Lakulisha
Lakulisha (
According to some scholars, Lakulisha is the founder of the Pashupata sect. While, another section argues that the Pashupata doctrine was already in existence before Lakulisha, and he was only its first formal preceptor.
According to a tradition stated in the Linga Purana, Lakulisha is considered as the 28th and the last avatar of Shiva and the propounder of Yoga system. According to the same tradition, Lakulisha had four disciples, viz., Kaurushya, Garga, Mitra and Kushika.
According to another tradition mentioned in the Avanti Khanda of the
Life
Lakulisha was born in a village called Karavan on the bank of Narmada in Gujarat and propagated Saivism. It has been maintained that Lakulisha's thesis conflicted with that of
Historicity
A pillar erected by Chandragupta II at Mathura in 380 CE states that a ‘Guruvayatana’ (Abode of the Gurus) was established by certain Uditacharya, who was 4th in descent from a teacher of Pashupata sect named Parashara, who in turn was 6th in descent from Kushika. If this Kushika is one of the four disciples of Lakulisha as described in the Linga Purana, the latter must have existed around 125 CE.
Renowned epigraphist
In the 4th century CE, beginning with the reign of Chandragupta II, icons and representations of Lakulisha have been frequently found, which portray him as a naked yogi with a staff in his left hand and a citron (matulinga) in his right and, either standing or seated in the lotus posture. At about the beginning of the 11th century, the Lakulisha cult shifted its activities to southern India.
A sect of Pasupata ascetics, founded by Lakulisa (or Nahulisa), is attested by inscriptions from the 5th century and is among the earliest of the sectarian religious orders of Shaivite Hinduism.
Sculpture context
The penile erection representation illustrates the centrality of the energetic principle of Urdhva Retas (
The Urdhva linga (
According to
Influence on philosophy and religion
Author M. R. Sakhare argues in "The History and Philosophy of Lingayat Religion", the influence of Lakulisha was immense and spread rapidly, first in the North and then in the South of India. The Shaivite revival, supported by the Bharashiva Nagas of Mathura and Vakataka dynasty in Central and Northern India, gradually spread in the south under the impetus of artisan class Shaiva mystics, the Nayanars.
Teachings
Lakulisha Pashupata has been identified as ‘Dualistic-combined with-Non-dualistic Monism’ (bheda-abheda) Shaivism, and there was strong emphasis on Yoga system. The principal text of the Pashupata sect, the Pāśupata Sūtra is attributed to Lakulisha. The manuscripts of this text and a commentary of it, the Pañcārtha Bhāṣya by Kaundinya (c. 500 CE) were discovered in 1930. The Pāśupata Sūtra formalizes various canons of the Pashupata sect, and contains the basic theology of the sect. However, the authorship of Lakulisha over the Pashupata sutras have been a subject of debate. The Pashupata sutras are of an archaic character and do not bear the name of any author. Though certain traditions mention Lakulisha as the author, there is nothing to support this in the form of internal written evidence from the Sutras. Even, Kaundinya’s commentary only states the following:
" ... Tatha shishta pramanyat kamitvad ajatatvach cha, Manushya-rupi bhagavan brahmana-kayam asthaya kayavatarane avatirna iti | Tatha padbhyam ujjayinim praptah.."
Meaning, Shiva incarnated in the form of a human being by entering the body of a deceased Brahmana in the [village of] Kayavatara, thereafter wandered to Ujjain.
This account matches those narrated in the Puranas and the Karvana Mahatmya where Lakulisha incarnates in Kayavarohana (Karvan) village. However, unlike the latter accounts, the name Lakulisha is never mentioned, even though in the subsequent lines Kaundinya mentions that Shiva as the Brahmana imparted Shastra to the student Kushika. Only in subsequent Pashupata texts, Ratna Tika and Gana Karika, a clear mention of Lakulisha as the founder of the Pashupata system appears. This raises questions regarding Lakulisha being the actual composer of the Sutras.
Notwithstanding, the authorship of the Sutras, the philosophical doctrine of the Pashupata(s) as enunciated by Lakulisha are called "Ishvara Kartri Vadaha (the creative power of the sovereign being)", which was first found to be quoted later by Adi Shankaracharya in commentary on the Brahma Sutras (3.2.37). An analysis of it is found in one of the main Pashupata texts, the Gana Karika of Haradatta, and its commentary by Kaundinya called Panchartha Bhashya (commentary of the five subjects). Ramanuja attributed this philosophy to the tradition of the Kalamukha(s), the sect of "Black Faces" to which Lakulisha belonged. This Nakulisha Pashupata doctrine is divided into six parts, known as: (1) Karana (cause), (2) Karya (work/task), (3) Kala (divisibility), (4) Vidhi (method), (5) Yoga (union), and (6) Dukhanta (the end of suffering).
According to some scholars, Lakulisha modified the
Iconography and images
Lakulisha has been deified as an incarnation of Shiva, and is represented in front of the linga in the 6th to 8th centuries and also in the medieval period in temples of
Lakulisha images have also been found in Saurastra, Gujarat, and also in some parts of the eastern India. Some of the images depict Lakulisha as a naked yogi and he carries prayer beads, a club, a cup of human skull. Lakulisha is shown as accompanied by animals. Almost all of Lakulisha's images appear as urdhav-linga (with an erect penis)[note 1] but neither symbolizing fertility nor sexuality, but the refined energetic principles (Urdhva Retas) during Sāyaṇa or Asceticism.[5][7][19]
Image of Lakulisha have been found depicted on the walls of the large hall at Elephanta Caves, suggesting that the caves may have been associated with Pashupata Shaivism.[20] Icons of Lakulisha have also been found on the Laxmaneswar group of Temples at Bhubaneswar, namely, the Satrughneswar, Bharateswar and Laxmaneswara temples.
A rock cut Shiva temple with bas reliefs of Ganapati and Lakulisa, carved by the seventh century Pandyas is located at Arittapatti near Madurai. This temple is maintained by the Archeological Department of Tamil Nadu.
Lakulisha carvings are also found on Kudavelly Sangameswara and Balabrahmeswara Swamy temples at Alampur, Gadwal Jogulamba district, Telangana.
See also
Part of a series on |
Shaivism |
---|
Hinduism portal |
Part of a series on |
Hinduism |
---|
Notes
- ISBN 90-04-10789-4. Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ Joshi, N.P. (1981). Regional Trends in some of the Mediaeval Brahmanical Sculptures of Malwa in M.D. Khare (ed.) Malwa through the Ages, Bhopal: Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Govt. of M.P., p.112
- ^ John Faithfull Fleet ‘Siva as Lakulisa’ JRASGBI : 1907, p. 419-427
- ^ Ghurye, G.S., 1952. Ascetic Origins. Sociological Bulletin, 1(2), pp.162-184.
- ^ a b c d e Kramrisch 1994, p. 26.
- ^ a b c d Pensa, Corrado. "Some Internal and Comparative Problems in the Field of Indian Religions." Problems and Methods of the History of Religions. Brill, 1972. 102-122
- ^ ISBN 0877282536.
- ^ "Urdhvaretas, Urdhvaretās, Ūrdhvaretas, Urdhva-retas: 7 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. 9 September 2014.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0877-5.
- The Art Institute of Chicago, United States
- ISBN 978-81-7022-897-4.
- ^ a b Kramrisch 1994, p. 238.
- ^ Kramrisch 1994, p. 555.
- ^ Srinivasan 2004, p. 434.
- ^ O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. "Asceticism and Sexuality in the Mythology of Śiva. Part I." History of Religions 8, no. 4 (1969): 300-37. Accessed September 7, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062019.
- ^ a b Kramrisch 1994, p. 218.
- ^ D.R. Bhandarkar, "Lakulisa", in Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report 1906-7, Calcutta, 1909, pp. 179-92, figures 4, 5.
- ^ U.P. Shah, "Lakulisa: Saivite Saint" in Discourses on Siva, ed. Michael W. Meister, figs. 85-87.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0877-5.
- ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Upinder Singh (2008)
- ^ a b The ithyphallic representation of the erect shape connotes the very opposite in this context.[1] It contextualize "seminal retention" or practice of celibacy[2] (illustration of Urdhva Retas),[3][4] and represents Lakulisha as "he stands for complete complete control of the senses, and for the supreme carnal renunciation".[1]
- ^ Furthermore, the phallic shape, standing erect, always negates its function as an organ of procreation. Rather, the shape or pictorial representation is conveying that, the seed was channeled upward, not ejected for the sake of generation, but was reversed, retained and absorbed for regeneration as creative energy.[13]
References
- Choubey, M.C. Lakuliśa in Indian Art and Culture, Sharada Publishing House, New Delhi, ISBN 81-85616-44-2(1997)
- Dallapiccola, Anna. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1)
- Daniélou, Alain. "Shaiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycles of History and the Destiny of Mankind" [2]
- Sharpe, Elizabeth, Shiva or The Past of India, Luzac & Co, London, (1930).
- Satya Prakash, et al., "Cultural contours of India: Dr. Satya Prakash felicitation volume" [3]
- Divanji, P. C.; Lakulisha of Karvan and his Pasupata Cult; in Gautam Patel et al. (Ed.); Contribution of Gujarat to Sanskrit Literature (Dr. M. I. Prajapati Felicitation Volume); Dr. M. I. Prajapati Sastipurti Sanman Samiti; Patan (Gujarat); (1998).
- Bhandarkar, D. R. "An Eklingji stone inscription and the origin and history of the Lakulisa sect", Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society : 22 (1908), p. 151-167.[4]
- Kramrisch, Stella (1994). The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691019307.
- Srinivasan, Sharada (2004). "Shiva as 'cosmic dancer': On Pallava origins for the Nataraja bronze". World Archaeology. Vol. 36. The Journal of Modern Craft. pp. 432–450. S2CID 26503807.
External links
- Pashupata Shaivism
- Pashupata Siddhant of Lakulisha Archived 18 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- Lakulish Yoga
- ^ a b Kramrisch 1994, p. 218.
- ^ Ghurye, G.S., 1952. Ascetic Origins. Sociological Bulletin, 1(2), pp.162-184.
- ^ Kramrisch 1994, p. 26.
- ^ Pensa, Corrado. "Some Internal and Comparative Problems in the Field of Indian Religions." Problems and Methods of the History of Religions. Brill, 1972. 102-122.