Lakulisha (Sanskrit:लकुलीशIAST:Lakulīśa) (Etymology: लगुड (staff) or लकुट (mace) + ईश (lord) = meaning, the lord with a staff or mace or club or stick) was a prominentShaivite revivalist, reformist and preceptor of the doctrine of thePashupatas, one of the oldest sects of Shaivism.
According to some scholars, Lakulisha was the founder of the Pashupata sect. Others argue that the Pashupata doctrine was already in existence before Lakulisha, and he was only its first formalpreceptor.
According to a tradition stated in theLinga Purana, Lakulisha is considered as the 28th and the lastavatar ofShiva and the propounder of theYoga system. In this tradition, Lakulisha had four disciples: Kaurushya,Garga,Mitra and Kushika. According to another tradition mentioned in theAvanti Khanda of theSkanda Purana, Lakulisha and his four disciples installed alinga atMahakalavana, which was then known asKayavarohaneshvara.[2] TheKurma Purana (Chapter 53), theVayu Purana (Chapter 23), and theLinga Purana (Chapter 24) predicted that Shiva (Maheshvara) would appear in the form of a wandering monk called 'Lakulin' or 'Nakulisha', and that he would have four disciples named Kushika, Garga, Mitra, and Kanrushya, who would re-establish the cult ofPashupati and would therefore be called Pashupata(s). Lakulisha was the fruition of these divine predictions. According toVayu Purana V. 1.23.202-214, Lakulisha was a contemporary ofVyasa andKrishna, and was the 28th incarnation of Rudra (Shiva).
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Lakulisha was born in the village of Karavan on the bank ofNarmada inGujarat and propagated Saivism. It has been maintained that Lakulisha's thesis conflicted with that ofGosala, and Lakulisha opposedJainism and particularlyBuddhism. Lakulisha is said to have restored practices ofHatha yoga andTantrism, as well as the cosmological theories of theSamkhya and the duality associated with Samkhya tenets.
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A pillar erected byChandragupta II at Mathura in 380 CE states that a ‘Guruvayatana’ (Abode of the Gurus) was established by Uditacharya, who was 4th in descent from a teacher of thePashupata sect named Parashara, who in turn was 6th in descent from Kushika. If this Kushika is one of the four disciples of Lakulisha described in theLinga Purana, the latter must have existed around 125 CE.
The epigraphistJohn Faithfull Fleet contends that in North India,Kushana emperors likeHuvishka (140 CE) replaced the pictures ofHercules on their coins with ones of Shiva, and ofHeracles with images of Lakulisha.[3]
In the 4th century CE, beginning with the reign ofChandragupta II, icons and representations of Lakulisha have been frequently found. They portray him as a nakedyogi with a staff in his left hand and acitron (matulinga) in his right, either standing or seated in thelotus posture. At about the beginning of the 11th century, the Lakulisha cult shifted its activities to southern India.
A sect of Pasupataascetics, 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.
The penile erection representation illustrates the centrality of the energetic principle ofUrdhva Retas (Sanskrit:ऊर्ध्वरेतस्IAST:Ūrdhvaretas, lit. "ascent of vital energies or fluid") practice ofBrahmacharya orcelibacy[4] and the upward flow of energy in spiritual pursuits, contrary to fertility or release of vital energies.[5][6][7][8][5][7] Controlling the vital fluid, the seminal fluid, is thought to retain control of all passions and the achievement of desirelessness through the practice ofAsceticism andYogic Sadhana, leading to supreme mystical cognition orsamādhi.[5][7] Lakulisha stands on top of anApasmara (demon dwarf), who symbolizes spiritual ignorance, greed, sensual desires orKama and nonsensical speech on the spiritual path, hence must be subdued in spiritual pursuits.[9][10][11]
TheUrdhva linga (IAST:ūrdhvaliṅga), pointing upward, conveys not only the retention of the seed once "stirred" but its upward condition, "through the spinal cord to the brain", retaining its integrity as 'creative substance', while being transformed and absorbed mentally asBodhicitta, the "thought of Awakening".[12][6] The symbol of the ascent and transmutation of vital (sexual) energy into mental power, a channeling of the procreative into creative faculty, is artistically seen astantric realization inMukhalinga or "face-linga", the two overlapping components forming a visual unity, according toStella Kramrisch.[note 2][12]
In Kramrisch's view, the pictorial rendering of the ascent of the vital energy should not be mistaken for fertility or sexuality.[5] Lakulisa, who is an ascetic manifestation ofShiva, is seen in later peninsular Indian scriptures, whose ithyphallic aspects connotes asceticism and conserved procreative potentialities (Brahmacharya), rather than mere eroticism.[14][15] The ithyphallic representation of the erect shape connotes the very opposite in this context, as it stands for "seminal retention", and represents Lakulisha as "he stands for the complete control of the senses, and for the supreme carnal renunciation".[16][6] In the path of Brahmacharya, Asceticism orSannyasa, the yogi does not deny sexual urges, but transforms sexual energy and directs it away from procreation and pleasure towards intuited wisdom,freedom andbliss.[16][6]
M. R. Sakhare argues inThe History and Philosophy of Lingayat Religion that 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 theBharashiva Nagas ofMathura andVakataka dynasty in central and northern India, gradually spread in the south under the impetus of artisan class Shaiva mystics, theNayanars.[citation needed]
Lakulisha Pashupata has been identified with theBhedābheda tradition, which combinesdualistic and non-dualisticmonism, and his teachings had a strong emphasis on theyoga system. The principal text of the Pashupata sect, thePāśupata Sūtra, is attributed to Lakulisha. The manuscripts of this text and a commentary on it, thePañcārtha Bhāṣya byKaundinya (c. 500 CE), were discovered in 1930. ThePāśupata Sūtra formalizes various canons of the Pashupata sect, and contains the basic theology of the sect. However, the authorship of Lakulisha over the Pashupatasutras 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:
" ... Tatha shishta pramanyat kamitvad ajatatvach cha, Manushya-rupi bhagavan brahmana-kayam asthaya kayavatarane avatirna iti | Tatha padbhyam ujjayinim praptah.."
("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 thePuranas and the Karvana Mahatmya, where Lakulisha incarnates inKayavarohana (Karvan) village. However, unlike the latter accounts, the name Lakulisha is never mentioned, even though in the subsequent lines Kaundinya mentions thatShiva as the Brahmana impartedShastra to the student Kushika. Only in the subsequentPashupata texts,Ratna Tika andGana Karika, does a clear mention of Lakulisha as the founder of the Pashupata system appear. 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 byAdi Shankaracharya in commentary on theBrahma Sutras (3.2.37). An analysis of it is found in one of the main Pashupata texts, theGana Karika of Haradatta, and its commentary by Kaundinya called Panchartha Bhashya (commentary of the five subjects).Ramanuja attributed this philosophy to the tradition of theKalamukha(s), the sect of "Black Faces" to which Lakulisha belonged. This Nakulisha Pashupata doctrine is divided into six parts, known as: Karana (cause), Karya (work/task), Kala (divisibility), Vidhi (method), Yoga (union), and Dukhanta (the end of suffering).
According to some scholars, Lakulisha modified theMaheshwara doctrine by putting different interpretations on all five main concepts in that doctrine and placed special emphasis on the different kinds of behaviour to be adopted at each of the five stages, in their progress from initiation to the attainment of the unlimited powers of knowing, willing and acting on the terrestrial place. The doctrines of the Lakulisha Pashupatas are explained at length inSayana Madhava'sSarva Darshana Sangraha (p. 108,Cowell & Gough)Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha by Sayana-Madhava – Tr. by E.B. Cowell.
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 ofKayavarohana and Timberva in Gujarat.[17][18] These icons are some more examples of iconic, image-lingas. D.R. Bhandarkar mentions that the image in the sanctum of the Lakulishvara temple in Karvan is "the conjoint figure of Brahmeshvara and Lakulisha, confirming the statement of the Mahatmya that Lakulisha merged himself with Brahmeshvara".[19] Brahmeshvara refers to the Shiva-linga. Lakulisha was identified with Mahesha (Shiva) in the Karvan Mahatmya and in iconographical programmes of several temples of Orissa and Rajasthan. So the images of Lakulisha conjoint with the linga, like other image-lingas, combine both thesakala (with form, manifest) andnishkala (formless, unmanifest) aspects of Shiva.
Lakulisha images have also been found inSaurastra, 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 asurdhav-linga (with anerect penis)[note 1] but neither symbolizing fertility nor sexuality, but the refined energetic principles (Urdhva Retas) duringSāyaṇa or Asceticism.[5][7][20]
Image of Lakulisha have been found depicted on the walls of the large hall atElephanta Caves, suggesting that the caves may have been associated with Pashupata Shaivism.[21] Icons of Lakulisha have also been found on the Laxmaneswar group of temples atBhubaneswar, namely, the Satrughneswar, Bharateswar and Laxmaneswara temples.
A rock-cut Shiva temple with bas reliefs ofGanapati and Lakulisa, carved by the seventh centuryPandyas, is located at Arittapatti nearMadurai. This temple is maintained by the Archeological Department ofTamil Nadu.
Lakulisha carvings are also found on Kudavelly Sangameswara and Balabrahmeswara Swamy temples at Alampur, Gadwal Jogulamba district, Telangana.
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