Shasta (deity)

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For other uses, see Shasta.

Chola Dynasty, Government Museum, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
, India
Shasta from Kudumiyanmalai, Tamil Nadu.
Pre-Buddhist Ayyanayake with horse from Isurumuniya, Sri Lanka.

Shasta (

IAST Śāstā) is a Hindu deity origin,[1] usually associated with Shiva and Vishnu. In Hindu mythology, Shasta is considered to be another name of Ayyappan, described as the offspring of Shiva and Mohini.[2] His principal function is to act as a kuladevata of a given clan, as well as act as a guardian of a village's boundaries.[3] In South India, he is identified with the Ayyanar, Nattarayan or Sattan in Tamil Nadu, as Ayyanayake in Sinhala and the Ayyappan in Kerala.[4]

Significance

Shasta is a generic term that means "Teacher, Guide, Lord, Ruler" in Sanskrit.[5] In South India, a number of deities are associated with Shasta. The Tamil song Shasta Varavu states that there are eight important incarnations and forms of Shasta. This is also present in the agamic work Dyana Ratnavali. The Ashta-Shasta (eight Shastas) are Aadhi Maha Shasta, Dharma Shasta (Ayyappan), Gnana Shasta, Kalyana Varadha Shasta, Sammohana Shasta, Santhana Prapti Shasta, Veda Shasta and Veera Shasta.[6] Brahma Shasta is another term associated with Kartikeya.[7]

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu,

Tiruchirapalli which is dated to the 4th century C.E.[8]

Literary references to Aiyanar-Cattan are found in

Silappatikaram, a Tamil work dated to the 4th to 5th centuries C.E. The Tamil Sangam classics Purananuru, Akananuru etc. refer to Ayyanar and "Cattan" in many poems. There are several numerous references to Shasta in Sangam works. Some Tamil inscriptions of the Sangam period and a few of the later Pallava and Chola period coming in from various parts of the kingdoms refer to him as Sevugan and Mahasasta. The hymns of some Alvars like Tirumangai Alvar and Nammalvar in temples like Tirumogur near Madurai refer to Shasta.[9] A Sanskrit work dated prior to the 7th century known as the Brahmanda Purana mentions Shasta as Harihara suta, or the son of Shiva and Narayana (Vishnu), the oppressor of the asuras.[10] There are references in the Puranas
that narrate as to how Shasta during his tenure on earth long ago conducted discourses on Vedas and Vedantas to a galaxy of gods and sages.

Later on, the

Chola period (9th century C.E) onwards the popularity of Aiyanar-Shasta became even more pronounced as is attested by epigraphy and imagery.[12]

Kerala

The Shasta religious tradition is particularly well developed in the state of

Ayyappa's following has become very popular in the 20th century.[citation needed
]

Notes

  1. ^ Chakravarti, Balaram (1997). The Indians and the Amerindians. Self-Employment Bureau Publication.
  2. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-691-18641-2
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-4502-2343-0
    .
  5. ISBN 978-1-888789-04-1
    .
  6. ^ "Shrines for Sastha, in eight forms". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  7. ISBN 9027976325
    .
  8. ^ Williams, J., Kaladarsana, p.67
  9. ^ Williams, J., Kaladarsana, p.66
  10. ^ Books, Kausiki (12 July 2021). Brahmanda Purana: 4 Lalithopakhayana : English Translation only without Slokas. Kausiki Books.
  11. ^ General, India Office of the Registrar (1966). Census of India, 1961. Manager of Publications.
  12. ^ Williams, J., Kaladarsana, p.62

See also

Nurani, a village in Palakkad, Kerala, noted for its Sastha devotion.

References

External links

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