significant because Vitala isn't simply a realm where an isolated Śiva is present. It is a Śiva–Śakti environment.

The resulting gold is described as having a brilliant appearance, and the beings of Vitala use it for their ornaments and possessions.

Is Hāṭakeśvara a major deity?

No. Unlike:

• Mahādeva,
• Rudra,
• Bhairava,
• Natarāja,
• Dakṣiṇāmūrti,
• Paśupati,

Hāṭakeśvara is a relatively obscure regional/cosmological epithet of Śiva.

There are, however, temples called Hāṭakeśvara in India, and the name has also been used independently of the Bhāgavata's cosmological passage.

One should therefore distinguish:

Hāṭakeśvara as the Purāṇic Śiva of Vitala

from

Hāṭakeśvara as a temple/deity name used in later regional Śaiva traditions.

Why he is interesting for your previous question

There's a striking implication here.

You were asking about the possibility of sacred darkness / sacred night, rather than darkness as something evil.

Vitala is a subterranean, "lower" realm, yet the Bhāgavata places Śiva and Śakti right there, generating a substance of extraordinary beauty and value.

That makes Hāṭakeśvara an interesting example of a broader Hindu principle:

Śiva is not confined to the luminous, heavenly regions. He is present in the subterranean, chthonic and hidden dimensions of reality as well.

And because Hāṭakeśvara appears together with Bhavānī, the symbolism is almost quintessentially Śaiva-Śākta: consciousness and power operating within the depths of manifestation, transforming the "dark" or hidden realm into something precious.

Underworld

 

- Underworld? Nah, human, we are part of your world!

Some fascinating aspects of Hindu mythology... 

What is Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, and Patala?

These are the seven lower worlds (Sapta Pātālas) of Hindu cosmology. They are described particularly clearly in the Purāṇas, especially the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Book 5, chapters 24–25), and also in texts such as the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

They are usually listed, from highest to lowest:

1. Atala
2. Vitala
3. Sutala
4. Talātala
5. Mahātala
6. Rasātala
7. Pātāla

A crucial point is that Pātāla in this context does not simply mean "hell." The seven talas are subterranean realms inhabited by nāgas, daityas, dānavas and other supernatural beings. They are often portrayed as extraordinarily beautiful and luxurious, even more so than the human world. The actual hell realms (Naraka) are a different part of Hindu cosmology.

1. Atala — अतल

Atala literally suggests something like "not bottomless" / "without foundation", although the traditional etymologies vary.

It is associated with Bala, a son of Maya. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa describes Bala as possessing magical powers and creating women who enchant beings entering his realm.

The striking feature of Atala is sexual/magical enchantment. Bala is said to produce three kinds of women who can intoxicate or bewilder those who encounter them.

So Atala represents a world of pleasure, sensuality and magical illusion.

---

2. Vitala — वितल

Vitala is associated particularly with Śiva in his Bhairava/Hāṭakeśvara aspect in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

A remarkable feature of this realm is the production of Hāṭaka, a special form of gold, through the interaction of Śiva's energy with the subterranean waters.

Thus Vitala has a strong connection with:

• Śiva,
• subterranean fire,
• alchemy/metals,
• gold,
• extraordinary material abundance.

This one is particularly interesting from a Tantric/Śaiva perspective, because the text isn't presenting the lower world simply as evil. A form of Śiva is actually present there.

---

3. Sutala — सुतल

This is probably the most famous of the seven.

Sutala is the kingdom of Mahābali, the great Daitya king encountered by Vāmana, the dwarf incarnation of Viṣṇu.

When Bali gives Vāmana the requested three paces of land, Viṣṇu expands into his cosmic form and takes the universe in two steps. Bali offers his own head for the third.

Rather than simply destroying Bali, Viṣṇu blesses him and makes Sutala his kingdom.

Even more remarkably, Viṣṇu promises to personally guard Bali's door.

Consequently Sutala is paradoxical:

A "lower" world whose ruler is one of the great devotees of Viṣṇu and whose entrance is guarded by Viṣṇu himself.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa therefore describes Sutala as extraordinarily fortunate.

---

4. Talātala — तलातल

Talātala belongs to Maya Dānava, the legendary architect of the Asuras.

Maya is a master of:

• architecture,
• magic,
• illusion,
• extraordinary technological/artistic construction.

Śiva destroyed the three cities (Tripura) of the Asuras, but subsequently granted Maya protection.

So Talātala is particularly associated with Māyā in the sense of supernatural architecture and illusion.

---

5. Mahātala — महातल

Mahātala is primarily the realm of the Nāgas.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa describes great serpent beings dwelling there, including:

• Krodhavaśa,
• Takṣaka,
• Kālīya,
• Suṣeṇa,
• other powerful serpent chiefs.

They live with their families in splendid subterranean palaces.

The inhabitants are powerful and dangerous, but the text emphasizes that they are also capable of fear—particularly fear of Garuḍa, the great enemy of serpents.

---

6. Rasātala — रसातल

Rasātala is inhabited by powerful Daityas, Dānavas and other Asuras.

The word rasa can mean essence, juice, taste, fluid, pleasure, etc., so its literal etymology is not entirely straightforward.

The inhabitants are portrayed as extremely powerful beings who have been defeated or oppressed by the gods.

Interestingly, they are not described as being in a state of constant punishment. They possess magnificent dwellings and considerable sensual enjoyment.

---

7. Pātāla — पाताल

Pātāla is the lowest of the seven.

It is the domain of the greatest Nāga kings, including:

• Vāsuki,
• Śaṅkha,
• Kulika,
• Mahāśaṅkha,
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra,
• Takṣaka,
• Karkoṭaka,

among others.

And here Hindu cosmology becomes wonderfully strange.

Pātāla is not dark and miserable. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa describes it as possessing magnificent palaces, jewels, gardens and sensual pleasures. The jewels on the heads of the Nāgas illuminate the realm.

So although Pātāla is "below" the human world, it can be more beautiful and materially pleasurable than Earth.

---

The really important distinction: Tala ≠ Naraka

This is often lost in simplified diagrams.

You can roughly think of Hindu cosmology as having:

Upper worlds
→ Bhūḥ
→ Bhuvaḥ
→ Svaḥ
→ Mahaḥ
→ Janaḥ
→ Tapaḥ
→ Satya/Brahmaloka

Middle
→ Bhū-loka, the human world

Lower worlds
→ Atala
→ Vitala
→ Sutala
→ Talātala
→ Mahātala
→ Rasātala
→ Pātāla

And separately:

Naraka = hell realms associated with karmic punishment.

So "Pātāla" does not mean "Hell" in the way Naraka does.

---

And there is a fascinating theological point

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa doesn't simply make the cosmology into:

heaven = good
earth = neutral
underground = evil
hell = punishment.

It's considerably more complicated.

Sutala, for example, is technically a lower world but is blessed by the personal presence of Viṣṇu.

Vitala contains a manifestation of Śiva.

Pātāla contains magnificent Nāga civilizations.

And the inhabitants of the lower worlds can be extraordinarily powerful spiritual beings—even if their consciousness is often dominated by pleasure, pride or material attachment.

That fits surprisingly well with the broader Tantric idea you've been exploring: "lower" does not necessarily mean metaphysically evil. A realm can be closer to matter, instinct, sensuality or chthonic power without being outside the Divine order.

In fact, Vitala and Sutala are particularly interesting from a Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava perspective, because they demonstrate that even the deepest/subterranean regions of the cosmos are not outside the sphere of Śiva or Viṣṇu.

Challenge / counter-challenge

 

Should atheists say a daily prayer? Two approaches...

They hunt us for food

 

Three scary stories about apparent alien abductions with deadly outcomes. One is from the UK, the two others from Brazil. Note the weird Spiritualist-cult connection in the second case! Let´s hope these are just tall tales...

Veckans Strasser

 

Tobias Hübinette är orolig...

Kan Markus Allards Örebropartiet bli det svenska TAN-partiet?

APWU

 

I don´t have a source for this, but Dolly Parton once said something like this (allegedly): "I don´t want to reveal how big my boobs are, but it would cost 50 dollars to send them by express mail". LOL. Again, RIP. 

Working 9 to 5

 

Credit: Artofit

Dolly Parton recently passed away. Or passed on? She was apparently an outspoken Christian, but also something of a "liberal", since she accepted the gay community and wondered if reincarnation could be true. So many fundamentalists on YouTube claim - or heavily imply - that Dolly Parton is in hell now?!

Geezus. I don´t mean the carpenter. And oh, she was pro-union, too! 

The world is larger

 

I want to have this kind of experience...

UFOs on the Moon

 

Sabine Hossenfelder debunks some new (alleged) evidence for UFOs (as in extraterrestrial craft). One piece deals with some Ukrainian scientists who claims to have discovered UFOs on the Moon (!), whereas the second video is about the ubiquitous Avi Loeb. 

Hossenfelder belives the "warp drive" some scientists speculate about are indistinguishable from mundane meteorites. But ahem, what about the strange orbs discussed by Loeb? Interestingly, the US military actually tested some kind of infrared light at the same time, but claims that it *didn´t* cause the orbs. But surely that *is* the most likely explanation? 

What is really going on here, I wonder? And who is psyopping who? 

The psyop is the psyop

 

Clearly, we deserve better psyops...