Lakulisha-Pashupata (Philosophy and Practice)
by Geetika Kaw Kher | 2012 | 86,751 words
This study discusses the dynamics between the philosophy and practice in the Lakulisha-Pashupata order. According to the cave temples of Elephanta and Jogesvari (Jogeshwari), Lakulisa was the 28th incarnation of Shiva, and Pashupata Shaivism his doctrine, of which the Pasupatasutra represents the prominent text detailing various ritual practices (v...
Go directly to: Footnotes.
Early Evidences from Art, Archeology and History
The earliest historical record which mention the worship of Siva is that of Megasthenes[1] , the Greek ambassador to the court of Pataliputra in 4th BCE.He describes two Indian deities under the name of Dionysus and Heracles commonly identified with Siva and Krsna respectively. We learn of these worshippers of Siva existing in Punjab about a century after Panini from the Greek records. The people termed as Sibae or Siboi living during the time of invasion of India by Alexander are mentioned in the treatises of Greek historians like R.Curtus,Deodorus[2] and others. The Siboi as described by these classical writers appears to be devotees of Siva because their descriptions agree partly with the descriptions of the Saivas in the Mahabhasya and interestingly they are mentioned as carrying clubs and wearing animal hides.
Numismatic records:
One of the earliest numismatic data in connection with the worship of Siva is found in the device of some silver punch marked coins which as a class typify the most ancient forms of Indian currency.It shows a human figure schematically represented holding a staff and a water vessel (danda and kamandalu)in his hands.On the basis of its similarity with several die-struck coins hailing from Ujjain and Taksasila,belonging to 3rd CE to 2nd CE Banerjea[3] identifies the figure as that of Siva.
[Illustration 4. Early Form of Siva with a danda and kamaldalu depicted on a coin from Ujjain, 200BCE]
Tradition associates Ujjain with the worship of Siva as Mahakala, and some coins found there contain the anthropomorphic, theriomorphic and phallic forms of the deity as their devices.The human form is sometimes three headed,emphasizing the panchvaktra form of Siva (two faces one on the back and one on the top being invisible in this two dimentional representation).The staff and water vessel in the above image connects it to Lakulisa very strongly as all early imges of Lakulisa are seen haloding a staff and a water vessel. Here it would be interesting to note that Rasikara (Kaundinya)[4] states that Lakulisa preached his first sermon at Ujjain thus drawing a very strong Lakulisa-Pasupata connection with the region. Not only Ujjain a good number of coins are found at Vidisha, Pawaya and Kutwar which depict Siva holding a danda and a kalasa.
Such representations of Siva can also be found on other ancient coins of indigenous and foreign chiefs and kings who ruled in parts of northern India from 1st BCE to 2nd CE. The coins of many Indo-Greek rulers bear the figue of a bull on one side and scholars believe this bull to be the early theriomorphic reprentation of Siva which was one of the tutelary divinities of Puskalavati,the old capital of Gandhara. This coin depicts the figure of a bull with the legend “Tauros� inscribed in Greek and “Usabhe� in Kharoshti script.
On the obverse of a few silver coins of the Audumbara chief Dharaghosha, two armed Siva is shown holding a trident battleaxe in his right hand and a lion’s skin in his left. On their reverse are found the Saiva emblem, trident battle-axe on a pedestal and a tree within railing. Many a copper coins of Dharaghosha and two other chiefs of the tribe, Rudradasa and Sivadasa, have a clear representation of a two tiered Saiva shrine with the same composite emblem before it[5] .
[Illustration 5. Audumbara Coin showing a Sivasthala and the composite emblem, 1st BCE]
Numismatic considerations tend to place the Audumbaras in the period extending from 2nd BCE-1st CE. An interesting connection is drawn between the famous sage Visvamitra and the audumbara tree (fig tree).
Swami Parmeshwarananda[6] observes that:
The evidences furnished by the Brahmanda-Purana regarding the tribe are identical with those of the Vayu Purana and thus these two Puranas assign the Audumbaras to the Kusika or Kausika gotra and so to the family of the celebrated sage named Visvamitra who belongs to the same gotra.
Kalika Purana believed to have been composed between 7th -10th CE further establishes the association of ³Õ¾±²õ±¹²¹³¾¾±³Ù°ù²¹â€™s birth with Audumbara tree (fig tree)34.The fact that Audumbara Brahmans of Gujarat even at present belong to the gotra of Visvamitra furthers this contention[7]
Maues, who ruled over north-western India from 1st BCE had the image of Siva inscribed on many of his coins. Of particular interest are some of the square copper coins on which can be seen a two armed standing figure holding in his right hand a club and a trident in his right hand. On comparing these coins with an inscribed bronze seal found at Sirkap by Marshall, Banerjea[8] proved that the figure stood for Siva. The Prakrit legends on the Sirkap seal written in two scripts (Brahmi and Kharoshti) on either side of the club and trident bearing standing figure read �Sivarakshitasa� (belonging to one protected by Siva)and might have been the image of the patron deity of the owner.
There is another seal of about the same period found at Taxila which is of quite some interest to us. The device in this case consists of a two-armed standing human being with one foot placed on a bull shaped figure. It was described by both Marshall and Konow[9] as �Herakles trampling down a bull-shaped dragon�.Konow read the inscription inscribed as �Badusa Vispamitrasa� (of the young Brahmin Vispamitra) which Konow belives can be read as �Visvamitra�, considering the phonetics of Kharoshthi languge. The words “Vispamitra� is written in Kharoshthi across the body of Siva on the silver coin of Dharaghosha noted above too. Thus it probably talks about the association of Sage Visvamitra with Siva which is further strenghted by the evidences supplied in Vishvamitri Mahatmaya.
These evidences go on to prove that the early form of Siva was that of Pasupati Siva, an ascetic yogi,associated with austere meditation and esoteric practices.
From the archeological evidence we find a section of the foreign immigrants adopting Siva worship as well as Indian names. Gondophares, the Indo-Parthian ruler 1st CE very often describes himself in his coin legends as Devavrata or �Sudevavrata� meaning one vowed to Deva or Sudeva, an epithet used for Siva.The suffix �vrata� could possibly refer to �Mahavratas�, later Kalamukhas and important sub-sect of Lakulisa-Pasupatas[10] .
[Illustration 6. Early form of Siva on the coin of Gondophares, Parthian, 1st CE]
In several passages from Hiuen Tsang’s “Si-Yu-Ki[11] it is stated that,
�Outside the western gates of Pushkalavati was a Deva temple and a marvelous looking image of the Deva�.
While on one hand such early descriptions talks of prevalence of Siva worship on the other it talks of images of the deity being made and worshipped in the temple. The profuse depiction of Siva in anthropomorphic form can be seen on the coins of Kusana emperor Wema Kadphises and to also to some extent on the coins of his successors Kanishka, Huvishka and Vasudeva.The fact that no other deity or his emblem appears on Wema’s coins proves his whole hearted allegiance to Saivism. The reverse device of most of his coins depict two armed Siva holding his various attributes.Moreover the epithet �Mahesvara� in the reverse legend singals him out as a devotee of Siva. The example given below is of special interest to us because it shows Siva in his ithyphallic form, an aspect which links to the later ascetic forms of Siva and especially to Lakulisa who is always shown with an erect phallus.
[Illustration 7. Ithyphallic Siva seen on Wema Kadphises coin, Kusana, 2nd CE]
The coins of later Kusana kings show the development in iconography of Siva where the deity is shown as two/four armed holding in his hands two/four of the following attributes–thunderbolt,water vessel, antelope, elephant goad,trident, noose,spear, club etcAround this time as Konow[12] mentions we come across a Kharoshthi inscription discovered at Panjtar or Salimpur in the region of ancient Gandhara (Peshawar district) and bearing the date 122 of an unspecified date refering to construction of a Saiva sanctuary (Sivasthala) by someone named Moika, the Urumuja Scion..
The fact that well developed Sivasthala existed as early as Audumbara times points towards the rising popularity of this godhead among the dynasties of North India.
Footnotes and references:
[3]:
Banerjea J.N, ‘The development of Hindu Iconography� New Delhi, 1985, p 45
[4]:
Chakraborti Haripada, �Pasupata Sutra with Pancarthabhasya of Kaundinya, Translated with an Intoduction on the history of Saivism in India, Calcutta, 1969,p.24
[5]:
Encyclopaedia of Saivism, Compiled by Swami Parmeshwaranand, Delhi,2004,Audumbara
[6]:
Ibid.34 Ibid.
[7]:
Gupta Parmanand, ‘Geography from Ancient Indian coins and seals�,Concept Publishing Company,1989 p.19-20
[8]:
Banerjea J.N., ‘The development of Hindu Iconography� New Delhi, 1985, p.121
[9]:
Konow Sten, ‘The religions of India�, G.E.C Gad Publisher, 1949, p.12
[10]:
Sastri,K.A. Nilakantha (Ed.), ‘A Comprehensive History of India, Vol II, New Delhi,1957,p401
[11]:
Sastri,K.A. Nilakantha (Ed.), ‘A Comprehensive History of India, Vol II, New Delhi,1957,p403
[12]:
Konow Sten, ‘The religions of India�, G.E.C Gad Publisher, 1949, p.41