History of Lakulisa-Pasupata order

A lot of debate has ensued regarding the date of Lakulisa. The dating varies from 11^th CE. To 2^nd BCE. On the basis of two inscriptions mentioning “Lakutesvara Pandita’ Fleet^[1] dated Lakulisa to 11^th C.AD.This dating was refuted by scholars like T.Gopinath Rao^[2] on the basis of the mention of Lakulisvara in pre 11^th C. literature.The date was further pushed back to late 1st C.AD.with the finding and later publishing of the Mathura Pillar Inscription of Chandragupta II dated to 380AD, by D.R. Bhandarkar.^[3] The inscription records the erection of two images Kapilesvara and Upamitesvara in a Guruvayatana by one Uditacharya, a Pasupata teacher.Moreover Acarya Udita is described as tenth in apostolic succession from Kusika, the immediate disciple of Lakulisa. Even this early date has been contested by some scholars who suggest an earlier date.

U.P shah^[4] feels that Lakulisa can be dated to 1^st C.BC..According to him the cult must have been popular in western India in early Christian era and Ksatrapas in that region who called themselves Rudradaman and Rudrasimha possibly had come under the influence of the said cult. R.G Bhandarkar^[5] suggests 2^nd C BC. as the probable date on the basis of the fact that Lakulisa’s rise had been represented by Puranas to be contemporaneous with Vasudev-Krsna. Further he suggests that the Lakulisa-Pasupata system was intended to take the same place in the Rudra-Siva cult that the Panchratra did in the Vasudeva-Krsna cult.Agreeing to this early date Banerjee^[6] argues that the term “kusika-dasamena” in the Mathura Pillar inscription should be taken in the sense of a spiritual descent and not in that of generation,hence allotting twenty-five years to each spiritual generation is nothing but a conjecture and cannot lead to any definite conclusion. The contention is substantiated by some early coins found at Ujjain (kada coins 3^rd-2^nd C. BC.), Vidisha,Pawaya and Kutwar depicting Siva holding a danda (staff) (lakula) and a Kamandalu(water pitcher) which is the earliest form of iconography for Lakulisa.

A short history of Pasupata school and locating Lakulisa:

Pathak^[7] believes that the tradition of Srikantha as a teacher of the Saiva religion occurring in the works of various schools of Saivism from different parts of the country, the mention of his name in the list of teachers, his description “as unique teacher on earth” and lastly quotations from works attributed to him are very strong indications in favor of his historicity.

From the list of the periodic doctrine of Pasupata Saivism as given in linga purana 1.24^[8] we can glean that Lakuli was the 28^th incarnatin of Siva, incarnated in 28^th cycle Dvapara/Kali Yuga in the Varaha Kalpa. That doesn”t talk much about the historicity of the figure but the fact that the list includes incarnations like Sveta (twice), Atri, Somasarman who have been known as the important sages responsible for creation of various texts or starting a spiritual lineage, points towards the fact that Lakulisa could have been a human teacher, a great sage later deified by his followers.

Historicity of Lakulisa:

To establish the historicity of Lakulisa we get support from various evidences, three main being:

Textual Evidences
Inscriptional Evidences
Archeological Evidences

Important textual sources:

Vayu Purana^[9] contains the earliest textual reference to the Lakulisa-Pasupatas and chapter XXIII verses 217-225 talks about Lakulisa in Kayavarohan. The scene of this Purana considered to be one of the earliest of the extant Puranas is laid in the Naimisaranya forest where sages and learned Brahmanas were assembled for participating in a sacrifice (yajna) of king Adhisimakrsna.

According to the catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts in the library of India Office (Pt. V.ed by Julius Eggling,1896) there are a good number of mahatmyas which profess to the part of the Vayu Purana and among these we have The first chapter of Mahatmaya of Karvan or Kayavarohana which is of special interest to this study.The other three chapters of the Mahatmaya are included in Siva Purana hence the Mahatmaya seems like a later interpolation and hence it becomes mandatory for us to figure out the upper limit for the date for the Vayu Purana which is only possible by studying the text critically.

Vayu Purana ch 27 talks about eight forms of Siva as (Neellohita, Rudra, Bhava, Sarva, Pasupati,Isana,Bhim,and Mahadeba)..while ch 41 talks in detail about Mt. Kailash, Ch 54 gives an account of Lingodbhava, an extremely important concept in Lakulisa Pasupata system.

Now among the six schools of Hindu philosophy only three viz. The Vedanta, The Samkhya and The Yoga school are mentioned in this Purana and interesting as Dikshitar^[10] observes:

“while the Vedanta principles underlie the philosophic concept of the whole Purana the Yoga seems to preponderate at first sight.The Purana came to narrate this ancient tradition and it is probable that after the introduction of the Yoga school as such it’s philosophical tenets were ushered in as supplementing in a manner the older tradition”

So one can assume the inclusion of the chapter on Karvanmahatmaya must have occurred somewhere during the period when the importance of ancient knowledge of Yoga was realized and moreover given an important place in the philosophical system of the important texts. The fact that the eight limbs of Yoga (ashtanga yoga) viz. Asanam (Sitting Postures), Pravarodha (Supression of the breath), Pratyahara (Abstaining from sense objects), Dharani (Mental Concentration), Dhyanam (Religious meditation), Samadhi (Ecstatic contemplation on the supreme soul), Yama (Paramount duties) and Niyama (Minor duties) received a detailed mention in one of the important chapters of the text points to the raising popularity and acceptance of this ancient esoteric spiritual practice.

The same eight limbs are mentioned in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali too (yama-niyamasana pranayama pratyahara dharanadhyana samadhyostavangani) ^[11] . Interestingly in the slightly earlier Maitri Upanisad only 6 limbs of yoga are refered to and no mention of yama and miyama can be seen

From this one can see the gradual development of the Yoga system and it is only later that the Advaita school claimed a large number of adherents to its fold by incorporating into it the salient features of both the Yoga and the Samkhya so that the general principles of different schools became common and readily acceptable.

This metamorphosis took place it seems around the period of Upanishads which are nothing but Vedantic treatises effecting a reconciliation with other schools of thought and philosophy

Vayu Purana intrerestingly preaches the “path of yoga” to realize the oneness of Isvara, Mahesvara, Narayana,AdiBrahma and so on. It moreover alerts the reader that the Siddhas or yogins wander in different disguises in the world and the man of wisdom must takecare to offer puja to them whenever they come to them. Virtually three chapters are devoted to the elucidiation of pasupata yoga.

Another injunction of the Purana is that these siddhas and yatis (ascetics) must be fed on the Sraddha occasion. A Sraddha performed with one yogin is said to be superior to a Sraddha with a 1000 brahmins or brahmcarins.No clear mention of Tantricism which entered the mainstream texts after 5^th CE has been seen in the text hence pointing at the antiquitey of the text. While talking of other systems there is no mention of Buddha or Mahavira which prompts Dikshitar to date the lower limit of the text to pre 5^th BCE.

Vayu Purana is earlier to the time when Poet Bana flourished, as the latter refers to it twice in his works. In Harshacharita he mentions Pavamana Prokta meaning uttered by pavamana.In other renditions of the same text the term used in Pavana Prokta and in commentaries Vayu Prokta is used hence equating all the three terms: Pavamana, Pavana and Vayu. In other work Kadambari, Bana uses the term Vayu Prokta. So we can say Vayu Pu existed before Bana ie before first half of 7^th CE. And the fact that it was quoted shows it was well known and established by that time so it can go two centuries back.

Enlightning evidence in produced by the text itself while giving an account of the royal dynasties which enjoyed the sovereignity of the earth. Bhandarkar^[12] opines:

“In this verse the Guptas are spoken of as the princes who according to the usual prophetic tone of the Puranas, will hold Prayaga,Saketa and Magadha country along Ganges before they become paramount sovereigns.”

Moreover we can deduce from both Allahabad and Eran inscriptions that the dominions of Samudragupta had spread as far as the Western Indian and South Indian kingdoms (refer the inscription). hence it can be deduced that the description of Gupta achievements desctibed in Vayu Pu. refers to the time shortly before the reign of Samudragupta.Hence early 4^th CE tends to remain the earliest upper limit for dating Vayu Purana.

Regarding the Lakulisa-Pasupata system the Purana says that in the 25^th mahayuga when Visnu incarnates himself as Vasudeva on the earth, Siva takes the incarnation of Lakuli by Yogamaya and enters a certain dead body in the burial ground of Kayavarohana, a siddha ksetra. The mention of the area as Siddha ksetra points to the yogic activity already being taking place before the coming of Lakulisa. The interesting query here would be what set Lakulisa apart from the other siddhas whose name got lost in oblivion while the former became an important aspect of early Saivism. Further the text informs us about the 4 pupils of Lakulisa viz. Kausika,Gargya, Mitraka and Rusta who will be initiated into what is known as Mahesvara Yoga and who will ultimately find solace in Rudralokam. Similar legend can be seen mentioned in Karvanmahatmya too.

The story as given in Karvanmahatmya:

The text describes the 28^th incarnation of Siva at Kayavarohana in Bhruguketra which is identified with present day Karvan, a town in the Dabhoi Taluka,near Baroda in Gujarat. The work starts with an obeisance to Maheshwar who incarnated in this world as Lakutapanisa. Further it relates the story of the birth of God Siva, as the son of a Brahmin in the village of Ulkapuri and his manifestation at Karvan as Lakulisa and explains the methods and merits of an important ritual “pattabandha” (worshipping and tying a silk cloth to the image of the Lakulisa.)

My translation and notes from the original text^[13]

The text starts with an obeisance to Sri Ganesa and Sri Lakutpani. It moves on to invoke Mahadeva, Mahakala and Mahabahirava form of Siva which talks of its tantric aspect.

The text starts with Devi (Parvati)asking Ishvara the merits of the ritual of Pattabandha in reply to which Ishwar narrates the story of birth of Lakulisa. Between Kali and Dwapar yuga I incarnated in a form even hearing about which can liberate one In the lineage of a devrishi Atri who has done mahatapas there emerged a meritorious brahmin Visvarupa and his equally pious and beautiful wife Sudarshana in the village of Ulkapuri.

On 14^th of the bright moon of Chaitra month she gave birth to a healthy son with yellow eyes, hair and golden colored body.

After performing the rites for the new born child the Brahmin had a desire to go for a pilgrimage to Kurushetra to worship his ancestors and after explaining the rites of agnihotra and other rituals to his wife he left for his pilgrimage

(here ends the ch 1 as given in Vayu Purana)

(Ch 2, Siva Purana)

After her husband left the lady preapared the material for all the rituals and rites meticulously. One day as she went to fetch a bhramin to perform the rites and came back to see the fire already kindled and rites of agnihotra performed. She was taken by surprise and decided to find out the secret and night after night saw her six month old child performing the rituals and offering homa to his ancestors,gods, rishis and siddhas.After her husband returned from his pilgrimage she narrated the miraculous incident to him. And both saw their son performing the rites.

(Ch 3,Siva Purana)

Out of love and compassion the parents inquired of their son whether he doesn’t feel tired by performing such tiresome rites. Hearing this the child fell in a swoon and died. Seeing her seven month old son dead sad Sudarshana immersed the body in a pool near Devakhata.Once in water the child was carried by a tortoise to Jalesvara, the mahalinga situated in the middle of the water.Listen O Devi to the secret of moksha..Brahmanas were surprised to see the child playing in the water and enquired about his real identity and started praising and paying obeisance to him by invoking him in the form of Mahadeva, Mahesvara, Maharudra, Mahasiddha and finally as Lakutesvaram who can relieve us of all our sins and lead towards moksha.

(Ch 4,Siva Purana)

The child then manifested his divine form with 3 eyes, matted hair and yagnopavit, girdle and ashes.The child then becoming invisible ran away to the bank of Aurva river. The parents and the Brahmanas entreatd him to return. The child refused and narrated the merits of Ulka tirth.Then he came to Kayavarohana and asked his parents to stay there.With a streak of the staff the child got River Ganga there. This place was called Dirghika. Near the place lay the temple of Vrddhesvara whom the child requested for temporary residence.The god replied that the temple was much congested and asked him to go to Brahmesvara. Once there the child merged himself into the god. Hence with a staff in the left hand and a citron in the right Lakulisa merged himself in the linga of Brahmesvara.

Significantly the story finds mention in the late 17^th CEtext Vishwamitri Mahatmaya^[14] too. The colophons of the VM clearly states that it is a part of the Skanda purana. It has a section called Nakulesvara-mahatmya but the twist that the story takes is quite interesting. Here in Naklesa is considered as a form of Vishnu and not Siva..The text is in the usual form of dialogue, between the sage Vishwamitra and the king Trisanku. On being asked by the king the importance of Kayavarohan (present day Karvan) as the sin destroying holy place and existence of crores of lingas (sahastra linga), sage answered him thus:

In a prominent place Urdhvakhela (probably modern day Avakhal) a pious and penance practicing yogi Yajnavalkya meditated on Siva and being propitiated Siva told him to ask for a boon.The yogi asked to be able to establish a great place for Brahmanas.

After the boon was granted Yajnavalkya became a Brahman named Devasarman and along with his pious wife he maintained all the Vedic rites including the sacred fire in which oblations were offered daily. Somewhere the story talks about a yogi,most probably a non Brahmin getting accepted in the vedic system and getting all the rights to perform various vedic sacrifices.Siva’s grace was needed by this yogi to be able to become a Brahman.Though it is a late text while narrating this story it alludes to the time of great reconciliation and amalgamation.

As the pious couple grew old Lord Visnu was born as their son.and he was named as ‘Nakula’ by his father. Interestingly the text talks about Nakula as the incarnation of Visnu rather than Siva but the most interesting part of the text is when it reconciles the concept of both these god heads under one imagery.

Devasarman had to go to some other place for few days and he explained to his wife the importance of all he rites and asked her to arrange for oblations and to call a Brahmin everyday to perform the rites.

On arriving back with a Brahman she found to her wonder that offering was duly made to the five sacred fires as per scriptural injunctions.The other night as she was keeping vigil she saw ehe child lying in the cradle took ahte form a boy consecrated with sacred thread with the sacred staff in his hands, wearing a girdle of the munja grass and an antelope hide took kusa grass in his hand and offered oblations to the sacred fir and instantly after the deed was completed lied down again in his cradle.

In this way the child performed the ceremony daily and his mother observed him taking the from of a celebat. When her husband came back she confided the same to him and both spied on the child.Thinking the child might feel tired the parents held his hand at which the child freed himself and ran away. His abashed parents followed him but the child disappeared in he Vacchadeva-muni-ksetra and reappeared in the Kasyapa-muniksetra. With his trident he created an oblong lake with 3 kundas sacred to god Brahma, Visnu and Hara. His parents took ablutions in the lake and became Siddhas and by grace of their son appeared as two lingas and to this day it is believed those who worship them in this form attentively,instantly gets freed from the debt that he owes to his parents and goes to the abode of lord Siva..

Now comes the interesting part which quite poetically explains the existence of Lakulisa images embedded in lingas found in Karvan.Thereafter Nakula entered the first linga and became Nakulesa, having matted hair seated in padmasana posture and having two hands.The text tells us that this image should be recognized as the union of Hari and Hara along which crores of other self born lingas thrive.

As lord Visnu (Hari) in form of Nakula descended along his body (kayavarohanam cakre) into the linga, that sacred place became famous among the people as Kayavarohana. Thereon Lord Nakulesa remembered lord Vishvanatha of Kasi along with his retinue and so all the emblems of Kasi appeared in Kayavarohana. Similarly lord Kedareshvar along with mother goddess Gauri came to reside here and brought a croros of lings called Kotilingas and similarly lot of holy places especially of Saivism were remembered and summoned by Nakulesa to have a parallel in Kayavarohana. Hence the place has become very important and pious.The text suggests that the religious merit of worshipping lord Nakula here equals that of a hundred Aswamedha sacrifices, a 1000 Rajasuya sacrifices.and a 100,000 Vajapeya sacrifices.

Other Puranic texts having a clear Saivite leaning too talk about Lakulisa. Linga Purana^[15] talks about Lakulisa in Kayaavtar. The substances of the verses is briefly as follows:

In the 28^th yuga when Visnu son of Parasara will incarnate himself as DvaipayanaVyasa, Krsna will become incarnate as Vasudeva. At that time I (Siva) shall as brahmchari (celibate) entere a dead body thrown in a cemetery without anybody to guard it, by means of yogic power and shall bear the name of Lakuli. At that time Kayaavatara will become famous as a sacred place and remain so till the earth endures. And there will be born the ascetic pupils Kusika,Garga Mitra and Kaurushya and these Pasupatas will repair to the Rudra loka from where they will not return

Kurma Purana^[16] gives the list of 28 incarnations of Siva known as Yogacharyas starting from Svetacharya and ending with Nakulisa. Each of them had four pupils. Thus the total number of Yogacharyas came to be 112. The last incarnation has been named as Nakulesvara and his pupils are mentioned as: Kunika, Garga, Mitra and Ruru (Rushya).Unlike Bhandarkar I don”t think there is a need to jump to the conclusion that the reading of “Ruru’ or ‘Rushya’ is corrupt. These texts are known to have devoted various names to one god or personality. eg, would be the use of Lakuli,Lakulisa, Nakulisa,Naklesvar all these names for Lakulisa and Karuka Sidhantin or Kalavaktra for Kalamukha..Moreover we know Ruru as a Bhairava and there is also a Tantra by that name.As such Kurma Pu. is a later text and does not help much than to suggest the tradition was well preserved by medieval times.

Mathura Pillar Inscription and debate about the date of Lakulisa: R.G. Bhandarkar^[17] places the rise of the Pasupata school mentioned in the Narayaniya section of the Mahabharata about a century after that of Panchratra system ie about 2^nd BCE.The reason for such dating seems to be the fact that he wanted to establish Lakulisa as the first teacher of Pasupatism which was followed by the Siva-Bhagavatas as refered to in the Mahabhasya. But D.R Bhandarkar suggested on the basis of he Mathura Pillar Inscription^[18] of the time of Chandragupta II that Lakulisa should be better placed in the second quarter of the 2^nd CE. This inscription records that Udita founded two Siva lingas known as Upamitesvar and Kapilesvar in 61 Gupta Era (380CE) after the names of his Guru Upamita and guru’s guru Kapilacharya.This also records his (Udita’s) position as 10^th from Kusika in the chain of preceptors and disciples.D.R Bhandarkar takes this Kusika as the immediate disciple of Lakulisa.Thus Udita stands eleventh from Lakulisa and calculating 25 years for each generation as is the usual practice Lakulisa has been ascribed to the second quarter of he 2^nd CE.

Now if this view is accepted then Lakulisa cannot be regarded as the teacher of the SivaBhagvatas of the period of Patanjali who is generally accepted as belonging to 2^nd BCE.The practice of carrying staves (danda) by Siva Bhagvatas of Mahabhasya is found to be continued by followers of Lakulisa-Pasupata order.

V.S Pathak^{[19] [20]} contests D.R Bhandarkar’s dating on the basis of Rajasekhara’ s writings (14^th CE). The latter mentions 17 gurus from Lakulisa to Rasikara^[21] Pathak suggests that this list and also a commentary on it by Gunaratna mention two Kusikas, the second guru and the tenth one.On placing Rasikara in 4^th CE. He further suggests if Rasikara was seventh from KusikaII, Udita of the inscription of 381CE would be naturally tenth from Kusika II and then if we repeat the process of backward dating by calculating 25 years for each generation we get 2^nd BCE date for Lakulisa which more or less agrees with R.G Bhandarkar’s ideas.Now this important suggestion gains weight as it is supported by an Indonesian tradition^[22] which represents the four disciples of Lakulisa along with Patanjali as the Pasupata pentad.

Another very important inscriptional source for understanding Lakulisa-Pasupata order is Cintra Prasasti^[23] of the reign of Sarangdeva, originally from Somanath dated to 1294-96 CE. It was first published in Murphy’s travels in Portugal (1798) together with a translation by Sir Charles Wilkins.

The inscription contains a prasasti composed in honor of the consecration of five lingas which a saiva called Tripurantaka erected at Somnathapattana or Devapattana or Prabhasa.

Verse 14- 39 Uluka devoted to the spiritual family of Tripuranaka the benefactor of the tirtha of Somnatha and to an account of his virtues and his adventures

Verse 14- “the god who wears the infant moon on his head and who grants rewards for the multitude of performances of austerities himself became incarnate in form of Bhattaraka Sri Lakulisa, in order to bestow favor on the universe”

Verse 15-“and in order to favour the offspring of who long were deprived of sons in consequence of a curse of their father, he came to and dwelt at Karohana the forehead as it were of the earth, an ornament of the Lata country.”

Verse 16-“in this (place) appeared in order to fulfill particular pasupata vows 4 pupils of his, kusika, gargya, kaurusha and maitreya

Verse 17-afterwards the race of these ascetics which grew up in 4 (branches) adorned the earth that is bounded by the 4 oceans

On summarizing the relevant parts of the Prasasti the information derived is as follows

Siva became incarnate in the form of Bhattaraka Sri Lakulisa and came to and dwelt at Kayavarohana in the Lata country, in order to favor the offspring of Uluka who were deprived of sons in consequence of a curse of their father. Interestingly this Uluka can be compared to the disciples of either Sahisnu or Somasarman two previous incarnations of Siva (26^th cycle and 27^th cycle)⁸⁸

One could assume that there was a break in tradition after Sahisnu and it was only revived by Lakulisa later.Bhandarkar reads “putra’s “as “sisyas” (ie spiritual sons and not biological ones).In this context the idea of curse and pining for a child I feel probably talks about the break in tradition.

The Eklingji stone inscription throws considerable light on the history of Lakulisa sect. It was first edited in the Bhavnagar Sanskrit and Prakrit Inscriptions but Bhandarkar^[24] realizing the importance of the information and being prompted by Pt. Gaurishankar prepared a fresh estampage and reedited the entire inscription and prepared a fresh translation.

The inscription is in the temple of Natha presently used as a store-room near the main temple of Eklingji, 14 miles to the north of Udaipur. It is incised on a slab stuck up into the proper right hand niche in the outside wall, facing the east, of the sabhamandapa of the temple. It contains eighteen lines of writing in Devnagri characters of he 10^th CE, covering a space of 2” 91/2” broad by 1” 4 ¼” high.. The first line of the inscription is almost destroyed and nearly half of it on the proper left side has peeled off.

The inscription opens with obeisance to Lakulisa. The first verse is completely lost and the second probably invokes Saraswati.

The next two verses contain the mention and description of a city by the name Nagahrada Verse 5 tells us that is this city there flourished a king named Sri Bappaka, the moon amongst the princes of Guhila dynasty.

(Nagahrada is to be identified with Nagda,14 miles to the north of Udaipur, whose ruins stretch to the extent of a mile and half at the foot of the hill on which the temple of Eklingji is situated.. The present sanskrit name of the place is Nagendra but in a Jain temple called Padmavati amongst the ruins of Nagda I found two inscriptions were found in one of which the place is called Nagahrada and in other as Nagadaha. Thus Nagda appears to have been the old capital of Guhila dynasty and the temple of Eklingji was in existence before 971CE.Moreover it lends credibility to the legend of Bappa Rawa, Harita rasi and explains how the Ranas of Udaipur came to have intimate connection with the Eklingji temple as that of high priests in which capacity they still officiate.

The verse following probably mentioned the name of the king Allata, father of Naravahana to whose reign the record refers itself and whose glory is described in verse 7 and 8.

The next three verses are incomplete but according to Bhandarkar are sufficiently preserved to supply important information about Lakulisa cult.

The information gleaned through the verses can be summarized as such:

In the country of Bhrigukachchha (identified with modern day Bharuch in Gujarat), through which the Narmada, daughter of Mekala flows the sage Bhrigu being cursed by Murabhid (Visnu), propitiated the lord Siva.The latter in the presence of the hapless sage incarnated himself with a club (lakula) in his hand.As Siva thus descended on earth in an earthly frame the place where this occurred was called Kayavarohana.

This is followed by a short description of the place and it is told that by staying in Kayavarohana, Siva forgot his Kailasa clearly hinting at the local sensibility of the person responsible for the engraving of the inscription, who wanted to grant the holy place of his cult no less stature than that of Mount Kailasa.

Following verse is not clear

The next verse suggests that there lived sages like Kusika and others who were conversant with the Pasupata yoga and who resorted to the use of ashes, barks and had matted hair.

From verses 14 and 15 we glean that certain ascetics whose fame had spread from the Himalayas to Rama’s bridge (Lanka) always worsipped the god Ekalinga as by them as verse 16 suggests this Lakulisa temple on the mount Asvagrama was built (There can be no doubt that they were connected with the temple of Ekalingaji.That the priests of this temple were Pasupatas may be seen from an inscription^[25] in which Haritarasi is called:

Sri-ekalinga Har-aradhana-pasupat-acharya

From the next two verses we learn that there was a celebrated dialectician called Sri Vedanga muni who defeated in argument the proponents of Syadvada (Jainism) and Saugata (Buddhism) and other sects, and his pupil was the poet Amra, son of Adityanaga who composed the prasasti.

From verse19 we obtain the date of the inscription as 1028 Vatulnatha-sutra i.e.971CE

The last verse is not complete and expresses the wish for permanence of either the Prasasti or the temple (not clear which one)

Then follow the names of Karapakah( those responsible for building the temple) such as Supujitarasi, Vinischitarasi and so on.whose obeisance is recorded. Hence they were the Pasupata ascetics who erected the temple and dedicated to Lakulisa.

The figure above the door of the sabhamandapa of the temple of Natha where the inscription was found is unfortunately a little defaced but on closer inspection it looks like a Lakulisa image.Similar figute is found above the shrine door of the celebrated temple of Sitalesvara Mahadeva at Jhalrapatan. (Bhandarkar pg 158) That Lakulisa was known and worshipped at this place is clear from the inscription incised on the pedestal of an image of Varaha in a chhatri not far from the temple: (pg 158 sans. Text)

Here the mason who sculptured the image of Varaha is called a servant of Isanajamu- who is praised for his piety and is compared to Lakulisa.. He seems to have been the head pujari of the temple no doubt of Lakulisa Pasupata tradition.This temple is dated to 7^th CE by Fergusson^[26]

Interestingly all the sources, Vayu Pu, Linga Pu,Cintra Prasasti and Eklingji Prasasti gives a different reason for the cause and manner in which Siva becomes incarnate as Lakulisa. Mahatmya of Eklingji^[27] too furnishes valuable information about the order. We find two versions of the Mahatmaya, first being the Puranic Eklingamahatmya (also known as Ekling PU.)and second Poetic Eklingmahatmya. The latter was composed during Kumbha’s rule (15CE) as at various places it praises the king. Some passages from Pu. Eklingamahatmya are seem in the poetic one hence proving the fact that the former text is earlier to the latter. Thus the upper limit for Eklinga Pu. can be fixed at 15CE though lower limit is not sure.

Puranic Eklingamahatmya: The text falls in the category of SthalaPurana constantly trying to link itself with Vayu Pu. It is interesting how every text dealing with any facet of Pasupatism tries to connect itself with Vayu Pu. e.g Karvan Mahatmya.Time and again we find the phrase like “as per the injunctions of Vayu PU….) so the credibility of any argument is supported by reference to Vayu Pu hence proving the importance of the text in the system.

The main orator of Vayu Pu. is Lomaharsana Suta and Vayu is only the second narrator while in Puranic Eklingamahatmya the main orator is Vayu himself and Narada is the second orator.

Eklingji is considered as the main deity of Suryavamshi royal family of Mewar. Interestingly the kings ruling Mewar were known only as governer’s and Eklingji was considered the real king, hence Siva by this time had already assumed the royal demeanor. The royal looking Lakulisa figures found from Rajasthan can probably be explained in this context. Though Lakulisa maintains his teaching pose, he is shown with a crown and jewelry befitting a king.

[Illustration 15. Lakulisa with 4 arms,7^th CE, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan National Museum, Delhi]

The temple of Eklingji is situated at 13miles north of Udaipur between two hills. The name of the village is Kailashpuri. The temple is fortified. According to the local legends the temple was constructed by Bappa Rawal and Maharana Mokkal (Maharana Kumbha’s father) renovated it.Rana Raimal (15^th CE) reconstructed the temple as we can presently see it and also installed the chaturmukha linga which can be seen in the main sanctum sanctorum of the temple. There are many small and big temples in the same compound.

The entire contents of the32 chapters of the text can be divided into 5 parts Ch 1 to 9-Puranic story of manifestation of Eklingji Ch 13-18-Important mahatmyas of other regions which seems to have the same sectarian affiliation-Places being Lomas ashram, Somnath, Mahendari, Shrireshvar, Gautam, Gautamesvar, Mahakala Ch 19-21, ch 24-26-Bappa Rawal’s mantra sadhana and geneology Ch 24, 29,30, 31 Manner of worship (Pooja paddhati).Mainly tantric in nature Ch 10 to 12, 22,23,27, 28 and 32 deals with subjects related to pilgrimage, ways of doing it, nature of Kaliyug and so on.

The Puranic text was first edited by referring to a manuscript in the collection of Maharana of Udaipur Bhagvat Singh.This manuscript dated back to 1915 during the reign of Maharana Shri Swaroop Singh,as mentioned in the manuscript itself.

The poetic text was edited on the basis of a manucscript found in Ancient Saraswati Bhandar library which was dated to 1477.It is supposed to have been composed by Maharana Kumbha himself.

To actually glean historical information from these texts is a difficult proposition.Except for giving a dynastic order that too different in both and both different from the inscriptional evidence don”t shed much light. Ojha ^[28] raises some interesting issues.He has explained the concept of brahmkshtriya extremely important to understand the nature of Guhila dynasty responsible for upkeep of Eklingji temple.He gives the example of Suryavamshi kings Mandhata,Visnuvrudh and Harita and Chandravamshi kings like Vishwamitr and Aristasen who were Ksatriyas by birth but became Brahmins later on.Hence Bappa Rawal is called a suryavamshin and a vipra and dwija simultaneously in the text.

The father of Guhila(Guhadutt) was killed leaving behind an expecting widow.After the child was fifteen days old the queen deciding to become sati left the child in hands of a Brahmin Vijayaditya who was praying in Kotesvara temple for having a son.Initially the Brahmin was reluctant to bring up a Ksatriya child but the queen promised him that for 10 generations her family will follow the life and actions of a Brahmin.

Moreover the text tells us that Nandi was sent as Bashap (Bappa) on this earth by Parvati to rule like Indra and then to go back to heaven. (This strongly is reminiscent of the incident in Mrgendra Agama^[29] where Indra has to follow Pasupata yoga to get rid of Brahmhatya he incurred on killing Vrtrasura.) Parvati informed him that his lineage will continue on the earth but gradually generations to come will fall into the company of those who reject Varna system and will forget vedic knowledge, their religion will get corrupted and they will behave like Shudras as Kaliyuga has a form of Shudra itself.

After Kumbha’s death,possibly after ten generations the strife started in the kingdom.To begin with Kumbha was killed by one of his sons..From there on the kings followed “Shudrachar” according to the text and the kingdom faced major difficulties, including Maleccha (read as Islamic by Sharma)invasions which were kept under check till Kumbha’s rule.

After an intense fight the princes of this lineage came to Brahmin Vidhyacarya,Harita rasi’s disciple and asked for forgiveness and an independent kingdom. The Brahmin told them to worship Siva and Eklingji according to the proper rites.These princes did perform the worship but the text informs us it was done by Shudrachar meaning in a Shudra way,yet the benevolent Eklingji listented to their prayers and summoned goddess Rashtrasena to help them win the war. Thus they were reinstated in the kingdom of Chittor and since then they adopted the ways of Kshatriyas. The text interestingly mentions whenever they have forgetten their patron deity,Eklingji their kingdom would be attacked by Malecchas. A lot can be read in the above passage but what is most important for us here is a certain break with the tradition.

Significance of the term “Medhpat” (present day Mewar): According to Ojha this place was ruled by Medh or Mer people.A part of Mewar is still known as Mewal and he believes till today Mer people live in Merwada area near Ajmer.Many a scholar consider Mers as a branch of Hunas but Ojha believes that these people trace their roots back to Iran and might have something to do with Mihira (the sun god). Moreover their being Suryavamshi’s lends credence to the assumption. He opines perhaps they were vassals or a branch of Western Kshatrapas.The idea if proved can lead to interesting cross cultural studies.

Manner of worship as given in Eklingajimahatmya(Pooja paddhati): On comparision with the Pooja paddati mentioned in Linga Purana and Sharda Tilaka Tantra we realize that the one discussed in Ek Pu. is totally different and thus not similar to popular manners of worship.

Panchvaktra pooja described in ch 24 of purana is very important and throws considerable light on the method so worship followed by the followers of the system.Apart from Eklingji this kind of Panchvaktra pooja is mentioned in Nepali tradition at Pasupatinatha temple.Some important elements of Nepalese form of worship are given in Pasupati hradayam by Brahmrishi Devratta^[30] . Sharma^[31] further writes that the sectarian affiliation of the Eklingji can be clearly traced back to Lakulisa-Pasupata. To substantiate the argument she quotes Ojha,

“On the south of Eklingji temple on some height the head of matha constructed a temple of Lakulisa in 971CE. On some distance slightly below the temple is the temple of Vindhyavasini. He further says that Bappa Rawal’s guru Haritarasi was the Mahant of Eklingji temple and it were his disciples who continued the tradition of worship there. These disciples whom he terms as “naths” had their ancient math to the west of Eklingji temple.It is further written that increasingly these Naths started to move away from preached religion, started to keep women and enjoy the material pleasures of life. Because of such reasons they were divested from power and the responsibility to look after the temple was taken over by a celibate sect Gosai.

Mrgendra Agama too gives as an interesting Tantric glimpse in the Pasupata order and its nature. Tantra is a term highly misinterpreted and misused. The great scholars like Gopinath Kaviraj^[32] have thrown light on the system and his major contribution is the idea that Tanra and Veda are not two mutual exclusive traditions.They often right from the beginning overlap each other. This kind of insight will actually help us to understand the traditions better than to segregate them and try to see”influences” and “appropriations”.He considers Vedas as nigamas and tantras as agamas.(Athravaveda vi,81,2 xix,35,3) gives the definition of agamas as derived from root “gam” and meaning to come near or approach and would literally convey the sense of achievement or accomplishment.

Taitirriya Aranyaka also gives an interesting description of the word as a class of works teaching the highest yoga and mystical formulas (mostly in the form of dialogues between Bhairava and Bhairavi). Now such vedic positive definitions of tantra are somehow ignored by the writers who try to severe all ties of tantra with Vedas and try to see it as a separate “subaltern” tradition. In my opinion it would be more fruitful if one looks at it as a branch of esoteric wisdom meant only for the initiates and which right from the beginning had a place in vedic texts. Law^[33] in his “laments the fact that the writers of religious history pay scant attention to the Sadhana which forms the essence of Indian religions.

On the basis of the classification of Tantras made by Abhinavagupta in Tantraloka the Agamas are classified under heads heads-Siva,Rudra and Bhairava. The Mrgendra comes under the category of the dualistic dvaita class called Rudragamas as against the dvaitadvaitvada of Bhairava agamas.

According to the Pasupata system Mrgendra Agama, the relation between the creator and the created is that of the sheep and the shepherd.The pasu when freed from its fetters reaches the creator but is not merged with him.. The Mrgendra according to the Agamic tradition is said to have streamed forth from the upper face of Svacchanda Bhairava from whom according to Tantraloka, Lakulisa received his knowledge. This scripture offers adoration to Pasupati as the universal consciousness under the name of Isa or Isana.

Interestingly in Mrgendragama we find an remarkable incident of a powerful Vedic deity Indra narrating the story of discovery of this tantra. Siva emerges as eh founder of the tantra and is accepted as the supreme deity by vedic exegesis.. Indra is only made an agency for bringing the sacred knowledge to the world after direct contact with Siva himself. V.N Drabu^[34] sees it as establishing the supremacy of tantra over the Vedas but I find interesting is the reconciliation of Veda and tantra which seems to have been a tradition in Lakulisa Pasupata system. The best example would be the use of five mantras from Taitiriya Aranyaka for the title of his five chapters of Pasupata sutras.

The introduction to the text seems to be late compared to other sections; it’s vocabulary is rich and it abounds in poetic imagery.Similarly references to the frequent use of surgical instruments in performing operations hints at this portion having been composed in the age of Susruta,Caraka etc. (Pasulaksana-Prakarana,v.18).As Drabu (pg50) observes the siva cult refered in the tantra reflects the view of life known in early centuries of he Christian era.The evolution of the agama falls between the 1^st-2^nd CE to 5^th -6^th CE i.e. when Srautas had to undergo a long struggle to rationalize the worship of the personified deity. The tantra was written in the form of a dialogue between Harita and his disciples.

Mrgendra is an abridgement of the Kamika Tantra. Indra received the doctrine when he was wearing the Narsimha kavaca given by Visnu.The long period of 1000 years meditation of Indra indicates that purificatory rites must have been very arduous and trying. It also points out to an order of ascetics whose worship of Pasupati in his natural surroundings was most familiar. The Himalayan belt seems to have been dotted about by the hermitages of these ascetics where the tantric sadhana and ritual was most popular. The vedic god indra was initiated into the tantric lore only when he atoned for his murderous act of killing the demon Vrtra. This would suggest that vedic practice had to conform itself to tha tantric practices which had a firm stronghold in Kashmir, Nepal, Bengal,Assam etc.

It seems that the entire literature of Bhairava agama did not exist before 4thCE. On the other hand it is probable that by the time of composition of Siva Sutras in 6^th -7^th CE most of the Agamas had been composed.

I could lay my hands on this particular text which deals with kriyapada and caryapada of Mrgendragama^[35] important for us.The version is edited by N.R.Bhatt and published by French Institute of Indology in Pondicherry hence the introduction was in French which I have translated and summarized.

Bhatt writes:

“During our search for Agamic manuscripts and related literature we found with Sri G. Svaminatha Sivacarya of TiruvatutuRai a text of Mrgendra which contained the kriyapada and some portions of caryapada.At Perunkalur (Pudukottai dist) we recovered another version with the commentary of Bhattanarayankantha. Unfortunately the caryapada is incomplete and is bereft of 1^st chapter.Soem idea of what it might have contained can be gleaned through the text “Aghorasivacaryapaddhati” and some other texts.”

Indra after killing Vrtrasura incurs brahmhatya and praised Visnu with 1000names (visnu sahastra nama) along with various rites, recitations and rituals.Visnu gave him a “Narsimha cavaca” and asked him to adore Siva in that attire.Here Indra takes up Pasupata vows and adores Siva for thousands of years.

Now the Mulagama is Kamikagama and Mrgendra (Narsimha) being one of the three Upagamas of kamikagama along with Vaktraragama and Bhairavottaragama.

The most interesting and important point for us here is the gurushishya parampara mentioned herein and also the names of preceptors and their disciples who inherited the knowledge of the tradition.

Haradindraye (From Hara (siva) to Indra-From Indra to Bhardawaj-From Bhardawaj to Harita…and in this order did gurushishya parampara continued

The text seems to be Shankara 8th CE as it quotes Brahmsutra of Badrayana and it talks about various philosophical schools like Vedanta, Samkhya,Jain,Vaisesika but it is quiet on Advaitvada of Sankara.

The tantra in its present form has come to us with the commentary of Narayanakantha who was near contemporary of Utpaladeva 9^th CE.He quotes a verse from the Isvara Siddhi of Utpaladeva (stanza 55) which suggests he must have live in second quarter of 9^th CE.

Drawing on various textual, numismatics, and sculptural evidences I have tried to locate Lakulisa in a certain historical context. The aim has been to contextualize the Lakulisa-Pasupata order in a certain historical perspective so that it’s earlier precedents and later branches can be studied in detail. The next section will deal with this enquiry and try to find various branches and lineages which either mention Lakulisa as a great teacher or consider him as an important god-head.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Fleet J.F, Siva as Lakulisa, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,1907 p.419-426

[2]:

Rao,T.Gopinath, ‘Elements of Hindu Iconography’, Delhi, 1971

[3]:

Bhandarkar D.R.,ed and trans Mathura Pillar Inscription of Chandragupta II, G.E 61, EI XXI, 1931-32

[4]:

Shah U.P, Lakulisa;Saivite Saint in Meister, Michael W. Discourses on Siva. Philadelphia, Bombay

[5]:

Bhandarkar R.G’Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor religious systems’,New Delhi, 1983 ‘(pg 171-172)

[6]:

Banerjee P,’Early Indian Religions’,Delhi,1973 p.57,58

[7]:

Pathak V.S, ‘History of Saiva cults in Northern India from Inscriptions, (700AD -1200AD), Varanasi, 1960, p.6

[8]:

Maxwell T.S, Visvarupa, Oxford University Press, 1988,p 206-207

[9]:

Dikshitar V.R.R, ‘Some aspects of the Vayu Purana’, Bulletins of the Department of Indian History and Archeology,No. 1 ed by K.A Nilakantasastri, University of Madras, 1933

[10]:

Ibid,

[11]:

Yoga Sutra II, 29 (c. 1^st C E)

[12]:

Bhandarkar D.R, An Ekalingji Stone Inscription and the origin and history of Lakulisa sect, Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1905-7 p

[13]:

Patel, H.S., Ed.‘Shri Kayavarohan Tirth no Itihas’, Ahmedabad, 1964

[14]:

Thaker, Jayant, P., Ed. ‘Visvamitrimahatmyam’, Vadodara, 1997

[15]:

Linga Purana, CH XXIV verses 124-133

[16]:

Kurma Purana Ch LIII

[17]:

Bhandarkar, R.G., ‘p.117

[18]:

Bhandarkar, D.R. ‘EI, XXX,1ff

[19]:

Pathak V.S, ‘History of Saiva cults in Northern India from Inscriptions, (700AD -1200AD), Varanasi,

[20]:

, p.9

[21]:

List of Gurus according to Saddarsana Samucchaya of Rajasekhara Nakulisa,Kausika,Gargya,Maitreya,Kaurusa,.Isana,Paragargya,Kapilanda,Manusyaka,Kusika, Atri, Pingalaksa, Puspaka,Brhadarya, Agasti, Santana Kaundinya or Rasikara, Vidyaguru

[22]:

Pathak V.S, ‘History of Saiva cults in Northern India from Inscriptions, (700AD -1200AD), Varanasi, 1960, p.12

[23]:

Buhler, B.G. ‘The Cintra Prasasti of the reign of Sarangdeva’ EI, Vol 1,1888, p.211⁸⁸Maxwell T.S, Visvarupa, Oxford University Press, 1988,p 206-207

[24]:

Bhandarkar, D.R., ‘An Eklingji stone inscription and the origin and history of the Lakulisa Sect, 1905-7

[25]:

Journal of Bengal Asiatic Society,Vol LVpt.1 p.48

[26]:

Fergusson James, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture,1899 p217

[27]:

Sharma Premlata,Ed. ‘Ekling mandir ka sthal purana evam mewar ke raj-vansh ka itihas’,MLBD,Delhi,

[28]:

Ojha, ‘Udaipur Ka Itihas’, Jaipur, 1923

[29]:

Mrgendragama (Karyapada et Caryapada) avec le commentaire de Bhatta Narayankantha,Ed. by N.R.Bhatt, Pondicherry,1962

[30]:

Sharma Premlata,p.47

[31]:

Ibid p.49

[32]:

Kaviraj Gopinath, ‘Tantrik Sadhana Aur Siddhant’ trans by Pt. Hanskumar Tiwari, Patna, 1994

[33]:

Law N.N., ‘Studies in Indian History and Culture’ London, 1925

[34]:

Drabu V.N., ‘Saivagamas: A Study in the Socio-Economic Ideas and Institutions of Kashmir, Delhi, 1990 p.20

[35]:

Mrgendragama (Kriyapada et Caryapada) avec le commentaire de Bhatta Narayanakantha, edition critique par N.R.Bhatt, Institut Francais d’Indologie, Pondichery 1969