Chapter 13c - Shaiva Mathas and Teachers (during 10th century India)

The Saiva system was expounded and taught in the Mathas or monasteries many of which were in existence in central and western India in the tenth century or thereabouts. The Karhad plates of Krsna III issued in 959 A. D. record the grant of a village to a teacher named Gaganasiva, described as a great ascetic proficient in all the S'ivasiddhantas. He was the pupil of the Acarya Isanasiva, the head of the Valkalesvara Matha in Karahata (modern Karhad in the Satara district); and the purpose of the grant was the maintenance of the ascetics who lived at the place. It may be assumed that the Valkalesvara Matha was large and important enough to have attracted the notice of the Rastrakuta emperor. A teacher named Gaganasivacarya, described as an ornament to the spiritual lineage of the sage Durvasas, is mentioned in a Kanarese inscription issued by Dattalpendra Srimara, a king of the Alupa family which ruled for many centuries in the Tuluva country corresponding to the modern district of South Kanara and part of North Kanara. The subject of the record is the grant of a plot of land in Karkala in favour of the Matha 1 samadakarighatabhih kim kimanganganabhirmadanasayanalilam bhavayantibhirabhih | kanakaturagavasoralajatairna krtyam na hi bhavati bhavanivallabhasyarcanam cet || Verse 74. (kimiha ) bahubhiruktairnatha sarvasya heturbhavatu bhavamti nityam bhaktiyogo Verse 76. Yuvarajadeva mamaikah | sakalasukhavisesad yatra piyusavarsah svayamanubhavagamyo jayate tvatprasadat || II reigned about the last quarter of the tenth century A. D. 2 See Chapters VIII and IX. 3 'karahatiya valkalesvarasthanapati '. 43

to which Gaganasiva belonged." If the Gaganasiva mentioned in the inscription, which is not dated, is the same as the teacher named in the Karhad grant of Krsna III, it may be presumed that the Valkalesvara Matha had a branch in South Kanara, of which Gaganasiva was the head. It is noteworthy that Gaganasiva is called in the Karhad grant not the abbot of Valkalesvara, but a disciple of the abbot Isanasiva. It is possible that the latter was the head of the matha in Karahata and the former of the branch in Tuluva. It may be added that the Alupa kings were Saivas, and Saivism was the predominant religion in Tuluva from about the seventh to the thirteenth century, when the Vaisnava movement initiated by Anandatirtha came to the fore." A few years after the Karhad grant of Krsna III we find an ascetic named Prabodhasiva founding a Saiva Matha in central India, at Chandrehe in Rewa State, then within the dominions of the Cedi kings of Tripuri. The relevant inscription is dated in the Kalacuri year 724 corresponding to 972 A. D., and engraved on slabs built into a wall of the monastery, the remains of which still exist at Chandrehe.³ The edifice is of considerable size and partly two-storeyed, but the upper storey has for the most part collapsed. Still it is 'a very favourable specimen of Hindu civil or domestic architecture' with spacious rooms and smaller chambers. Two other Saiva monasteries built during the rule of the Cedi kings, those of Vaidyanatha and Nauhalesvara or Nohalesvara, are earlier than the one at Chandrehe. According to the Bilhari inscription of the rulers of Cedi, the Vaidyanatha-matha was presented to a teacher-named Hrdayasiva by Laksmanaraja who ruled about the middle of the tenth century, being the son and successor of Yuvarajadeva I, who has been assigned to the first half of the same century. The Nauhalesvara Matha was also accepted by Hrdayasiva, but made over by him to his disciple Aghorasiva (vv. 57-8). As noted towards the end of the inscription, the prasasti seems to have been put up at the Nohalesvara Matha by Aghorasiva; and the monastery no doubt existed at Bilhari, in the Jubbalpore district, where the inscription is said to have been found. The Matha derived its name from Nohala, the queen of Yuvarajadeva I, and was obviously attached to the Siva temple caused to be built by her, as stated in the inscription (v. 40). 1 Saletore: Ancient Karnataka, Vol. I, p. 388, 2 Saletore (op. cit.), Chapter V. 3 See R. D Banerji: The Haihayas of Tripuri and their monuments. 4 Ep. Ind. Vol. I, p. 251.

The Bilhari inscription of Prabodhasiva at Chandrehe and another record of his discovered at Gurgi,' in Rewa State, throw light on an influential order of Saiva monks known as the Mattamayura family, who propagated the faith in many parts of western and central India from about the ninth to the eleventh century. Prabodhasiva who founded the Chandrehe monastery was a disciple of Prasantasiva. The latter built a hermitage (asrama, siddhasthana), on the banks of the Sona river at the foot of the Bhramara mountain, and a retreat for the practice of austerities (tapahsthana) on the Ganges, which was held in high esteem by the people of Benares who were devout worshippers of Siva. Prasantasiva is called the ornament of the Mattamayura family in the Gurgi inscription, and was the disciple of Prabhavasiva. The latter was induced to settle in the Cedi country by Yuvarajadeva I and was presented with a Matha built at an enormous cost (ananta-dhana-pratistham). Similarly, Laksmanaraja, who gave the Vaidyanatha monastery to Hrdayasiva, is described as having brought the sage 'by manifesting his devotion to him by means of presents sent through honest messengers.' The services of the Mattamayura monks appear to have been freely requisitioned by the Cedi kings, who placed rich mathas at their disposal for the propagation of the Saiva faith. Prabhavasiva was the disciple of Sikhasiva or Cudasiva, who, according to the Chandrehe inscription, was the disciple of Purandara of the holy Mattamayura family, 'the preceptor of kings'. The latter may be said to have initiated the activities of the Mattamayura organisation; and to judge from the succession of teachers and disciples, he must have lived not later than the end of the ninth century. An inscription found at Ranod or Narod in Gwalior State, about half-way between Jhansi and Guna, and assigned on palaeographic grounds to the end of the tenth or the beginning of the eleventh century, gives some information about this distinguished teacher. A king named Avantivarman, who visited Purandara at Upendrapura (Undor), and was initiated by him in the Saiva faith, persuaded the sage to migrate to his kingdom; and there in the city of Mattamayura, Purandara founded a Matha and another establishment at Ranipadra, identified with Ranod. Ranipadra seems to have been a religious centre as it is called a tapovana, also a Yatyasrama in the Ranod inscription (vv. 15, 17 59.). There still exists an old building at Ranod, with an open cloister in front of it with rooms at each end, which most probably served the purpose of 1 The inscriptions of Prabodhasiva are edited and translated in Banerji (op. cit.), App. C. 2 Ep. Ind. Vol. I, p. 351 ff.

a Matha or residence for monks. It is noteworthy that there are two tanks close to each other outside the courtyard; and one of them might be the tank elaborately described in the Ranod inscription, and said to have been excavated by a teacher named Vyomasiva. The latter seems to have lived about the middle of the tenth century, as there is a succession of three teachers between him and Purandara: Kavacasiva, Sadasiva and Hydayesa. Of them Sadasiva is said to have practised austerities at Ranipadra (v. 17). The town and the Matha seem to have fallen on evil days at a later date; and it was Vyomasiva who restored the town to its former prosperity, repaired and improved the dilapidated monastery, installed images of Saiva divinities, and founded the tank with temples and gardens attached to it (vv. 29, 30, 43, 44). Madhumati, in Malava, was another important Saiva religious centre in the tenth century. In the Gurgi inscription of Prabodhasiva, Madhumati is described as the abode of the Saiddhantikas or Saivas; and it was in fact one of the centres of the Mattamayura monks. Cudasiva or Sikhasiva, who was, as already mentioned, a disciple af Purandara, is called Madhumati-pati, Lord of Madhumati', in the Chandrehe inscription. Hrdayasiva, who accepted monasteries from Laksmanaraja, and one of whose predecessors is stated to be Mattamayuranatha in the Bilhari inscription," is described therein as having enhanced the reputation of the Madhumateyavam sa or the family of the Madhumati monks (v. 55). All this shows that the monks of Madhumati represent a younger branch of the Mattamayura line of Saiva teachers. The Ranod inscription gives the names of the predecessors of Purandara, the founder of the Mattamayura lineage. They are Kadambaguhadhivasin Resident of Kadambaguha'; after him Sankhamathikadhipati Master of Sankhamathika'; then Terambipala Protector of Terambi'; and lastly, Amardakatirthanatha 'Lord of Amardakatirtha'. Terambi has been identified with Terahi, five miles to the south-east of Ranod, and Kadambaguha with Kadwaia or Kadwaha, about six miles south of Terahi, and where there are even now some old temples and the ruins of many others. Kadambaguha seems to have been an early centre of Saivism where lived a long line of saints (Siddhasantati), according to the Bilhari inscription. The sage Rudrasambhu was their revered leader and his disciple was Mattamayuranatha The lord of Mattamayura', who brought spiritual enlightenment to king Avantivarman. This is a clear reference to Purandara, 2 1 The spiritual pedigree is given as Rudrasambhu-Mattamayuranatha-DharmasambhuSadasiva-Madhumateya-Cudasiva-Hrdayasiva-Aghorasiva. 2 Verse 49. See Kielhorn's re-interpretation of the verse in Ep. Ind., Vol. I, p. 353,

but in the Ranod inscription his immediate predecessor is said to be Amardakatirthanatha. gone The town of Mattamayura made so famous by the distinguished line of ascetics named after it has not been identified; but, as suggested by As already Kielhorn, it must have been somewhere in Central India. mentioned, most of the Mathas of the Mattamayura sect were established in various parts of Central India, in the regions corresponding to Malwa, Gwalior State, Central Provinces and Rewa State. But the Mattamayura monks further afield, and established a branch in Southern appear to have Konkan, as shown by the Kharepatan plates of Rattaraja, dated in Saka 930 = 1008 A. D. Ratta was a prince of the Silahara family of Southern Konkan, a feudatory of the Calukyan king Satyasraya, the successor of Taila II. The inscription records the grant of certain villages to a learned teacher named Atreya for the upkeep of the shrine of Avvesvara, for providing food and raiment to the resident ascetics and for the benefit of pupils (Chatra), learned men and guests. There was obviously a Matha attached to the shrine. Now, the donee Atreya was a disciple of an ascetic named Ambhojasambhu who belonged to the Karkaroni branch of the Mattamayura family; and it is also stated that the yield of the villages granted was for the use of the learned Brahmacarins and Acaryas of the said branch of the Mattamayura line of ascetics.2 Another important Matha of the tenth century was the Golaki Matha in the Cedi country, but it does not appear to have been connected with the Mattamayura line. Golaki or Golagi is said to be a contraction of Golagiri, and the Matha seems to have been in the neighbourhood of Tripuri, the Cedi capital (modern Tewar within six miles of Jubbalpur ). According to the Malakapuram pillar inscription of the Kakatiya queen Rudra Mahadevi, dated 1261 A. D., the Matha was founded by a Saiva teacher named Sadbhava Sambhu who was patronized by Yuvarajadeva I of Tripuri, who, as mentioned above, ruled in the first half of the tenth century A. D.3 The inscription mentioned above speaks of another teacher of the same line, named Soma Sambhu, who composed a work called Somasambhupaddhati, and had thousands of disciples, but his exact date cannot be determined, as it is not known how many generations separated him from the founder of the Matha. We are inclined to identify him with 1 Ep. Ind. Vol. III, p. 292 ff. 2 'Mattamayuran vaya-Karkaroni-Samtati'; santana.' 'Mattamayurunvayantargata-Karkroniy to del 3 Cf. Mirashi: Yuvarajadeva I of Tripuri in ABORI, Vol. XI, p. 362.

the Soma Smbhu quoted several times in the Isanasivagurudevapaddhati (Kriyapada), specially as the verses cited from him deal with ritual; and the Somasambhupaddhati, to judge from the title, must have been a work on ritual. If our identification of the two authors is correct, Soma Sambhu may be assigned to the latter half of the tenth or the first half of the eleventh century. It may be added that the succession of teachers at the Golaki Matha seems to have continued unbroken till 1261 A. D., the date of the Malakapuram pillar inscription, which records the grant of a village to a celebrated Saiva teacher named Visvesvara Sambhu. The ramifications of the great Matha have, as a matter of fact, been traced, beyond the thirteenth century and the geographical limits of Tripuri, to the Tamil and Telugu lands." A very old Saiva establishment, much earlier than the tenth century, and associated with the Pasupata sect, appears to have existed at Kayavarohana, also called Karohana and Karavana, identified with Karvan in Dabhoi taluka in Baroda State. The place is known also as Kayavatarana or Kayavatara. Kaundinya states in the introduction to his Bhasya on the Pasupatasutras that the Lord, assuming the form (kaya) of a Brahmana, became incarnate at Kayavatarana, went on foot to Ujjain, and taught his doctrine to Bhagavat Kusika. The reference here is to the tradition that the Pasupata doctrine was revealed by Nakulisa or Lakulisa, the last of the the twenty-eight incarnations of Siva. batoon The various incarnations of Siva are mentioned in Vayupurana (chap. 23), Lingapurana (chap. 24), Sivapurana (Vayaviya-samhita II, chap. 10) and in Kurmapurana in the last chapter of the first part. The Avataras begin with Sveta and end with Lakulin; and they are called Yogacaryas in the Sivapuruna. The Vayu and Linga-puranas, which give the more detailed account, mention Kayarohana or Kayavatara as the place where Lakulin manifested himself, along with such famous sites as the Kalanjara mountain and the Prabhasa Tirtha where certain other Avataras of Siva are said to have revealed themselves. The Lingapurana makes in this connection particular mention of Pasupata Vrata, and declares its superiority to Samkhya or the Pancaratra discipline. Karohana is glorified also in the Karavanamahatmya, a work of unknown date, which declares it to be a Tirtha as sacred as Benares and Prayaga; and tells us that Lakulin here merged 1 For the Golaki Matha see Saletore: Ancient Karnataka, Vol. I, p. 362 ff. In a record found in the Madras Presidency, the Kalacuri king Yuvarajadeva is stated to have donated three lakhs of villages to Sadbhava Sambhu, the head of the Golaki Matha. See Amoda Plates of the Haihaya kiny Prthvideva in Ep. Ind. Vol. XIX, p. 75 ff.

himself in the Brahmesvara Linga." The characteristic emblems of Lakulin, a staff in the left hand and a citron in the right, are mentioned in this work.a An interesting link between Karvan and the ancient founder of the Pasupata system is provided by two lingas with the figure of Lakulin sculptured in front: one of them is in the temple of Naklesvar, and the other in that of Rajrajesvar, both at Karvan.3 Lingas with one or four faces of Siva carved against the linga pillar are quite common, and were installed in temples dedicated to Siva. It appears, however, that lingas with the figure of Lakulin carved on them were also installed, evidently by members of the Pasupata sect. 4 The Puranic texts mentioned above assign four disciples to each of the twenty-eight Avataras of Siva. Those of Lakulin are stated to be Kusika, Garga, Mitra and Kaurusya. Important light on the date of Lakulin and Kusika is thrown by the Mathura Pillar Inscription of Candragupta II dated in Gupta era 61-380-81 A. D. The inscription records the installation of two lingas called Kapilesvara and Upamitesvara by a Saiva teacher named Uditacarya whose pedigree is given. He is described as fourth in succession from Bhagavat Parasara and tenth from Bhagavat Kusika. Upamita and Kapila are two other teachers mentioned in the record. Bhagavat Kusika is no doubt the same as the first disciple of Lakulin mentioned in Kaundinya's Bhasya on the Pasupatasutras and the Puranic texts. If Uditacarya (380-81 A. D.) is tenth in succession from Kusika, the pupil of Lakulin, and we allot a certain number of years to each succeeding teacher, Lakulin and Kusika cannot possibly be later than the second century A. D. The Pasupata centre at Karvan was thus established sometime in the second century A. D., and Uditacarya's inscription shows that Pasupata teachers carried on their activities at Mathura in at the fourth century A. D. The epigraph tells us that Uditacarya installed 1 The Karavana-mahatmya is printed as an appendix to Ganakarika (G. O. S.). 'Karvan seems to have suffered great desecration at the hands of the Musalmans. All round the village, chiefly under pipal trees, images and pieces of sculpture and large lingas lie scattered. To the north and east of the village on the banks of a large built pond called Kasikunda are numerous sculptures and lingas. Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I, Pt. I, p. 83. 2 sthitah sa bhagavan tatra kayarupi mahesvarah | yena kayavataro'sau temedam kayarohanam || asidandadharo vame daksine bijapurakam | brahmalinge mahadevi ahamapi laya gatah || 3 See D. R. Bhandarkar: Mathura Pillar Inscription of Candragupta II in Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXI. woled sa I Ibid,

the lingas, Upamitesvara and Kapilesvara, obviously named after the teachers Upamita and Kapila, in a place called gurv-ayatana, which seems to mean a Teachers' shrine', where such memorial lingus appear to have been placed for worship. It is possible that such shrines belonging to the Pasupata sect existed at other places besides Mathura. Uditacarya, as stated above, traces his descent to Kusika, the first disciple of Lakulin. Another line of teachers who trace their descent to Garga, the second disciple of Lakulin, is mentioned in the Cintra Prasasti of the reign of Sarangadeva of Gujarat, composed in 1287 A. D. at Somanathapattana, or Prabhasa, the famous Saiva Tirtha, in Kathiawar." It is stated that Siva became incarnate as Bhattaraka Lakulisa, the reputed founder of the Pasupata system, at Karohana in the Lata country. He had four pupils named Kusika, Gargya, Kaurusa and Maitreya who set themselves to practise particular Pasupata vows. From them originated four branches or families of ascetics, and to the line established by Gargya (gargyagotra) belonged the abbot (sthanadhipa) Karttikarasi, his disciple Valmikirasi and the latter's disciple Tripurantaka. These teachers lived in the thirteenth century, but they belonged to an ancient line of Pasupata ascetics, and were apparently abbots in succession of some Matha in Gujarat. ba The tradition recorded above appears to be mentioned also in an inscription of the reign of Naravahana, king of Mewar, the ancient Medapata, dated 972 A. D. The inscription is mutilated, but there are clear references to Kayavarohana and Siva with a lakula (staff) in his hand, that is Lakulin or Lakulisa, and Kusika and other sages. The object of the inscription seems to be to record the building of a temple of Lakulisa somewhere in Mewar. It is engraved on a slab built into the wall of a temple called Natha's Mandir near Ekalingaji's temple, a few miles north of Udaipur. It is obvious that temples of Lakulisa existed in the tenth century; and an old temple of Lakulisa is found also at Badami, as mentioned below. The Pasupata, as noted in Chapter IX, was an influential school of thought in the tenth century, and Pasupata teachers played an important part in the religious life of Mysore in the eleventh and twelfth centuries." 1 Ep. Ind., Vol. I, p. 271. 2 A Collection of Prakrit and Sanskrit Inscriptions published by the Bhavanagar Archaeological Department, p. 70. 3 'lakulisavesma himavacchopamam karitam ' 4 See below.

The influence of Pasupata teachers and Mathas can also be traced elsewhere in the country. Kalhana tells us in Rajatarangini 5. 404 that the king of Kashmir Cakravarman (935 A. D.) constructed a lodge for the Pasupatas called the Cakra-matha, which, being half built at the time of his murder, was completed afterwards by his widow. Turning to the south, we find that, a few years later, an inscription of the thirtysixth year of the reign of the Cola king Parantaka I (907-953 A. D.) records a grant of land for the maintenance of certain attendants and offerings in a temple, and for feeding the Sivayogins and the Mahesvaras on the seven festival days Here the Sivayogins obviously beginning with the asterism of Mula." refer to the Saivas, and the Mahesvaras appear to be Pasupatas, as Samkara in his Bhasya on the Vedantasutras II. 2. 37 refers to the latter as Mahesvaras. An inscription of the reign of Kumarapala of Gujarat, dated 1169 A. D., throws interesting light on the career of a distinguished Pasupata teacher named Bhava-Brhaspati alias Ganda. The inscription is engraved on a large stone in the side wall near the door of the temple of Bhadrakali at Somanathapattana, and tells us that he was a native of Benares and belonged to the Gargeya-vam sa, that is, to the spiritual lineage of Gargya, one of the original founders of the Pasupata sect. Bhava-Brhaspati left Benares on a tour of pilgrimage and came to Dhara, and the Paramara kings are said to have become his disciples. He practised austerities in Malava and Kanauj and efficiently managed Mathas. Subsequently he Gujarat where he cultivated the friendship of the reigning king Jayasimha Siddharaja. The great achievement of Bhava-Brhaspati was the restoration of the famous temple of Somanatha under the patronage of the next king Kumarapala, who richly rewarded him for rebuilding the dilapidated edifice.³ came to A Pasupata Matha, much earlier than the thirteenth century, existed on Mount Abu in Rajputana. An inscription, dated Samvat 1342 (1285 A. D.), which records the genealogy of the Sisodia kings of Chitore, tells us that the Matha on the hill-top was repaired by Raja Samarasimha who also equipped it with a golden flag-staff at the request of a Saiva ascetic named Bhavasamkara. The latter was a disciple of Bhavagni, a Pasupata ascetic who was formerly the abbot (sthanadhisa) of the Matha. 1 N. K. Sastri: The Colas, Vol. I, P. 434. 2 'samyanthah palitah ' 3 A Collection of Prakrit and Sanskrit Inscriptions (op. cit.), p. 186. 44

The establishment was considered very old at the time of the inscription which calls it anadi.¹ The active influence of a faith is best illustrated by the temples devoted to its cultus; and of no other faith is this so true as of S'aivism during several centuries in India. Some of the most important shrines may be casually enumerated here: Somanatha at Somanathapattana in Kathiawar, Acalesvara at Abu, Ekalingaji near Udaipur, Mahakala at Ujjain, Nilakanthesvara at Udayapura near Bhilsa, Omkaresvara in the Nimar Dt. of Central Province, Visvanatha etc. at Khajuraho, Viratesvara at Sohagpur, Parasuramesvara etc. at Bhuvanesvara in Orissa, Samgamesvara at Badami, (Kailasa) Isvara at Ellore, Tarakesvara at Hangal (Dharwar Dt.), Madhukesvara at Banavasi, Rajasimhesvara at Conjeevaram, etc. A study of the geographical distribution of these Saiva temples shows the influence and popularity of Saivism in vast areas of early medieval India until about the 12 th century A. D.²