Kalamukha
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The Kalamukha were a medieval Shaivite sect of the Deccan Plateau who were among the first professional monks of India. Their earliest monasteries were built in Mysore.[1]
Origin and etymology
Information regarding the Kalamukha sect takes the form of inscriptions relating to temple grants and texts usually written by their opponents. They appear to have been an offshoot of the Pashupata sect, about whom more is known.[2] Their name was derived from kālāmukha which has multiple meanings namely, 'facing the time' or 'facing the death' or 'black-face'. Their rituals using "yantras" were more of time based so, we can safely assume the meaning would be one of the first two rather than last one.[3] Evidence from the Puranas and similar ancient texts makes it clear that they were also known by other names, such as Laguda, Lakula and Nakula, and associated with other words meaning black-faced, such as Kalanana.[4]
The rise of the Kalamukhas to a position of influence coincided with the popularisation of the
History
According to Ramendra Nath Nandi, the first known record of the Kalamukha sect is a grant issued by the
the Kalamukhas were a saivite sect of social and religious reformers with a strong social basis, whereas the Kapalikas were a sect of self-seekers practising queer and gruesome rites at the cremation ground, away from human localities.[11]
Nonetheless, for many years scholars such as R. G. Bhandarkar believed the Kalamukhas to be a more extreme sect than the Kapalikas, despite acknowledging that Ramanuja's written accounta were confused. David Lorenzen believes this error lay in placing emphasis on Ramanuja's skewed written record above that placed on such epigraphical evidence from inscriptions as had been collated by the time Bhandarkar and others analysed the situation.[12]
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ Nandi (1973), p. 85
- ^ Lorenzen (1972), pp. xi–xii
- ^ a b Nandi (1973), pp. 83–85
- ^ Lorenzen (1972), p. 10
- ^ Lorenzen (1972), p. 97
- ^ Nandi (1973), pp. 76, 85
- ^ Nandi (1973), pp. 4–9
- ^ Nandi (1973), pp. 85, 87
- ^ Nandi (1973), pp. 85–87
- ^ Lorenzen (1972), pp. 5–6
- ^ Nandi (1973), p. 86
- ^ Lorenzen (1972), p. xii
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-52001-842-6
- Nandi, Ramendra Nath (1973), Religious Institutions and Cults in the Deccan, c. A.D. 600-A.D. 1000, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-0-84260-564-9