| Part ofa series on |
| Shaivism |
|---|
 |
Scriptures and texts |
Philosophy
|
Schools
Saiddhantika Non - Saiddhantika
|
 Hinduism portal |
Pashupata Shaivism (Pāśupata,Sanskrit:पाशुपत) is one of the oldest majorShaivite Hindu schools. The mainstream which followsVedic Pāśupata penance are 'Mahāpāśupata' and the schism of 'Lakula Pasupata' ofLakulisa.
There is a debate about the origin of this schism. On one hand, the Goan school of Nakulisa darsana believes that Nakulisa was pioneer and that Lakulisa and Patanjalinatha were his disciples. On the other hand, the Gujarat school believes that Nakulisa and Lakulisa are one.Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha written byVidyaranya (sometimes also known as Madhavacharya) mentions it as "Nakulisa Darsana" not as "Lakulisa Darsana". Both sub schools are still active in their own areas. The philosophy of the Pashupata sect was systematized byLakulīśa also called Nakulīśa[1]) in the 2nd century CE.
The main texts of the school arePāśupatasūtra with Kauṇḍinya'sPañcārthabhāṣya, andGaṇakārikā with Bhāsarvajña'sRatnaṭīkā. Both texts were discovered only in the twentieth century. Prior to that, the major source of information on this sect was a chapter devoted to it inVidyāraṇya'sSarvadarśanasaṅgraha.
The date of foundation of the school is uncertain. However, the Pashupatas may have existed from 1st century CE.[2] Gavin Flood dates them to around the 2nd century CE.[3] They are also referred to in the epicMahabharata which is thought to have reached a final form by the 4th century CE.[4][full citation needed] The Pashupata movement was influential inSouth India in the period between the 7th and 14th century.[5]
During his travels through India in the early 7th century, theBuddhist pilgrim monkXuanzang reported seeing the adherents of Pashupata sect all over the country. In the region ofMalwa, he mentions seeing a hundred temples of different kinds with Pashupats making a majority.[6] In the capital city of the place called ’O-tin-p’o-chi-lo (Atyanabakela), he saw a temple ofShiva, ornamented with rich sculptures, where the Pashupats dwelled.[7] In another city called Langala on the way toPersia fromIndia he reports seeing several hundredDeva temples with a richly adorned Maheshwara temple where the Pashupats were exceedingly numerous and offered their prayers.[8]
One of the last surviving influential Vedic Pasupatamathas was the Eka Veerambal matha which existed up to the late 18th century administering theJambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval temple nearTrichy and theRamanathaswamy Temple.[9]
| Part ofa series on | |
| Hindu philosophy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Orthodox | |
| Heterodox | |
Sub-schools | |
| |
Pashupata Shaivism was a devotional (bhakti) and ascetic movement.[5][10] Pashu inPashupati refers to the effect (or created world), the word designates that which is dependent on something ulterior. Whereas, Pati means the cause (or principium), the word designates the Lord, who is the cause of the universe, the pati, or the ruler.[11] To free themselves from worldly fetters Pashupatas are instructed to do apashupata vrata. Atharvasiras Upanishsad describes the pashupata vrata as that which consists of besmearing one's own body with ashes and at the same time mutteringmantra — "Agni is ashes, Vayu is ashes, Sky is ashes, all this is ashes, the mind, these eyes are ashes."[12]
Haradattacharya, inGaṇakārikā, explains that a spiritual teacher is one who knows the eightpentads and the three functions. The eight pentads of Acquisition (result of expedience), Impurity (evil in soul), Expedient (means of purification), Locality (aids to increase knowledge), Perseverance (endurance in pentads), Purification (putting away impurities), Initiation and Powers are[11] —
| Acquisition | knowledge | penance | permanence of the body | constancy | purity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impurity | false conception | demerit | attachment | interestedness | falling |
| Expedient | use of habitation | pious muttering | meditation | constant recollection ofRudra | apprehension |
| Locality | spiritual teachers | a cavern | a special place | the burning ground | Rudra |
| Perseverance | the differenced | the undifferenced | muttering | acceptance | devotion |
| Purification | loss of ignorance | loss of demerit | loss of attachment | loss of interestedness | loss of falling |
| Initiations | the material | proper time | the rite | the image | the spiritual guide |
| Powers | devotion to the spiritual guide | clearness of intellect | conquest of pleasure and pain | merit | carefulness |
The three functions correspond to the means of earning daily food — mendicancy, living upon alms, and living upon what chance supplies.[11]
Pashupatas disapprove of theVaishnava theology, known for its doctrine servitude of souls to the Supreme Being, on the grounds that dependence upon anything cannot be the means of cessation of pain and other desired ends. They recognize that those depending upon another and longing for independence will not be emancipated because they still depend upon something other than themselves. According to Pashupatas, spirits possess the attributes of the Supreme Deity when they become liberated from the 'germ of every pain'.[13] In this system the cessation of pain is of two kinds, impersonal and personal. Impersonal consists of the absolute cessation of all pains, whereas the personal consists of development of visual and active powers like swiftness of thought, assuming forms at will etc. The Lord is held to be the possessor of infinite, visual, and active powers.[14]
Pañchārtha bhāshyadipikā divides the created world into the insentient and the sentient. The insentient is unconscious and thus independent on the conscious. The insentient is further divided into effects and causes. The effects are of ten kinds, the earth,four elements and their qualities, colour etc. The causes are of thirteen kinds, the five organs of cognition, the five organs of action, the three internal organs, intellect, the ego principle and the cognising principle. These insentient causes are held responsible for the illusive identification ofSelf with non-Self. The sentient spirit, which is subject totransmigration is of two kinds, the appetent and nonappetent. The appetent is the spirit associated with an organism and sense organs, whereas the non-appetent is the spirit without them.[15]
Union in the Pashupata system is a conjunction of the soul with God through the intellect. It is achieved in two ways, action and cessation of action. Union through action consists of pious muttering, meditation, etc. and union through cessation of action occurs through consciousness.[15]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Rituals andspiritual practices were done to acquiremerit or puṇya. They were divided into primary and secondary rituals, where primary rituals were the direct means of acquiring merit. Primary rituals included acts of piety and various postures. The acts of piety were bathing thrice a day, lying upon sand and worship with oblations of laughter, song, dance, sacred muttering etc.
| Deities |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts | |||||||||||
| Mantra/Stotra | |||||||||||
| Traditions | |||||||||||
| Festivals and observances | |||||||||||
| Shiva temples |
| ||||||||||
| Related topics | |||||||||||
