A HISTORY
OF
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
A HISTORY
OF
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
BY THE LATE
SURENDRANATH DASGUPTA
VOLUME V
SOUTHERN SCHOOLS OF
CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
955
PUBLISHED BY
THE SYNDICS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
London Office : Bentley House, N.W. i
American Branch : New York
Agents for Canada, India, and Pakistan : Macmillan
Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge
(Brooke Crutchley, University Printer)
SURENDRANATH DASGUPTA
A MEMOIR
THE late Surendranath Dasgupta was born in Kusthia, a subdivi
sion of Bengal, in October 1885 (loth of Asvina). He came from
a well-known family in Goila, District Barishal, East Bengal. This
family was particularly known for its great tradition of Sanskrit
learning and culture. His great-grandfather was a distinguished
scholar and also a Vaidya (physician of the Ayurvedic school of
medicine). He was known by his title "Kavindra", and was
running a Sanskrit institution known as " Kavindra College",
which continued in existence up to the time of the partition of
India in 1947. This institution maintained about 150 students
with free board and lodging, and taught Kavya, Grammar, Nyaya,
Vedanta and Ayurveda in traditional Indian style. Professor Das-
gupta s father, Kaliprasanna Dasgupta, was the only member of
the family who learnt English and took up the job of a surveyor.
In his early years, between five and eight, while he did not
know any Sanskrit, he showed certain remarkable gifts of answering
philosophical and religious questions in a very easy and spontaneous
manner. He could demonstrate the various Yogic postures (asanas) ;
and used to pass easily into trance states, while looking at the river
Ganges or listening to some Kirtan song. He was visited by hundreds
of learned men and pious saints at his father s residence at Kalighat
and was styled "Khoka Bhagawan" (Child God). Mention may
particularly be made of Srimat Bijay Krishna Goswami, Prabhu
Jagat Bandhu and Sivanarayan Paramhansa. He was sometimes
taken to the Theosophical Society, Calcutta, where a big audience
used to assemble, and the boy was put on the table and questioned
on religious and theological matters. The answers that he gave were
published in the Bengali and English newspapers along with the
questions. Some of these are still preserved.
He was educated at Diamond Harbour for a time, and then for
seven years in the Krishnagar Collegiate School and College. He
was interested in Sanskrit and science alike, and surprised the
professor of chemistry by his proficiency in the subject so much
that he never taught in the class unless his favourite pupil was
vi Surendranath Dasgupta
present. He took his M.A. degree from Sanskrit College, Calcutta,
in 1908. His fellow-students noticed with interest his habits and
peculiarities. He took no care of his clothes and hair; he studied on
a mat with a pillow for his table; and his place was littered with
books and papers. Though he did not talk very much, he already
had a reputation for scholarship when he was an M.A. student at
the Sanskrit College. His scholarship in Panini was so great that
when even his teachers had differences of opinion about a gram
matical matter, he was called out of his class to solve it. His first
research work on Nyaya, which was written while he was in the
Sanskrit College, was read out before the Pandits, and was very highly
appreciated by them and the then Principal, the late Mahamaho-
padhyaya H. P. Sastri. Incidentally it may be noted that Nyaya
was not one of the subjects of his M.A. curriculum. After his
childhood, both as a student and as a young man, he had many
striking religious and spiritual experiences, which were known to
a group of his intimate friends and admirers.
One of the peculiar traits of Dasgupta was that he seldom wished
to learn anything from others. He had an inner pride that led him
to learn everything by his own efforts. He never wanted any
stimulus from outside. Whenever he took up any work, he threw
his whole soul and being into it. He passed his M.A. in Philo
sophy in 1910, as a private candidate, summarising all the pre
scribed books in his own way. He was twice offered a state
scholarship to study Sanskrit in a scientific manner in Europe,
but as he was the only child of his parents, he refused out of
consideration for their feelings. He began his service at Rajshahi
College as an officiating lecturer in Sanskrit. He was soon provided
with a permanent professorship at Chittagong College, where he
worked from 1911 to 1920 and from 1922 to 1924.
Chittagong was to him like a place of banishment, being far
away from the great libraries of Calcutta. The College was newly
started and had none of the facilities that it possesses now. But
Dasgupta had taken the resolution that he would dedicate himself
to the study of the Indian " Sastras" in their entirety. For him to
take a resolution was to accomplish it, and while many of his
colleagues enjoyed club life in an easy-going manner, he continued
his studies for fourteen hours or more a day, in spite of the teasing
of his friends. At this time Maharaja Manindra Chandra Nandi of
Surendranath Dasgupta vii
Cassimbazar made an offer of 300 rupees a month for Dasgupta to
start his library ; this is now one of the best of its kind, containing
many unpublished manuscripts and over 15,000 printed books.
It was given by him as a gift to the Benares Hindu University
on his retirement from the Calcutta University. Love of know
ledge seems to have been the guiding passion of the professor s life.
He never sought position or honour, though they were showered
upon him in quick succession in his later days. He had a unique
sincerity of purpose and expression, and the light that came from
his soul impressed kindred souls.
When Lord Ronaldshay, the Governor of Bengal, came to visit
Chittagong College, he had a long talk with Professor Dasgupta in
his classroom, and was so much impressed by it that he expressed
the desire that the first volume of the History of Indian Philosophy
might be dedicated to him. Originally Dasgupta s plan was to
write out the history of Indian systems of thought in one volume.
Therefore he tried to condense the materials available within the
compass of one book. But as he went on collecting materials from
all parts of India, a huge mass of published and unpublished texts
came to light, and the plan of the work enlarged more and more as
he tried to utilise them. As a matter of fact, his was the first and
only attempt to write out in a systematic manner a history of
Indian thought directly from the original sources in Sanskrit,
Pali and Prakrit. In a work of the fourteenth century A.D., the
Sarva-darsana-samgraha of Madhavacarya, we find a minor attempt
to give a survey of the different philosophical schools of India. But
the account given there is very brief, and the work does not give an
exhaustive survey of all the different systems of philosophy. In the
present series the author traced, in a historical and critical manner,
the development of Indian thought in its different branches from
various sources, a considerable portion of which lies in unpublished
manuscripts. He spared no pains and underwent a tremendous
amount of drudgery in order to unearth the sacred, buried treasures
of Indian thought. He revised his original plan of writing only one
volume and thought of completing the task in five consecutive
volumes constituting a series. He shouldered this gigantic task
all alone, with the sincerest devotion and unparalleled enthusiasm
and zeal.
Dasgupta had taken the Griffith Prize in 1916 and his doctorate
viii Surendranath Dasgupta
in Indian Philosophy in 1920. Maharaja Sir Manindra Chandra
Nandi now urged him to go to Europe to study European philo
sophy at its sources, and generously bore all the expenses of his
research tour (1920-22). Dasgupta went to England and distin
guished himself at Cambridge as a research student in philosophy
under Dr McTaggart. During this time the Cambridge University
Press published the first volume of the History of Indian Philosophy
(1921). He was also appointed lecturer at Cambridge, and nominated
to represent Cambridge University at the International Congress
of Philosophy in Paris. His participation in the debates of the
Aristotelian Society, London, the leading philosophical society of
England, and of the Moral Science Club, Cambridge, earned for
him the reputation of being an almost invincible controversialist.
Great teachers of philosophy like Ward and McTaggart, under
whom he studied, looked upon him not as their pupil but as their
colleague. He received his Cambridge doctorate for an elaborate
thesis on contemporary European philosophy. The impressions
that he had made by his speeches and in the debates at the Paris
Congress secured for him an invitation to the International Con
gress at Naples in 1924, where he was sent as a representative of
the Bengal Education Department and of the University of Calcutta ;
later on, he was sent on deputation by the Government of Bengal
to the International Congress at Harvard in 1926. In that connec
tion he delivered the Harris Foundation lectures at Chicago, besides
a series of lectures at about a dozen other Universities of the United
States and at Vienna, where he was presented with an illuminated
address and a bronze bust of himself. He was invited in 1925 to
the second centenary of the Academy of Science, Leningrad, but
he could not attend for lack of Government sanction. In 1935,
1936 and 1939 he was invited as visiting professor to Rome, Milan,
Breslau, Konigsberg, Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Zurich, Paris, Warsaw
and England.
While in Rome he delivered at the International Congress of
Science in 1936 an address on the Science of Ancient India with
such success that shouts of " Grand uomo" cheered him through
the session of the day. This led eventually to the conferment of the
Honorary D.Litt. upon him by the University of Romejin 1939. He
was on that occasion a state guest in Rome and military honours
were accorded to him. At this time he read out before many
Surendranath Dasgupta ix
cultured societies English translations of his own Bengali verses
called Vanishing Lines. The appreciation that these verses received
secured for him a special reception and banquet at the Poets Club.
Before this, only two other Indian poets had been accorded this
reception: Tagore and Mrs Naidu. Laurence Binyon spoke of his
poems in the following terms: "I am impressed by the richness of
imagination which pervades the poems and the glow of mystic
faith and fervent emotion reminding me of one of William Blake s
sayings: Exuberance is beauty . It would be a great pity if the
poems are not published in English."
The University of Warsaw made him an honorary Fellow of the
Academy of Sciences. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society
of Literature. The Societe des Amis du Monde of Paris offered him
a special reception, and M. Renou, Professor of Sanskrit in the
University of Paris, wrote to him afterwards: " While you were
amongst us, we felt as if a Sankara or a Patanjali was born again
and moved amongst us." Kind and simple and gentle as he was,
Dasgupta was always undaunted in challenging scholars and philo
sophers. In the second International Congress of Philosophy in
Naples, the thesis of his paper was that Croce s philosophy had
been largely anticipated by some forms of Buddhism, and that
where Croce differed he was himself in error. On account of
internal differences Croce had no mind to join the Congress, but
the fact that Dasgupta was going to challenge his philosophy and
prove it to be second-hand in open congress, induced him to do so.
In the same way he challenged Vallee Poussein, the great Buddhist
scholar, before a little assembly presided over by McTaggart. In
the meetings of the Aristotelian Society he was a terror to his oppo
nents, his method of approach being always to point out their
errors. He inflicted this treatment on many other scholars, par
ticularly Steherbatsky and Levy.
Disinterested love of learning and scientific accuracy were his
watchwords. He had to make a most painstaking tour of South
India to collect materials for his great History. Though he was well
known as a scholar of Sanskrit and philosophy, his studies in other
subjects, such as physics, biology, anthropology, history, economics,
political philosophy, etc. are very considerable. Above all, he
developed a new system of thought which was entirely his own.
A brief account of this appeared in Contemporary Indian Philosophy
x Surendranath Dasgupta
edited by Radhakrishnan and Muirhead and published by Allen
and Unwin.
In 1924, as a mark of recognition of his scholarship, he was
admitted to I.E.S. service in Calcutta Presidency College and was
posted as Head of the Department of Philosophy. In 1931 he
became Principal of the Government Sanskrit College, Calcutta,
and ex-officio Secretary of the Bengal Sanskrit Association. In the
latter capacity he had to arrange about 218 papers in Sanskrit for
Sanskrit Title Examinations for about ten thousand candidates
coming from all parts of India. During the eleven years of his
principalship in Sanskrit College he had worked in various ways for
the advancement of Sanskrit learning and culture in India.
In 1942 he retired from Sanskrit College and was appointed
King George V Professor of Mental and Moral Science in the
University of Calcutta. He worked there for three years and
delivered the Stephanos Nirmalendu lectures on the history of
religions. He had been suffering from heart trouble since 1940,
but was still carrying on his various activities and research work.
In 1945 he retired from the Calcutta University and was offered
the Professorship of Sanskrit at Edinburgh which had fallen vacant
after the death of Professor Keith. The doctors also advised a trip
to England. On his arrival in England he fell ill again. In Novem
ber 1945 he delivered his last public lecture on Hinduism in Trinity
College, Cambridge. Since then he was confined to bed with acute
heart trouble. He stayed in England for five years (1945-50). Even
then he published the fourth volume of his History of Indian
Philosophy at the Cambridge University Press, the History of
Sanskrit Literature at Calcutta University, Rabindranath the Poet
and Philosopher with his Calcutta publishers, and a book on aesthetics
in Bengali. In 1950 he returned to Lucknow.
In 1951, through friendly help given by Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru, he started writing the fifth and final volume of the History
of Indian Philosophy. He had also planned to write out his own
system of philosophy in two volumes. His friends and students
requested him several times to complete the writing of his own
thought first. But he looked upon his work on Indian philosophy
as the sacred mission of his life, and thought himself to be com
mitted to that purpose. His love of his mother country and all that
is best in it always had precedence over his personal aspirations.
Surendranath Dasgupta xi
With strong determination and unwavering devotion he brought
his life s mission very near its completion. Till the last day of his
life he was working for this, and completed one full section just
a few hours before his passing away, on 18 December 1952. Even
on this last day of his life, he worked in the morning and afternoon
on the last chapter of the section of Southern Saivism. He passed
away peacefully at eight in the evening while discussing problems
of modern psychology. All his life he never took rest voluntarily
and till his end he was burning like a fire, full of zeal and a rare
brightness of spirit for the quest of knowledge.
His plan of the fifth volume was as follows :
(1) Southern Schools of Saivism.
(2) Northern Schools of Saivism.
(3) Philosophy of Grammar.
(4) Philosophy of some of the Selected Tantras.
Of these the first was to be the largest section and covers more than
a third of the proposed work according to his own estimate. He
collected manuscripts from various sources from Southern India
and completed his survey of the different schools of Southern
Saivism. This is now being published by the Cambridge University
Press.
Another aspect of his life, which showed itself in trances and in
deep unswerving devotion and faith in his Lord, never left him.
These were manifest in him even as a child, and continued all
through his life. In trials and troubles and sorrows he was fearless
and undaunted. In difficulties he had his indomitable will to
conquer ; he bore all his sufferings with patience and fortitude. His
faith in God sustained him with an unusual brightness and cheer
fulness of spirit. He never prayed, as he thought there was no need
of it since his dearest Lord was shining in his heart with sweetness,
love and assurance. That is why in different critical stages of his
illness he never gave up hope, and tried to cheer up his worried
wife and attending doctors. It was through sheer determination
and unshaken faith that he carried out his life s mission nearly to
completion when God took him away maybe for some purpose
known to him alone.
It now remains to thank the Syndics of the Cambridge Univer
sity Press for the very kind interest that they have shown in the
xii Surendranath Dasgupta
publication of this fifth volume of the History of Indian Philosophy
by my husband. The Indian Government have permitted me to
complete the remaining portion of the work as planned by the
author. It is a great task and a very sacred obligation that I owe
to my husband, both as his disciple and wife, and I do not know
how far I shall be able to fulfil it. It all depends on God s will. But
the work as it stands now is self-complete and will serve the need
of enquiring minds about the different important schools of Saivism
from the beginning of the Christian era. The references to texts and
manuscripts have been duly checked. I beg the forgiveness of
readers for any mistake that might remain.
SURAMA DASGUPTA
University of Lucknow, India
19 June 1954
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXIV
LITERATURE OF SOUTHERN gAIVISM
PAGE
i The Literature and History of Southern aivism .... i
2
3
4
5"
The Agama Literature and its Philosoj
iva-jnana-bodha by Meykandadeva
Mdtanga-paramesvara-tantra .
>hical Perspective ... 20
24
28
29
6
38
7
Vatula-tantram ....
38
CHAPTER XXXV
VlRA-gAIVISM
1 History and Literature of Vira-s aivism 42
2 Anubhava-sutra of Mayi-deva 61
CHAPTER XXXVI
PHILOSOPHY OF SRlKANTHA
1 Philosophy of Saivism as expounded by Srikantha in his Commentary
on the Brahma-sutra and the Sub-commentary on it by Appaya
Diksita 65
2 The Nature of Brahman 77
3 Moral Responsibility and the Grace of God 85
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE gAIVA PHILOSOPHY IN THE PURANAS
i The aiva Philosophy in the iva-mahdpurdna .... 96
2, 3 aiva Philosophy in the Vdyaviya-samhitd of the iva-mahdpurdna
Section i 106
Section 2 "8
xiv Contents
CHAPTER XXXVIII
gAIVA PHILOSOPHY IN SOME OF THE IMPORTANT TEXTS
PAGE
1 The Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 130
2 The aiva Ideas of Manikka-vachakar in Tiru-vachaka . . .149
3 Manikka-vachakar and aiva Siddhanta . . . . . .154
4 ^aiva Philosophy according to Bhoja and his commentators . . 159
5 ripati Pandita s Ideas on the Vedanta Philosophy, called also the
Snkara-bhdsya which is accepted as the Fundamental Basis of Vira-
saivism ............ 173
INDEX . 191
CHAPTER XXXIV
LITERATURE OF SOUTHERN SAIVISM
The Literature and History of Southern aivism.
THE earliest Sanskrit philosophical literature in which we find a
reference to Saivism is a bhdsya of Sankara (eighth century) on
Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37. In the commentary on this sutra, Sankara
refers to the doctrines of the Siddhantas as having been written by
Lord Mahesvara. The peculiarity of the teachings of the Siddhantas
was that they regarded God as being only the instrumental cause
of the world. Here and elsewhere Sankara has called the upholders
of this view Isvara-karanins. If Siva or God was regarded as both
the instrumental and the material cause of the world, according to
the different Siddhanta schools of thought, then there would be no
point in introducing the sutra under reference, for according to
Sankara also, God is both the instrumental and the material cause
of the world. Sankara seems to refer here to the Pasupata system
which deals with the five categories, such as the cause (kdrana\
effect (kdrya), communion (yoga\ rules of conduct (vidhi) and
dissolution of sorrow (duhkhdnta) 1 . According to him it also holds
that Pasupati (God) is the instrumental cause of the world. In this
view the Naiyayikas and the Vaisesikas also attribute the same kind
of causality to God, and offer the same kind of arguments, i.e. the
inference of the cause from the effect.
Vacaspati Misra (A.D. 840), in commenting on the bhdsya of
Sankara, says that the Mahesvaras consist of the Saivas, Pasupatas,
the Karunika-siddhantins and the Kapalikas. Madhava of the
fourteenth century mentions the Saivas as being Nakullsa-
pasupatas who have been elsewhere mentioned as Lakullsa-
pasupatas or Lakullsa-pasupatas, and they have been discussed in
another section of the present work. Madhava also mentions the
Saiva-darsana in which he formulates the philosophical doctrines
found in the Saivdgamas and their cognate literature. In addition
to this he devotes a section to pratyabhijnd-darsana, commonly
1 The skeleton of this system has already been dealt with in another section
as Pdsupata-sdstras.
2 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
called Kasmir Saivism. This system will also be dealt with in the
present volume. Vacaspati mentions the Karunika-siddhantins and
the Kapalikas. Ramanuja in his bhdsya on Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37
mentions the name of Kapalikas and Kalamukhas as being Saiva
sects of an anti-Vedic character. But in spite of my best efforts, I
have been unable to discover any texts, published or unpublished,
which deal with the special features of their systems of thought.
We find some references to the Kapalikas in literature like the
Mdlati-mddhava of Bhavabhuti (A.D. 700-800) and also in some of
the Puranas. Anandagiri, a contemporary of Sahkara and a
biographer, speaks of various sects of Saivas with various marks and
signs on their bodies and with different kinds of robes to distinguish
themselves from one another. He also speaks of two schools of
Kapalikas, one Brahmanic and the other non-Brahmanic. In the
Atharva-veda we hear of the Vratyas who were devotees of Rudra.
The Vratyas evidently did not observe the caste-rules and customs.
But the Vratyas of the Atharva-veda were otherwise held in high
esteem. But the Kapalikas, whether they were Brahmanic or non-
Brahmanic, indulged in horrid practices of drinking and indulging
in sex-appetite and living in an unclean manner. It is doubtful
whether there is any kind of proper philosophy, excepting the fact
that they were worshippers of Bhairava the destroyer, who also
created the world and maintained it. They did not believe in karma.
They thought that there are minor divinities who perform various
functions in world creation and maintenance according to the will
of Bhairava. The Sudra Kapalikas did not believe also in the caste-
system and all these Kapalikas ate meat and drank wine in skulls
as part of their rituals. Sir R. G. Bhandarkar thinks on the
authority of Siva-mahdpurdna that the Kalamukhas were the
same as the Mahavratadharas. But the present author has not
been able to trace any such passage in the Siva-mahdpurdna, and
Bhandarkar does not give any exact reference to the Siva-mahd-
purdna containing this identification. The Mahdvrata, meaning the
great vow, consists in eating food placed in a human skull and
smearing the body with the ashes of human carcasses and others,
which are attributed to the Kalamukhas by Ramanuja. Bhandarkar
also refers to the commentary of Jagaddhara on the Mdlatl-
mddhava, where the Kdpdlika-wata is called Mahdvrata. Bhan
darkar further points out that the ascetics dwelling in the temple of
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 3
Kapalesvara near Nasik are called the Mahavratins 1 . Be that as it
may, we have no proof that the Kapalikas and Kalamukhas had
any distinct philosophical views which could be treated separately.
Members of their sects bruised themselves in performing particular
kinds of rituals, and could be distinguished from other Saivas by
their indulgence in wines, women, and meat and even human meat.
Somehow these rituals passed into Tantric forms of worship, and
some parts of these kinds of worship are found among the adherents
of the Tantric form of worship even to this day. Tantric initiation
is thus different from the Vedic initiation.
Frazer in his article on Saivism in the Encyclopaedia of Religion
and Ethics says that, in some well-known temples in South India,
the ancient blood-rites and drunken orgies are permitted to be
revived yearly as a compromise with the aboriginal worshippers,
whose primitive shrines were annexed by Brahmin priests acting
under the protection of local chieftains. These chieftains, in return
for their patronage and countenance, obtained a rank as Ksatriyas
with spurious pedigrees. Frazer further gives some instances in
the same article in which non-Brahmins and outcastes performed
the worship of Siva and also offered human sacrifices, and one of
the places he mentions is Srisaila, the Kapalika centre referred to
by Bhavabhuti. These outcaste worshippers were ousted from
the temple by some of the Buddhists, and thereafter the Buddhists
were thrown out by the Brahmins. By the time of Sankara, the
Kapalikas developed a strong centre in Ujjain. We, of course, do
not know whether the South Indian cult of blood-rites as performed
by Brahmins and non-Brahmins could be identified with the
Kapalikas and Kalamukhas ; but it is quite possible that they were
the same people, for Srisaila, mentioned by Bhavabuti, which is
described as an important Kapalika centre, is also known to us as
a centre of bloody rites from the Sthala-mahdtmya records of that
place as mentioned by Frazer. The Kapalikas and Kalamukhas
were anti- Vedic according to the statement of Ramanuja in
Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37. Sankara also, according to Anandagiri, did
not hold any discussion with the Kapalikas, as their views were
professedly anti-Vedic. He simply had them chastised and
whipped. The Kapalikas, however, continued in their primitive
1 Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religious Systems, by Sir R. G. Bhandarkar
(1913), p. 128.
4 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
form and some of them were living even in Bengal, as is known to
the present writer. The habit of smearing the body with ashes is
probably very old in Saivism, since we find the practice described
in the Pasupata-sutra and in the bhasya of Kaundinya.
The Karunika-siddhantins mentioned by Vacaspati have not
been referred to by Madhava (fourteenth century) in his Sarva-
darsana-samgraha, and we do not find a reference to these in any of
the Saivdgamas. But from the statement of Saiva philosophy in the
Vdyaviya-samhitd of the Siva-mahdpurdna, as discussed in another
section (pp. 106-29), ^ * s not difficult for us to reconstruct the
reasons which might have led to the formation of a special school
of Saivism. We find that the doctrine of grace or karund is not
always found in the same sense in all the Agamas, or in the
Vayavtya-samhita, which was in all probability based on the
Agamas. Ordinarily the idea of grace or karund would simply
imply the extension of kindness or favour to one in distress. But
in the Saivdgamas there is a distinct line of thought where karund
or grace is interpreted as a divine creative movement for supplying
all souls with fields of experience in which they may enjoy pleasures
and suffer from painful experiences. The karund of God reveals
the world to us in just the same manner as we ought to experience
it. Grace, therefore, is not a work of favour in a general sense,
but it is a movement in favour of our getting the right desires in
accordance with our karma. Creative action of the world takes
place in consonance with our good and bad deeds, in accordance
with which the various types of experience unfold themselves to us.
In this sense, grace may be compared with the view of Yoga
philosophy, which admits of a permanent will of God operating in
the orderliness of the evolutionary creation (parindmakrama-
niyama) for the protection of the world, and supplying it as the
basis of human experience in accordance with their individual
karmas. It is again different from the doctrine of karund of the
Ramanuja Vaisnavas, who introduce the concept of MahalaksmI,
one who intercedes on behalf of the sinners and persuades
Narayana to extend His grace for the good of the devotees.
The word siva is supposed to have been derived irregularly
from the root l vas kdntan . This would mean that Siva always
fulfils the desires of His devotees. This aspect of Siva as a merciful
Lord who is always prepared to grant any boons for which prayers
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 5
are offered to Him is very well depicted in the Mahdbhdrata and
many other Puranas. This aspect of Siva is to be distinguished
from the aspect of Siva as rudra or sarva or the god of destruc
tion.
We have seen that we know practically nothing of any import
ance about the Kapalikas and the Kalamukhas. The other doctrines
of Saivism of the South are those of the Pasupatas, the Saiva
doctrines derived from the Agamas and the Vaisnavas. The other
schools of Saivism that developed in Kasmir in the ninth and tenth
centuries will be separately discussed. The Pdsupata-sutra with the
Pancdrtha bhdsya of Kaundinya was first published from Tri-
vandrum in 1940, edited by Anantakrisna Sastri. This bhdsya of
Kaundinya is probably the same as the Rdsikara-bhdsya referred
to by Madhava in his treatment of Nakulisa-pdsupata-darsana
in Sarva-darsana-samgraha. Some of the lines found in Kaun-
dinya s bhdsya have been identified by the present writer with the
lines attributed to Raslkara by Madhava in his treatment of the
Nakulisa-pasupata system. Nakullsa was the founder of the
Pasupata system. Aufrect in the Catalogus Catalogorum mentions
the Pdsupata-sutra 1 . The Vdyavlya-samhitd n. 24. 169, also
mentions the Pasupata- sdstr a as the Pancdrtha-vidyd 2 . Bhandarkar
notes that in an inscription in the temple of Harsanatha which
exists in the Sikar principality of the Jaipur State, a person of the
name of Visvarupa is mentioned as the teacher of the Pancdrtha-
Idkuldmndya. The inscription is dated V.E. ioi3 = A.D. 957. From
this Bhandarkar infers that the Pasupata system was attributed to a
human author named Lakulin and that the work composed by him
was called Pancdrtha. This inference is not justifiable. We can only
infer that in the middle of the tenth century Lakulisa s doctrines
were being taught by a teacher called Visvarupa, who was well
reputed in Jaipur, and that Lakulisa s teachings had attained such
an authoritative position as to be called dmndya, a term used to
mean the Vedas.
In the Pdsupata-sutra published in the Trivandrum series, the
first sutra as quoted by Kaundinya is athdtah pasupateh pasupatam
1 Bhandarkar notes it in his section on the Pasupatas, op. cit. p. 121 n.
2 The present writer could not find any such verse in the edition of
Siva-mahapurdna printed by the Venkatesvara Press, as n. 24 contains only
seventy-two stanzas.
6 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
yogavidhim vydkhydsydmah. Here the yoga-vidhi is attributed to
Pasupati or Siva. In the Sutasamhitd iv. 43. 17, we hear of a place
called Nakula and the Siva there is called Nakulisa. The editor of
the Pdsupata-sutra mentions the names of eighteen teachers
beginning with Nakulisa 1 . These names are (i) Nakulisa, (2)
Kausika, (3) Gargya, (4) Maitreya, (5) Kaurusa, (6) Isana,
(7) Paragargya, (8) Kapilanda, (9) Manusyaka, (10) Kusika,
(u) Atri, (12) Pingalaksa, (13) Puspaka, (14) Brhadarya, (15)
Agasti, (16) Santana, (17) Kaundinya or Rasikara, (18) Vidyaguru.
The present writer is in agreement with the view of the editor of
the Pdsupata-sutra, that Kaundinya the bhdsyakdra lived some
where from the fourth to the sixth century A.D. The style of the
bhdsya is quite archaic, and no references to the later system of
thought can be found in Kaundinya s bhdsya. We have already seen
that according to the Siva-mahdpurdna there were twenty-eight
yogacaryas and that each of them had four disciples so that there
were 112 yogacaryas. Out of these twenty-eight yogacaryas the
most prominent were Lokaksl, Jaigisavya, Rsabha, Bhrgu, Atri and
Gautama. The last and the twenty-eighth acarya was Lakullsa,
born at Kaya-vatarana-tirtha. Among the 112 yogacaryas, Sanaka,
Sanandana, Sanatana, Kapila, Asuri, Paficasikha, Parasara, Garga,
Bhargava, Angira, Suka, Vasistha, Brhaspati, Kuni, Vamadeva,
Svetaketu, Devala, Salihotra, Agnivesa, Aksapada, Kanada,
Kumara and Ruru are the most prominent 2 .
1 These names are taken from Rajasekhara s Saddarsana-samuccaya com
posed during the [middle of the fourteenth century. Almost the same names
with slight variations are found in Gunaratna s commentary on Saddarsana-
samuccaya.
2 See iva-mahdpurana, Vdyaviya Samhita n. 9, and also Kurma-purdna i.
53. The Vdyu-purdna describes in the twenty-third chapter the names of the four
disciples of each of the twenty-eight deary as. Visuddha Muni mentions the name
of Lakullsa in his work called Atma-samarpana. See also Introduction to the
Pdsupata-sutra, p. 3n.
The list of twenty-eight teachers given in the iva-mahdpurdna does not
always tally with the list collected by other scholars, or with that which is
found in the Atma samarpana by Visuddha Muni. It seems therefore that some
of these names are quite mythical, and as their works are not available, their
names are not much used. Visuddha Muni summarises the main items of self-
control, yama, from the Pdsupata-sdstra, which are more or less of the same
nature as the yamas or measures of self-control as found in the Yogasdstra
introduced by Patanjali. It is not out of place here to mention that the concept
of God in Yogasdstra is of the same pattern as that of the Pasupati in the
Pdsupata-sutra and bhdsya.
xxx i v] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 7
Mr Dalai in his introduction to Ganakdrikd says that the
Lakullsa-pdsupata-darsana is so called from Lakulisa, who
originated the system. Lakulisa means "a lord of those bearing a
staff". Lakulisa is often regarded as an incarnation of God Siva
with a citron in the right hand and a staff in the left. The place of
the incarnation is Kayarohana in Bhrgu-ksetra which is the same
as Karavana, a town in the Dabhoi Taluka of the Baroda State. In
the Kdravana-mdhdtmya it is said that a son of a Brahmin in the
village Ulkapuri appeared as Lakulisa and explained the methods
and merits of worshipping and tying a silken cloth to the image of
the God Lakulisa. This work is divided into four chapters; the
first is from the Vdyu-purdna, the remaining three are from the
Siva-mahdpurdna. At the commencement of the work, there is
obeisance to Mahesvara, who incarnated himself as Lakuta-pamsa.
There is a dialogue there between Siva and Parvati, in which the
latter asks Siva of the merits of tying a silken cloth. Siva then
relates the story of his incarnation between the Kali and Dvapara
yugas as a Brahmin named Visvaraja in the family of the sage Atri.
His mother was Sudarsana. Some miraculous myths relating to
this child, who was an incarnation of Siva, are narrated in the
Karavana Mdhdtmya, but they may well be ignored here.
We have already mentioned the name of Atri as being one of
the important teachers of the Pasupata school. But according to
the account of these teachers as given above, Nakulisa should be
regarded as the first founder of the system. We have seen also that
by the middle of the tenth century there was a teacher of the
Pancdrtha-ldkuldmndya^ which must be the same as the doctrine
propounded in the Pdsupata-sutra. It is difficult to say how early
the concept of Pasupati might have evolved. From the Mohenjo-
daro excavations we have a statuette in which Siva is carved as
sitting on a bull, with snakes and other animals surrounding Him.
This is the representation in art of the concept of the lord ofpasus
or pasupati, which is found in pre-Vedic times. The concept of
Siva may be traced through the Vedas and also through the
Upanisads and particularly so in the Svetasvatara Upanisad. The
same idea can be traced in the Mahdbhdrata and many other
Puranas. The religious cult of Siva, which defines the concept of
Siva in its various mythological bearings, has to be given up
here, as the interest of the present work is definitely restricted to
8 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
philosophical ideas and the ethical and social attitude of the
followers of Siva 1 .
It must, however, be said that the Saiva philosophy and the
worship of Siva had spread itself far and wide throughout the whole
of the peninsula long before the eighth century A.D. We have the
most sacred temples of Siva in the north in Badrikasrama, in Nepal
(Pasupati-natha), in Kasmir, in Prabhasa, in Kathiawar (the
temple of Somanatha), in Benaras (the temple of Visvanatha), the
Nakulisvara temple in Calcutta, and the temple of Ramesvaram in
extreme South India. This is only to mention some of the most
important places of Siva- worship. As a matter of fact, the worship
of Siva is found prevalent almost in every part of India, and in
most of the cities we find the temples of Siva either in ruins or as
actual places of worship. Siva is worshipped generally in the form
of the phallic symbol and generally men of every caste and women
also may touch the symbol and offer worship. The Saiva forms of
initiation and the Tantric forms of initiation are to be distinguished
from the Vedic forms of initiation, which latter is reserved only for
the three higher castes. But as the present work is intended to
deal with the philosophy of Saivism and Tantricism, all relevant
allusions to rituals and forms of worship will be dropped as far as
possible.
The Jaina writer Rajasekhara of the middle of the fourteenth
century mentions the name of Saiva philosophy in his Sad-
darsana-samuccaya and calls it a yoga-mate^. He describes the
Saiva ascetics as holding staves in their hands and wearing
long loin cloths (praudha-kaupina-paridhayinah). They had also
blankets for covering their bodies, matted locks of hair, and their
bodies were smeared with ashes. They ate dry fruits, bore a vessel
of gourd (tumbaka), and generally lived in forests. Some of them
had wives, while others lived a lonely life. Rajasekhara further says
that the Saivas admitted eighteen incarnations of Siva, the Over
lord, who creates and destroys the world. We have already men
tioned the names of the teachers that are found in Saddarsana-
samuccaya. These teachers were particularly adored and among
1 Those who are interested in the study of the evolution of the different
aspects of God iva, may consult Bhandarkar s Vaisnavism and Saivism, and also
the article on Saivism by Frazer in the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics,
2 atha yoga-matam brumah, saivam-ity-apara-bhidham. Rajasekhara s Sad-
darsana-samuccaya, p. 8 (2nd edition, Benares).
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 9
them it was Aksapada who enunciated a system of logic in which he
discussed the pramdnas, perception, inference, analogy and testi
mony and also described the sixteen categories that are found in the
Nydya-sutra of Gautama or Aksapada. Rajasekhara mentions the
names of Jayanta, Udayana, and Bhasarvajfia. Thus according to
Rajasekhara the Naiyayikas were regarded as Saivas. It does not
seem that Rajasekhara had made any definite study of the Nyaya
system, but based his remarks on the tradition of the time 1 . He
also regards the Vaisesikas as Pasupatas. The Vaisesika saints wore
the same kind of dress and the marks as the Naiyayikas and
admitted the same teachers, but they held that the perception and
inference were the only two pramdnas and that the other pramdnas
were included within them. He also mentions the six categories
that we find in the Vaisesika-siitra. Rajasekhara calls the Naiyayikas
Yaugas. The Vaisesika and the Nyaya are more or less of the same
nature and both of them regard the dissolution of sorrow as
ultimate liberation. Gunaratna, the commentator of Haribhadra
Suri s Saddarsana-samuccaya was a Jaina writer like Rajasekhara
and he was in all probability a later contemporary of him. Many
of his descriptions of the Naiyayikas or Yaugas seem to have been
taken from Rajasekhara s work, or it may also have been that
Rajasekhara borrowed it from Gunaratna, the descriptions being
the same in many places. Gunaratna says that there were found
kinds of Saivas such as the Saivas, Pasupatas, Mahavratadharas
and the Kalamukhas 2 . In addition to these both Gunaratna and
Rajasekhara speak of those who take the vow (vratins) of service to
Siva and they are called Bharatas and Bhaktas. Men of any caste
1 srutdnusaratah proktam naiydyika-matam may a. Ibid. p. 10.
saivah pdsupatascaiva mahdvrata-dharas tathd,
turydh kdlamukhd mukhyd bhedd ete tapasvindm.
Gunaratna s commentary on Haribhadra s Saddarsana-samuccaya, p. 51 (Suali s
edition, Calcutta, 1905).
According to Gunaratna, therefore, the Mahavratadharas and the Kala
mukhas are entirely different. The Kapalikas are not mentioned by Gunaratna.
These four classes of aivas were originally Brahmins and they had the sacred
thread. Their difference was largely due to their different kinds of rituals and
behaviour (dcdra) :
ddhdra-bhasma-kauptna-jatd-yajnopavHtnah,
sva-svdcdrddi-bhedena caturdhd syus tapasvinah.
Ramanuja mentions the names of Kapalikas and Kalamukhas as being out
side the pale of the Vedas (veda-bdhya). In Sankara-vijaya of Anandagiri also
the Kapalikas are represented as being outside the pale of the Vedas. But the
Kalamukhas are not mentioned there.
io Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
could be included in the class of Bharatas (servants) and Bhaktas
(devotees) of Siva. The Naiyayikas were always regarded as
devotees of Siva and they were called Saivas. The Vaisesika
philosophy was called Pasupata 1 . Haribhadra also says that the
Vaisesikas admitted the same divinity as the Naiyayikas 2 .
Excluding the Kapalikas and the Kalamukhas, about whom we
know very little except the traditional imputations against their
rituals and non-Vedic conduct, we have the text of the Pasupata
system and the Saiva philosophy as described in the Saiva Agamas.
We have also the Pasupata- sdstr a as described in the Vdyaviya
samhitd, the Saiva philosophy of Srikantha as elaborated by
Appaya Dlksita, and the Saiva philosophy as expounded by
King Bhoja of Dhara in his Tattva-prakdsa as explained by
Srikumara and Aghora-sivacarya. We have also the Vlra-s aivism
which evolved at a later date and was explained in a commentary
on Brahma-sutra by Srlpati Pandita who is generally placed in the
fourteenth century 3 . Srlpati Pandita was posterior to the Pa^upatas
and Ramanuja, and also to Ekorama and the five acaryas of the
Vlra-saiva religion. Srlpati was also posterior to Madhavacarya.
But it is curious that Madhava seems to know nothing either of
Virasaivism or of Srlpati Pandita. He was of course posterior to
Basava of the twelfth century, who is generally regarded as being
the founder of Vira-saivism. As Hayavadana Rao points out,
Srlpati was posterior to Srikantha, who wrote a bhdsya on
the Brahma-sutra*. We have treated in a separate section the
philosophy of Srikantha. Srikantha lived somewhere in the
eleventh century and may have been a junior contemporary of
Ramanuja. Srikantha in his treatment of Brahma-sutra in. 3.
27-30, criticises the views of Ramanuja and Nimbarka. Hayavadana
Rao thinks on inscriptional grounds that Srikantha was living in
A.D. II22 5 .
Meykandadeva, the most famous author of the Tamil transla
tion of the Sanskrit work Siva-jndna-bodha belonged to Tiru-
1 See Gunaratna s commentary, p. 51.
devatd-visayo bhedo ndsti naiydyikaih samam,
vaisesikdndm tattve tu vidyate sau nidarsyate.
Haribhadra s Saddarsana-samuccaya, p. 266.
3 C. Hayavadana Rao s Srlkara-bhdsya, Vol. i, p. 31.
4 Ibid. p. 36.
6 Ibid. p. 41.
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 1 1
venneyllur near the South Arcot district. There is an inscription in
the sixteenth year of the Chola King Rajaraja III (A.D. 1216-48)
which records a gift of land to an image set up by Meykanda. This
fixes the date of Meykandadeva, the disciple of Paranjoti muni to
about the middle of the thirteenth century. Hayvadana Rao after
a long discussion comes to the view that Meykanda actually lived
about A.D. 1235, if not a little earlier 1 . From inscriptional sources
it has been ascertained that Srikantha, the commentator of Brahma-
sutra lived about A.D. 1270. It is quite possible that Meykanda and
Srikantha were contemporaries. The philosophical difference
between Meykanda and Srikantha is quite remarkable, and the two
persons cannot therefore be identified as one 2 . Srikantha thinks
that the world is a transformation of the cicchakti of the Lord. It
does not provide for the creation of the material world, does not
speak of the anava-mala, and is apparently not in favour ofjtvan-
mukti. Further Srikantha appears to establish his system on the
basis of the sruti. Meykanda, however, tries to establish his system
on the basis of inference, and there are many other points of
difference as will be easily seen from our treatment of Meykanda
deva. It does not seem that Srikantha had any relation with
Meykandadeva.
Sripati quotes from Haradatta in very reverential terms.
Hayvadana Rao refers to an account of the life of Haradatta as
given in the Bhavisyottara-purdna, and to the writings of his
commentator Siva-linga-bhupati, which would assign Haradatta to
the Kali age 3979, corresponding roughly to A.D. 879. In the
Siva-rahasya-dipikd, however, Kali age 3000 is given as a rough
approximation of the date of Haradatta. Professor Shesagiri
Sastrl accepts the former date as a more correct one and identifies
the Haradatta quoted in Sarva-darsana-samgraha as being the same
as the author of Harihara-tdratamya and the Caturveda-tdtparya-
samgraha. As we have mentioned elsewhere, Haradatta was the
author of the Ganakdrikd. Mr Dalai in all probability had con
fused the two in his introduction to the Ganakdrikd, in which he
says that Bhasarvajna was the author of Ganakdrikd. In reality
Haradatta wrote only the Kdrikd, and the Nyaya author Bhasar-
1 Ibid. p. 48.
2 Ibid. p. 49. The systems of Srikantha and of Meykanda have been dealt
with in separate sections of the present work.
12 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
vajna wrote a commentary on it called the Ratnattkd 1 . Sripati also
quotes from Siddhdnta sikhdmani, a Virasaiva work written by
Revanarya.
It is curious to note that though Vira-saivism was founded at
least as early as the time of Basava (A.D. 1 157-67), Madhava in the
fourteenth century does not know anything of Vira-saivism. It is,
however, doubtful if Basava was really the founder of Vira-
saivism in India. We have got some sayings in Canarese known as
the vacanas of Basava, but we find that his name is seldom men
tioned as a teacher of any articles of the Vlra-saiva faith. There is
a semi-mythical account of Basava in a work called Basava-purdna.
It is said there that Siva asked Nandin to incarnate himself in the
world for the propagation of the Vlra-saiva faith. Basava was this
incarnation. He was a native of Bagevadi from where he went to
Kalyana where Vijjala or Vijjana was reigning (A.D. 1 157-67). His
maternal uncle, Baladeva, was the minister, and he himself was
raised to that position after his death. Basava s sister was given
away to the king. He was in charge of the treasury and spent large
sums in supporting and entertaining the Lingayat priests or
mendicants called Jangamas. When the king came to know of this,
he became angry and sent troops to punish him. Basava collected
a small army and defeated these troops. The king brought him
back to Kalyana and there was apparently some reconciliation
between them. But Basava later on caused the king to be assassi
nated. This depicts Basava more as a scheming politician than as
a propounder of new faith.
Returning to our treatment of the literature of the Pasupatas, we
see that between the Vaisnavas and the monists like the Sahkarites
we have a system of thought representing the monotheistic point
of view. This view appears in diverse forms in which God is some
times regarded as being established as upholding the universe, but
beyond it; sometimes it is held that God is beyond the world and
has created it by the material of His own energy ; at other times it
1 The colophon of the Ganakarika runs as follows :
deary a-bhdsarvajna-viracitdy dm ganakdrikdydm
ratnattkd parisamdptd.
This led to the confusion that the Ganakarika was the composition of Bhasar-
vajna, who only wrote the commentary. This Haradatta must be distinguished
from the Haradatta of the Padamanjarl on the Kdsikd-vrtti, and also from the
commentator of the Apastamba-sutra.
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 13
has been held that God and energy are one and the same. Some
times it has been held that God has created the world by His
mercy or grace and that His grace is the inner dynamic force which
follows the course of creation and maintenance. It is in this way
that a compromise has been made between the theory of grace and
the theory of karma. There are others, however, who think that
we do not as of necessity have a right to reap the fruits of our
actions, but we have to be satisfied with what is given to us by God.
The Pasupatas hold this view, and it is important to notice that the
Nyaya which admits the doctrine of karma also thinks that we are
only entitled to such enjoyments and experiences as are allotted to
us by God. The fact that both the Nyaya and the Pasupatas think
that God can be established by inference, and that the grace of God
is ultimately responsible for all our experiences, naturally leads us
to link together the Nyaya-vaisesika view with the Pasupata view.
The tradition is preserved in the two Saddarsana-samuccayas of
Rajasekhara and Haribhadra with Gunaratna, which, as well as the
benedictory verses in most Nyaya works until the tenth and
eleventh centuries, justify the assumption that the Nyaya-vaisesika
was a school of Pasupatas which paid more emphasis to evolving
a system of logic and metaphysics. The Pasupata system generally
accepted the caste-division, and only those belonging to higher
castes could claim to attain spiritual liberation. Yet as time rolled
on we find that men of all castes could become devotees or servants
of God and be regarded as Saivas. We find the same kind of
gradual extension and withdrawal of caste system among the
Vaisnavas also. Both in Saivism and Vaisnavism, bhaktior devotion
to God came to be regarded as the criterion of the faith.
We have already referred to the statement in the Kdravana-
mdhdtmya about how the Lord incarnated Himself as a descendant
of Atri. He is said to have walked to Ujjain and taught a Brahmin
there called Kusika who came from Brahmavarta. These teachings
were in the form of the present sutras called the Pancdrtha, the
main substance of which has already been described. It is generally
believed that the original sutras, divided into five chapters
(pancdrtha), were composed somewhere in the first or the second
century A.D. The bhdsya of Kaundinya is probably the same as the
Rdsikara bhdsya. Kaundinya does not mention the name of any
writer contemporary to him. He refers to the Sdmkhya-yoga but
14 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
not to Vedanta or the Upanisads. It is interesting to note therefore
that this system does not pretend to claim the authority of the
Upanisads or its support. The authority of the sutras is based on
the assumption that they were composed by Pasupati himself.
There are many quotations in the work of Kaundinya, but it is not
possible to identify their sources. The style of Kaundinya s bhasya
reminds one of the writings of Patanjali the grammarian, who
probably lived about 150 B.C. Kaundinya is generally believed to
have lived between A.D. 400-600, though I do not know why he
could not be placed even a century or two earlier. The date of
Ganakdrikd is rather uncertain. But Bhasarvajna wrote a com
mentary on it called Ratnatlkd. He seems to have lived in the
middle of the tenth century A.D. It is interesting to note that the
temple of Somanatha is also mentioned in the Kdravana-mdhdtmya
as one of the most important Pasupata centres.
In the Sarva-darsana-samgraha of Madhava of the fourteenth
century, we find a treatment of Nakullsa-pasupata system, the
Saiva system and the Pratyabhijfia system of Kasmlr. The
Nakullsa-pasupata system is based upon the Pdsupata-sutra and
the bhasya of Kaundinya called also the Rdslkara-bhdsya. The
Saiva system is based on the various Saivdgamas and also on the
Tattva-prakdsa of Bhoja. Thus Madhava mentions about ten
Saiva works which, with many others, have been available to the
present writer either in whole manuscripts or in fragments 1 .
Sankara, in his bhasya on the Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37, speaks of the
Mahesvaras along with others who regarded God as the instru
mental cause, but not the material cause. He does not seem to
distinguish the subdivisions of the Mahesvaras. But Vacaspati
speaks of four subdivisions of the Mahesvaras. Madhava, however,
treats the two types of the Saiva school as Nakullsa-pasupata and
Saiva in two different sections. From Sankara s bhasya it appears
that he was familiar only with the Pancdrtha of the Pdsupata-sutra.
But Anandagiri in his Sankara-vijaya refers to six different kinds
of Saiva sects such as Saiva, Raudra, Ugra, Bhatta, Jangama and
Pasupata. These different sects bore different kinds of marks on
1 The works mentioned by Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-samgraha are as
follows: Mrgendrdgama, Pauskardgama, Tattva-prakdsa of Bhoja, Soma-
sambhu s bhasya, Aghora-sivacarya s commentary on Tattva-prakdsa, Kdlotta-
rdgama, Ramakanda s commentary on Kdlottard, Kirandgama, Saurabheydgama
and Jndna-ratndvali.
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 15
their bodies and distinguished themselves from one another by
various rituals. But most of their specific religious literature now
in all probability has long disappeared. The Pasupatas have a
literature, and the sect is still living. But the external signs of the
Pasupatas as found in Sankara-vijaya are entirely different from
those which are found in Gunaratna s commentary. Gunaratna
(fourteenth century) regards the Kanadas as Pasupatas. He also
regards the Naiyayikas, called also the Yaugas, as being Saivites of
the same order as the Kanadas, and behaving in the same manner,
and bearing the same kind of marks as the Kanadas. From the
description of the Saiva sects by Anandagiri very little can be made
out of the doctrines of those Saiva sects. One can only say that
some of those Saivas believed that God was the instrumental cause
(nimitta kdrand), besides the material cause (updddna kdrana).
Sankara refuted this type of Saivism in his commentary on
Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37. Both Pasupatas and the followers of the
Saivdgama held the instrumentality of God, while Sahkara
regarded God as being both the instrumental and material cause.
In the Sankara-vijaya we also find reference to some schools of
Saivism, the members of which wore the stone phallic symbols on
their bodies. They held a doctrine similar to the sat-sthala doctrine
of the Vlra-saivas, though we find the proper formulation of the
Vira-saiva system at least five hundred years after Anandagiri. We
have seen that Vacaspati Misra in his Bhdmati speaks of four types
of Saivas. Madhava of the fourteenth century describes only two
sects of Saivas as Nakullsa-pasupata and the Saivas of the Agamas,
excluding the separate treatment of the Pratyabhijnd system
generally known as the Kasmir school of Saivism.
The Saivdgamas or Siddhantas are supposed to have been
originally written by Mahesvara, probably in Sanskrit. But it is
said in Siva-dharmottara that these were written in Sanskrit,
Prakrt and the local dialects 1 . This explains the fact that the Agamas
are available both in Sanskrit and some Dravidian languages such
as Tamil, Telegu, and Kanarese. It also explains the controversy
as to whether the Agamas or Siddhantas were originally written in
1 samskrtaih prdkrtair vdkyair yasca sisydnuruptah
desa-bhdsd-dyupdyais ca bodhayet sa guruh smrtah.
iva-dharmottara quoted in Siva-jnana-siddhi. (MS. no. 3726, Oriental
Research Institute, Mysore.)
16 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
Sanskrit or in the Dravidian tongue. The present writer had the
good fortune to collect a large number of the Agamas either as
complete wholes or in fragmentary portions. Many of the manu
scripts are in a decaying state and some of them have been com
pletely lost. The Sanskrit manuscripts on which our present
attempt is founded are available in the big manuscript libraries at
Triplicane, Adyar and Mysore. It is curious to note that Benares,
the principal seat of Saivism, has but few manuscripts of import
ance. The important Siddhantas and Agamas are quite numerous
and most of them are in manuscripts mainly in South India 1 . The
same works may be found also in many cases in the whole Dravidian
language; but the inspiration and the thought are almost always taken
from Sanskrit. The essence of Dravidian culture is therefore almost
wholly taken from Sanskrit, at least so far as philosophy is concerned.
The study of old Tamil is fairly difficult, and those who had
made a lifelong study of Tamil, like Pope or Schomerus, had but
little time to dig into Sanskrit to any appreciable extent. The
present writer, being unacquainted with the Dravidian languages,
had to depend almost wholly on the Sanskrit literature, but has
taken good care to ascertain that the works in Dravidian, pertinent
to the subject, are well represented in the Sanskrit manuscripts.
It is difficult to ascertain the respective dates of the Agamas.
We only feel that most of the Agamas mentioned above were
completed by the ninth century A.D. Some of them were current
in the time of Sahkaracarya, who lived some time in the eighth or
1 Some of the Agamas are as follows: Kdmika, Yogaja, Cintya, Kdrana,
Ajita, Dtpta, Suksma, Amsumdna, Suprabheda, Vijaya, Nihsvdsa, Svdyambhuva,
Vlra, Raurava, Makuta, Vimala, Candra-jndna, Bimba, Lalita, Santdna,
Sarvokta, Pdramesvara, Kirana, Vdtula, Siva-jndna-bodha, Anala, Prodgtta.
In the Siva-jndna-siddhi we find extensive quotations from other Agamas
and Tantras as illustrating the philosophical and religious position of Siddhantas.
The works from which the quotations have been taken are as follows: Hima-
samhitd, Cintya-visva, iva-dharmottara (purdna), Pauskara, Siddha-tantra,
Sarva-matopanydsa, Para, Ratna-traya, Nivdsa, Mrgendra, Jndna-kdrikd, Ndda-
kdrikd, Kdlottara, Visva-sdrottara, Vdyavya, Mdtanga, Buddha, Sarva-
jndnottara, Siddhdnta-rahasya, Jnana-ratndvali, Meru-tantra, Svacchanda and
Devt-kdlottara.
Most of the above Agamas are written in Sanskrit characters in about half a
dozen Dravidian languages, such as Tamil, Telegu, Kanarese, Grantha and
Nandi-nagri. Several Tantras based on these Agamas are also found as Sanskrit
compositions in Dravidian scripts. So far as the knowledge of the present writer
goes, there is hardly anything of philosophical value or systematic thought which
is available in Dravidian, and not available in Sanskrit.
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 17
ninth century A.D. Some of the Puranas also mention the names of
some of the Agamas referred to above. The bhdsya of Kaundinya
on the Pdsupata-sutras has many untraceable quotations, but there
is no mention of the names of the Agamas referred to above,
though one might have expected reference to the names of some of
these Agamas, as they carry on the same faith in different fashions.
On the other hand, the Agamas do not mention the name of the
Pdsupata-sutras or the bhdsya of Kaundinya. It seems, therefore,
that though later writers sometimes mixed up the Pasupata and
the Agamic systems, as for example the Vdyavtya-samhita, or in
later times Appayadiksita, Sankara himself speaks only of the
Siddhantas written by Mahesvara. Vacaspati refers to four schools
of Saivism, and Madhava refers to two schools of southern
Saivism, Nakullsa-pasupata and the Saivas. In still later times, in
the Jaina tradition as kept by Rajasekhara and Gunaratna, we find
the names of a long list of teachers of the Pasupata school. We find
also the names of twenty-eight yogacaryas, each having four
disciples, in the Vdyavlya-samhitd.
We have already discussed in a separate section the essence of
the Agamic system as preserved in the Tattva-prakdsa of Bhoja
with the commentary of Srikumara and Aghora-sivacarya.
Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-samgraha also mentions the names
of some of the Agamas and Agamic writers referred to above.
Schomerus in his Der Saiva Siddhdnta, in which he describes
the particular form of Saiva monism, speaks of the names of various
other schools of Saivism as he picks them up on a commentary on
Siva-jndna-bodha 1 . The Saiva-siddhanta view dealt with by
Schomerus is one of the many trends of Saiva thought that was
prevalent in the country. Schomerus thinks that they are more or
less the same except the Pasupata, the Virasaiva and the Praty-
abhijfia. Schomerus does not seem to utilise the texts of the
Agamas and to show in what way they proceeded with the subject.
We have, however, in our treatment of Agamic Saivism, tried to
utilise the materials of the Agamas that are still available as com
plete wholes or in fragments. But a large part of the Agamas deals
1 He puts them in two groups : (i) Pasupata, Mavrata-vada (possibly Maha-
vrata), Kapalika, Varna, Bhairava, Aikya-vada; (ii) Urdha-saiva, Anadi-saiva,
Adi-saiva, Maha-saiva, Bheda-saiva, Abheda-saiva, Antara-saiva, Guna-saiva,
Nirguna-saiva, Adhvan-saiva, Yoga-saiva, Jnana-saiva, Anu-saiva, Kriya-saiva,
Nalu-pada-saiva, 3uddha-s aiva.
DV
1 8 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
with rituals, forms of worship, construction of the places of worship
and mantras, and the like. These have no philosophical value and
could not, therefore, be taken account of and had simply to be ignored .
The Agamic Saivism belongs principally to the Tamil country,
the Pasupata to Gujarat and Pratyabhijna to Kasmlr and the
northern parts of India. The Vlra-saiva is found mostly among the
Kanarese-speaking countries. Schomerus points out that it is
sometimes claimed that the Agamas were written in the Dravidian
languages in prehistoric times, and that they owe their origin to
revelation by Siva, to Nandiperuman in the form of Srikantha-
rudra in the Mahendra Parbata in Tinivelly District. Owing to a
great flood much of these twenty-eight Agamas were lost. The rest
is now available in the Sanskrit translations and even the Dravidian
texts abound with Sanskrit words. But this claim cannot be
substantiated in any way. The reference to the Agamas is found
in the Vdyaviya-samhitd of the Siva-mahdpurdna and the Silta-
samhitd 1 . The references show that the Kdmika and other Agamas
were written in Sanskrit, as they formed a cognate literature with
the Vedas. Portions of the Kdmika in Sanskrit quotations have been
available to the present writer; similarly Mrgendra, which formed a
part of the Kdmika, is wholly available in Sanskrit. In the section
on the Agamic Saivism the present writer has drawn his materials
from these Agamas. It has already been noted that there is a
definite text in the Svdyambhuvdgama that these Sanskrit works
were translated into Prakrt and other local dialects. We are, there
fore, forced to think that the assertion that these Agamas were
originally written in Dravidian and then translated into Sanskrit,
seems only to be a mythical patriotic belief of the Tamil people.
Schomerus mentions the names of twenty-eight Saivdgamas,
though he sometimes spells them wrongly 2 . He further mentions
1 In Suta-samhitd, part I, ch. 2, we find that^ the Vedas, Dharmasastras,
Puranas, Mahabharata, Vedarigas, Upavedas, the Agamas such as Kdmika, etc.
the Kdpdla and the Ldkula, the Pasupata, the Soma and the Bhairavdgamas and
such other Agamas are mentioned in the same breath as forming a cognate
literature. Suta-samhitd is generally regarded as a work of the sixth century A.D.
2 Kdmika, Yogaja, Cintya, Kdrana, Ajita, Dipta, Suksma, Sdhasraka,
Ansumdn, Suprabheda, Vijaya, Nihsvdsa, Svdyambhuva, Anila, Vira, Raurava,
Makuta, Vimala, Candrahdsa, Mukha-jug-bimba or Bimba, Udglta or Prodglta,
Lalita, Siddha, Santdna, Ndrasimha, Pdramesvara, Kirana and Vdtula. Most of
these have been already mentioned by the present writer and some of them are
in his possession. Schomerus says that these names are found in rlkantha s
bhdsva, but the present writer is definite that they are not to be found there.
xxxiv] Literature and History of Southern Saivism 19
the names of fourteen canonical texts forming the materials of the
Saiva-siddhdnta Sdstra. They are written in Tamil and the present
writer only has the privilege of having the Sanskrit texts of the
most important of them called the Siva-jndna-bodha of Meykanda-
deva 1 .
Meykandadeva s Siva-jndna-bodha is a brief summary in twelve
verses of an argumentative character taken from Rauravdgama.
These twelve verses have also commentaries called Vdrtika and
a number of other sub-commentaries. Meykandadeva s real name
was Svetabana, and there are a number of mythical statements
about him. A great scholar Arul-nanti Sivacarya became the
disciple of Meykandadeva. Namah-sivaya-desika was the fifth
disciple in succession of Meykandadeva, and Umapati, who was
the third successor of Meykandadeva, lived in A.D. 1313. It is held,
therefore, that Meykanda lived in the first third of the thirteenth
century. Umapati was also the author of the Pauskardgama.
The earliest Tamil author of Saiva-siddhanata is Tirumular,
who probably lived in the first century A.D. Only a part of his
writings has been translated in the Siddhdnta-dipikd by N. Pillai.
The later four Acaryas of Saiva-siddhanta are Manikka-vachakar,
Appar, Jnana-sambandha and Sundara, who flourished probably
in the eighth century. Later on we have two important Saiva-
siddhanta writers, Nampiyandar and Sekkilar. The former has a
collection of works which passed by the name of Tamil-veda. He
flourished probably towards the end of the eleventh century.
This Tamil-veda is even now recited in Saivite temples of the
south. It consists of eleven books ; the first seven are of the nature
of hymns. Of three Acaryas, Appar, Jndna-sambandha and
Sundara, the eighth book is Tiru-vdchaka, the ninth again consists
of hymns. In the tenth book we find again some hymns of
Tirumular. A part of the eleventh book contains mythological
legends which form the groundwork of Periya-purdna, the basis of
the most important Tamil legends of the Tamil saints. The book
was completed by the eleventh century. The Saiva-siddhanta
1 The Tamil works referred to by Schomerus as forming the group of the
Saiva-siddhdnta Sdstra are as follows: iva-jndna-bodha, iva-jndna-siddhi,
Irupavirupathu, Tiruvuntiyar, Tirukkalirrupadiyar, Unmaivilakka, iva-prakdsa,
Tiruvarudpayan, Vind-venba, Porripakrodai, Kodikkavi, Nencuvidututu, Un-
mainerivilakka and Sankalpa-nirdkarana. The Siva-jndna-bodha of twelve verses
is supposed to be a purport of the Rauravdgama and it has eight commentaries.
20 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
school sprang forth as a school of Saivism in the thirteenth
century with Meykandadeva and his pupils Arulnanti and
Umapati.
The account of Saivism, as can be gathered from the Tamil
sources, may be found in Pope s translation of Tiru-vachaka, Der
Saiva-siddhdnta by Schomerus, and in the writings of N. Pillai.
The present writer is unfamiliar with the Tamil language and he
has collected his account from original Sanskrit manuscripts of the
Agamas of which the Tamil treatment is only a replica.
The Agama Literature and its Philosophical Perspective.
The philosophical views that are found in the Agama literature
had been briefly summarised in the Sarva-darsana-samgraha under
Saivism and have also been treated fairly elaborately in some of
the sections of the present work. The Agama literature is pretty
extensive, but its philosophical achievement is rather poor. The
Agamas contain some elements of philosophical thought, but their
interest is more on religious details of the cult of Saivism. We find
therefore a good deal of ritualism, discussion of the architectural
techniques for the foundation of temples, and mantras and details
of worship connected with the setting up of the phallic symbol of
Siva. Yet in most of the Agamas there is a separate section called
the Vidya-pdda in which the general philosophical view under
lying the cult is enunciated. There are slight differences in the
enunciation of these views as we pass on from one Agama to
another. Most of these Agamas still lie unpublished, and yet they
form the religious kernel of Saivism as practised by millions of
people in different parts of India. There may thus be a natural
inquiry as to what may be the essential tenets of these Agamas.
This, however, cannot be given without continual repetitions of
the same kind of dogmatic thought. The present work is, of course,
mainly concerned with the study of philosophy, but as the study
of Saiva or Sakta thought cannot be separated from the religious
dogmas with which they are inseparably connected, we can only
take a few specimens of the Agamas and discuss the nature of
thought that may be discovered there. In doing this we may be
charged with indulging in repetitions, but we have to risk it in
order to be able to give at least a rapid survey of the contents of
xxxiv] The Agama Literature 21
some of the most important Agamas. In what follows, the reader
will have the opportunity of judging the literary contents of the
philosophical aspects of some of the important Agamas, thereby
getting a comprehensive view of the internal relation of Saivism
to other branches of Indian philosophy.
The Mrgendrdgama has often been quoted in the Sarva-
darsana-samgraha. This work is said to be a subsidiary part of
Kdmikdgama, supposed to be one of the oldest of the Agamas, and
has been referred to in the Suta-samhitd which is regarded as a
work of the sixth century. The Suta-samhitd refers to the Kami-
kdgama with the reverence that is due to very old texts.
Mrgendrdgama^ opens the discussion of how the old Vedic forms
of worship became superseded by the Saiva cult. It was pointed
out that the Vedic deities were not concrete substantial objects,
but their reality consisted of the mantras with which they were
welcomed and worshipped, and consequently Vedic worship cannot
be regarded as a concrete form of worship existing in time and
space. But devotion to Siva may be regarded as a definite and
concrete form of worship which could, therefore, supersede the
Vedic practices. In the second chapter of the work, Siva is
described as being devoid of all impurities. He is omniscient and
the instrumental agent of all things. He already knows how the
individual souls are going to behave and associates and dissociates
all beings with knots of bondage in accordance with that.
The Saivdgama discusses the main problem of the production,
maintenance, destruction, veiling up of the truth and liberation.
These are all done by the instrumental agent, God Siva. In such
a view the creation of the world, its maintenance and destruction
are naturally designed by the supreme Lord in the beginning, yet
things unfold in the natural course. The changes in the world of
our experiences are not arranged by the later actions of beings.
But yet the attainment of liberation is so planned that it cannot
take place without individual effort.
Consciousness is of the nature of intuitive knowledge and
spontaneous action (caitanyam drk-kriyd-riipam). This conscious-
1 Since writing this section on the basis of the original manuscript the
present writer has come across a printed text of the Vidya and Yogapdda of
Mrgendrdgama published in 1928 by K. M. Subrahmanya ^astri, with a
commentary by Bhatta-narayana Kantha called Mrgendra-vrtti, and a sub-
commentary by Aghora-sivacarya called Mrgendra-vrtti-dipikd.
22 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
ness always abides in the soul, and some of the categories for the
application of this consciousness are discussed along with the
various religio-moral conducts called carya. There is also a brief
criticism for refuting Vedanta, Samkhya, Vaisesika, Buddhism and
Jainism.
The Saivdgama holds that, from perceiving our bodies and other
embodied things, we naturally infer that there is some instrumental
agent who must be premised as the cause of the world. A difference
of effects naturally presumes a difference in the cause and its
nature. Effects are accomplished through particular instruments.
These instruments are all of a spiritual nature. They are also of the
nature of energy. In the case of inference the concomitance is
generally perceived in some instances. But in the case of attri
buting creation to Siva we have no datum of actual experience, as
Siva is bodyless. But it is held that one can conceive the body of
Siva as being constituted of certain mantras. When anyone is to be
liberated, the quality of tamas as veiling the consciousness of the
individual is removed by God. Those whose tamas is removed
naturally ripen forth for the ultimate goal of liberation. They have
not to wait any longer for Siva to manifest their special qualities.
We have already seen that Siva is the manifesting agent or abhiv-
yanjaka of all our activities.
The source of all bondage is mahesvari sakti which helps all
people to develop and grow in their own pattern (sarvdnugrdhika).
Though there may be many cases in which we suffer pain, yet the
mahesvari sakti is regarded as being of universal service. The
explanation is to be found in the view that often it is only through
the way of suffering that we can attain our good. Siva is always
directing the sakti for our own good, even though we may seem to
suffer in the intervening period (dharmino nugraho ndma yat-
taddharmdnuvartanam). All actions of the Lord are for the sake of
the individual souls, that is, for making them wise and act forward,
so that ultimately they may be purged of their malas.
The different causal chains manifest different kinds of chains in
the effects. The Saiva view accepts sat-kdrya-vdda and so admits
that all the effects are there. It is only in the manner in which the
causal chains manifest that different kinds of chains are effected.
Thus the same malas appear in diverse forms to different kinds of
persons and indicate different stages of progress. The mala is
xxxiv] The Agama Literature 23
regarded as the unholy seed that pervades the whole world and
manifests through it and is ultimately destroyed. It is through
these manifestations that one can infer the existence of God, the
instrumental cause (kartcP -numiyate yena jagad-dharmena hetund).
This mala is inanimate, for such a theory suits the nature of effects.
It is easier to assume preferably one cause of mala than many. The
cloth is manifested by the action of the weaving spindles. The
substance of the cloth would have been manifested in other forms
according to the action of the various accessories, for all the effects
are there, though they can only be manifested through the opera
tion of accessories. It is difficult to imagine the concept of pro
ductive power. It is better to assume that the things are already
there and are revealed to us by the action of the different kinds of
causes 1 .
The individual souls are all-pervasive and they possess eternal
power by the Power of God. The only trouble is that on account
of the veils of mala they are not always conscious of their nature.
It is through the action of Siva that these veils are so far removed
that the individual souls may find themselves interested in their
experiences. This is done by associating the individual minds with
the thirty-six kalds produced from the disturbance of mdyd. We
have already discussed the nature of these thirty-six tattvas or
categories in our treatment of the philosophy of Tattva-prakdsikd
of Bhoja. It is through these categories that the veils are torn
asunder and the individual becomes interested in his experiences.
Kald means that which moves anybody (prasdranam preranam sd
kurvati tamasah kala). The individual soul has to await the grace of
God for being associated with these kalds for all his experiences, as
he is himself unable to do so on his own account. The karma done
by a man also remains embedded in Prakrti and produces effects by
the category of niyati.
sdnvaya-vyatirekdbhydm rudhito vd vaslyate,
tadvyakti-jananam ndma tat-kdraka-samdsraydt.
tena tantu-gatdkdram patdkdra barodhakam,
vemddind pantydtha patavyaktih prakdsyate.
Ninth patala.
24 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
Siva-jfiana-bodha.
By Meykandadeva
This is a brief work of twelve kdrikds (sometimes called sutras),
and taken from Rauravdgama, as has already been pointed out. It
has a number of commentaries. Its Tamil translation forms the
basic work of the Siva-jndna-siddhi school of thought, and has
been elaborated by many capable writers. The general argument of
the Siva-jndna-siddhi is as follows :
This world, consisting of males, females and other neutral objects,
must have a cause. This cause is not perceivable, but has to be in
ferred. Since it has come into being in time, it may be presumed
that it has a creator. Moreover the world does not move of itself and
it may, therefore, be presumed that there must be an agent behind it.
The world is destroyed by God and is re-created by Him to
afford proper facilities to the malas for their proper expression.
The position, therefore, is that though the material cause (updddna)
is already present, yet there must be a nimitta-kdrana or instru
mental agent for the creation and the maintenance of the world. At
the time of dissolution the world-appearance becomes dissolved in
the impurities or malas. After a period, the world again reappears
through the instrumentality of Siva. Siva thus on the one hand
creates the world, and on the other hand destroys it. It is said that
as in the summer all roots dry up and in the rains they shoot up
again into new plants, so though the world is destroyed the
impressions of the old malas remain inlaid in the prakrti, and when
the proper time comes they begin to show themselves in diverse
forms of world creation according to the will of God. The creation
has to take a definite order in accordance with the good and bad
deeds of persons. This creation cannot take place spontaneously by
compounding the four elements.
God is the instrumental agent through which the functions of
creation, maintenance and destruction take place. The Saiva view
of Meykandadeva is entirely opposed to the purely monistic theory
of Sankara. Thejtva cannot be regarded as identical with Brahman.
It is true that in the Upanisads the individual soul (or jtva) and
Brahman are both regarded as self-luminous and inner-controlled,
but that does not mean that the self and the Brahman are identical.
xxxivj Siva-jndna-bodha 25
The instrumental agent is one. The individual souls being bound
by bondage orpdsa cannot be regarded as being identical with the
ultimate agent or Brahman.
The deeds of a person do not automatically produce effects.
The effects are associated with the person in accordance with the
will of God. The deeds themselves are inanimate and they cannot
therefore produce effects spontaneously. All effectuation is due to
God, though it does not imply any change of state in the nature of
God. An analogy is taken to illustrate how changes can be pro
duced without any effort or change in the changeless. Thus the sun
shines far away in the sky and yet without any interference on its
part, the lotus blooms in the lake on the earth. So God rests in His
self-shiningness, and the changes in the world are produced
apparently in a spontaneous manner. God lives and moves in and
through all beings. It is only in this sense that the world is one
with God and dependent on Him.
The very denial of the different assertions that the self is this or
that proves the existence of the self through our self-consciousness.
We thereby assume the existence of an unconditioned self, because
such a self cannot be particularised. It is easily seen that such a self
is not the same as any of the visible organs or internal organs or the
manas.
The self is different from the inner organs, the mind and the
senses; but yet they can be taken as forming a joint view of reality,
as in the case of the sea. The waves and billows and the foam and
the wind form one whole, though in reality they are different from
one another. The malas which are supposed to be mainly embedded
in the maya, naturally stick to our bodies which are the products of
mdyd, and being there they pollute the right perspective as well as
the right vision of all things. The commentator, whose name is
untraceable, adduces the example of the magnet and iron filings to
explain the action of God on the world without undergoing any
change. It is the power of Siva working in and through us by which
we can act or reap the fruits of our action according to our deeds.
Siva is to be known through inference as the cause which is
neither visible nor invisible. His existence thus can only be known
by inference. The acit or unconscious material passes before Siva,
but does not affect it, so that Siva is quite unconscious of the
world-appearance. It is only the jivas that can know both the
26 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
world and Siva 1 . When a saint becomes free from impurities of
three kinds, the dnava, mdyika and kdrmana-mala, the world
appearance vanishes from before his eyes, and he becomes one
with the pure illumination.
Suradantacarya in his Vydkhydna-kdrikd repeats the above ideas,
but holds that Si va through His omniscience knows all about the world
and the experiences of all beings, but He is not affected by them 2 .
Another fragmentary commentary of an unknown author, who had
written a commentary on Mrgendra called Mrgendra-vrtti-dipikd,
which sometimes refers to the Svdyambhuvdgama and the Mdtanga-
paramesvara-dgama, discusses some of the main topics of Siva-
jndna-bodha in the work called Pasupati-pdsa-vicdra-prakarana.
Pasu is defined as pure consciousness (cinmdtra) covered with
impurities. The pasu goes through the cycle of birth and rebirth,
and it goes also by the name dtman. It is all-pervading in space and
time. The pure consciousness is of the nature ofjndna and kriyd.
The Agamas do not believe that the soul is one. It is pure con
sciousness that appears as distinct from one another by their
association of different kinds of mala which are integrated with
them from beginningless time 3 .
Its body consists of all the categories, beginning with kald and
running up to gross matter. The soul is called anisvara because it
may have a subtle body, but not the gross one, so that it is unable
to enjoy its desire. The soul is regarded as akriya or devoid of
action. Even when through knowledge and renunciation it avoids
all action, the body may go on by the successive impulses of
previous actions (tisthati samskdra-vasdt cakra-bhramavad-dhrta-
sanrah). Though there are many souls, they are spoken of in the
singular number as pasu in the universal sense.
The mala is regarded as being included within pdsa. It is not
therefore a different category. The pure self-consciousness is
entirely different from the impurity or mala. How can then the
mala affect the purity of the pure consciousness ? To this the reply
ndcit-cit sannidhau kintu na vittas te ubhe mithah,
prapanca-sivayor vettd yah so, dtmd tayoh prthak.
. . . sivo jandti visvakam,
sva-bhogyatvena tu param naiva jandti kincana.
3 anena mala-yukto vijndna-kevala uktah. sammudha ityanena pralayena
kaldder upasamhrtatvdt samyak mudhah. Pasupati-pdsa-vicdra-prakarana (Adyar
Library manuscript).
xxxiv] Siva-jnana-bodha 27
is that as pure gold may be associated with dross without affecting
its nature, so the pure consciousness that constitutes the Siva
within us may remain pure, even though it may be covered with
mala from beginningless time. The mala thus does not affect the
nature of the self as Siva.
It is by the grace of Siva, attained through proper initiation in
Saivism by a proper preceptor, that the impurities can be removed,
and not by mere knowledge as such. The mala being the nature of
substance, it can be removed only by an action on the part of God.
Mere knowledge cannot destroy it. The malas being beginningless
are not many but one. According to different kinds of karma, the
malas have distinct and different kinds of bondage. The different
distinctive powers and obscurations made by the mala serve to
differentiate the different selves, which basically are all Siva.
Liberation does not mean any transformation, but only the removal
of particular malas with reference to which different individual
entities asjtvas were passing through the cycle of birth and rebirth.
This removal is effected by Siva when the Saiva initiation is taken
with the help of proper preceptors 1 .
The malas consist of dharma and adharma, and may be due to
karma or may a ; they also constitute the bondage or the pdsas. This
Agama refers to Mrgendrdgama, the doctrines of which it follows
in describing the nature of pasa, mala y etc. The pdsa is really the
tirodhdnasakti of Siva. The pasas are threefold: (i) sahaja, those
malas with which we are associated from beginningless time and
which stay on until liberation ; (2) dgantuka, meaning all our senses
and sense-objects; and (3) surnsargika, that is those which are
produced by the intercourse of sahaja and the dgantuka mala.
The creation and the manifestation of our experiences take place
in accordance with our karma as revealed by God. Just as a field
sown with seeds does not produce the same kind of crop for every
peasant, so in spite of same kinds of actions we may have different
kinds of results manifested to us by God. The karmas and other
things are all inanimate, and thus it is only by the will of God that
different kinds of results are manifested to us. The Saiva view thus
upholds the satkdrya-vdda theory and regards God as abhivyanjaka
or manifestor of all our experiences and karmas.
1 evan ca pdsd-panayanad dtmanah sarva-jnatva-sarva-kartrtvdtmaka-
sivatvdbhivyaktir eva mukti-dasdydm, na tu parindma-svarupa-vindsah.
28 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
Matanga-paramesvara-tantra.
The Saiva sdstra is described as sat-paddrtha and catus-pdda
and not as tri-paddrtha and catus-pdda ; formerly it was written by
Sada-siva in ten million verses and Ananta summarised it in one
lakh verses, which has been further summarised in 3500 verses.
The six categories are (i) pati\ (2) sakti\ (3) triparvd\ (4) pasu\
(5) bodha , and (6) mantra.
Sakti or energy is the means by which we can infer pati, the
possessor of sakti. In inference we sometimes infer the possessor
of the quality by its quality, and sometimes the cause from the
effect or the effect from the cause. Sometimes the existence of a
thing is taken for granted on the authority of the Vedas. From the
body of Siva, which is of the nature of mantras, the sakti emanates
downwards in the form of bindu, which later on develops into the
world 1 . Siva enters into the bindu and unfolds it for various types
of creation. The diversity in the world is due to a difference in
karma and guna of the individual souls, where the individual souls
may be regarded as the container and the karma as contained. The
individual souls are responsible for their actions and have to enjoy
their good or bad fruits. God is the controller of the creation,
maintenance and destruction of the world. It is He who is the
instrumental cause of the world, and the energies are the material
cause and are regarded as the samavdyi-kdrana of the world. This
world is the production of mdyd. As the rays of the sun or the
moon induce the blooming of flowers spontaneously without any
actual interference, so the Siva manifests the world by His mere
proximity.
Seven sahaja-malas have been enumerated as follows : (i) moha,
(2) mada, (3) raga, (4) visdda, (5) sosa, (6) vaicitta and (7) harsa.
The kolas are produced from mdyd, and it is in association with
mdyd that they carry on their work, just as paddy seeds can
produce shoots in association with the husk in which they are
enclosed.
The souls as they are driven through the world, become
attached to worldly things through kald. This association is further
1 It is traditionally believed that the mantras or hymns constitute the body
of a deity.
xxxiv] Mdtanga-paramesvara-tantra 29
tightened by vdsand ; so the souls become attached to all enjoyments,
and this is called rdga. With all attachments there is sorrow, and
therefore non-attachment to all sense-pleasures leads to the best
attainment of happiness.
The nature of kdla and niyati are discussed in the same way as
in other books of Saiva-siddhanta.
Maya comes out from God as an expression of His subtle energy,
and from may a there evolves the pradhdna, which in its first stage
is only pure being or sattd. Later on other categories evolve out of
it and they supply the materials for the experience of purusa. The
purusa and the prakrti thus mutually support each other in the
development of categories and experience.
The ahankdra infuses the self in and through the sense-organs
and operates as their functions. The same may be said regarding
the application of ahankdra in and through the tanmdtras. The
ahankdra thus represents the entire psychic state in a unity. The
ahankdra is present also in dormant state in trees, plants, etc.
Pauskaragama.
In the Pauskaragama jfidna is defined as consisting of the energy
inherent in Siva. Six categories described are "patih kundalini
may a pasuh pdsas ca kdrakah" Lay a, bhoga and adhikdra are the
three functions of sakti. May a as generated by the actions of men,
supplies the elements by which the objects of experience and
experience are made. Pasu is that which experiences and reacts.
The categories beginning from kald to earth (ksiti) are real entities.
Laya is called bondage and is regarded as the fifth category. The
sixth category is equal to bhukti, mukti, vyakti, phala, kriyd and
diksd taken together. Bindu and anus are the real entities. When
the manifold creation shrinks into the bindu, we have that stage in
Siva which is called dissolution (laya). In the original state actions
of the type of sadrsa parindma go on. Siva is described as vispasta
cinmdtra and vydpaka. His energies only can operate, while He
remains unmoved. When the energies begin to operate in the
bindu, the bindu becomes fit for being the data of experience. This
state of bindu with Siva reflected in it is called the sadd-siva. Even
in this stage there is really no change in Siva. When the energies
30 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH
are in the state of operation, we have the state of creation, and the
experience of it is called bhoga.
The point arises that if the bindu is itself active in creation, then
its relation with Siva becomes redundant. On the other hand, if
the bindu is moved by Siva to active operation, Siva becomes
changeable. The reply is that an agent can affect any material in
two ways, either by his simple desire or by his organised effort, as
in the case of the making of a pot by the potter. Siva moves the
bindu simply by His samkalpa, and therefore He does not suffer any
change. In the case of the action of the potter also, it is by the wish
of Siva that the potter can act. Therefore, Siva is the sole agent of
all actions performed by animate beings or by inanimate matter.
It may be said that Siva is wholly unconditioned, and therefore
He can remain the sole agent without undergoing any change.
Another tentative answer is that in the presence of Siva, the bindu
begins to work without any causal efficiency (compare the move
ment of prakrti in the presence of purusd).
The bindu has sometimes been described as santyatita and other
times as the material cause of the creation. This difficulty is
explained on the assumption that part of the bindu is santyatita and
the other part is responsible for being the material cause of the
world. The third category including the bindu and Siva is called
Isvara. Siva produces commotion in bindu merely by His presence.
In this way Siva is not only the instrumental agent of all happenings
in the inanimate, but He also is responsible for all actions of the
human body which are seemingly produced by the human will.
Knowledge and activity are in essence identical, and for that
reason, when there is action (vydpdra), we may feel as if we are the
agents of those actions. The element of action that seems to
express itself is thus something more than the action, and it is
called the adhikdra-kriyd. The action and that which is acted upon
is the result of guna-samkalpa. Siva stands as the citi-sakti which
makes all energies dynamic, as the sun makes the lotus bloom from
a distance without any actual interference.
In further explaining the philosophical situation Siva says that
a part of the bin du is in the transcendental (santyatita) state, while
the other part is responsible for the creative action. This second
category, that is, the lower half of the bindu, is supposed to be
moved by Siva. The energies are often classified under different
xxxiv] Pauskardgama 3 1
names as performing different functions. Sakti and saktimdn are
the same. They are only differently classified according to their
diverse functions.
The inanimate world is inoperative without the action or the
interference of a conscious being. That conscious being is God
Siva; even the milk in the udder of the cow flows by the active
affection of the cow for the calf. The illustration of the magnet
drawing the iron filings does not fit in, for there also is the person
who brings the magnet near the iron filings.
It cannot, however, be urged that the purusas themselves could
be regarded as active agents, for according to the scriptural texts
they are also moved to activity by the will of God 1 .
The world-appearance cannot be proved to be false or illusory.
It is made up of the stuff of one common object called may a,
which is later on conceived as functioning in different ways called
sattva y rajas and tamos. The mdyd stuff is the repository of all
karmas. But yet not all persons gain the fruits of all their karmas.
They have to depend upon some other being for the proper
fruition of their karmas. This is where God comes in as the
ultimate bestower of the fruits of karma.
Mala or impurity is always associated with all souls. The
Agama tries to refute the epistemological view of other systems of
thought like the Carvaka and the monism of Sankara. The Agama
holds that since the souls are eternal, their knowledge must also be
eternal due to eternal unchanging cause. The difference of know
ledge in individuals is due to the obscuration of their knowledge by
the various veils of mala. The original cause of knowledge is all-
pervading and is the same in all persons 2 .
The self is realised as revealing itself and others. If it is
supposed that the self is reflected through buddhi, then even buddhi
vivddddhydsitam visvam visva-vit-kartr-purvakam,
kdryatvdd dvayoh siddham kdryam kumbhddikam yathd.
First patala.
tac ceha vibhu-dharmatvdn na ca kvdcitkam isyate,
nityatvam iva tendtmd sthitah sarvdrtha-drk-kriyah.
jndtrtvam api yadyasya kvdcitkam vibhutd kutah,
dharmino ydvati vydptis tdvad-dharmasya ca sthitih,
yathd pata-sthitam sauklyam patam vydpydkhilam sthitam,
sthitam vydpyaivam dtmdnam jndtrtvam api sarvadd,
na ca nirvisayam jndnam pardpeksam svarupatah.
Fourth patala.
32 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
also may be regarded as conscious self. So the idea of explaining
the situation as being the reflection of consciousness in buddhi^ also
fails. Again this reflection of consciousness in buddhi cannot be
regarded as conscious entity. It may also be pointed out that the
consciousness as spirit cannot be reflected in buddhi which is
known as spiritual. The view of mutual reflection of consciousness
into buddhi and buddhi into consciousness is also untenable. It has,
therefore, to be admitted that the soul as an eternal being can
perceive all things and act as it likes. If the qualities inhere
permanently or temporarily in an entity, then that inherence in the
entity must be of a permanent or of a temporary nature as the case
may be. The consciousness of the soul should, therefore, be
regarded as co-extensive with its being. The selves are atomic in
size and cannot therefore pervade the whole body. We have
already said that the self in revealing itself also reveals other things.
We must remember in this connection that an entity like the fire
cannot be distinguished from the energy that it has.
Again the objects perceived cannot be regarded as mere ignor
ance (ajndna), for one cannot deal with mere ajndna, just as one
cannot bring water without a pitcher. The things we perceive
are real entities. This ajndna cannot be taken in the sense of
prdgabhava, for then that would imply another origination of
knowledge; or it could be explained as wrong knowledge. This
wrong knowledge may be regarded as accidental or natural. If it is
accidental or natural, then it must be due to some causes and
cannot, therefore, be regarded as wrong knowledge. If it is wrong
knowledge only arising occasionally, then it cannot contradict right
knowledge. Ordinarily one cannot expect the illusoriness of silver
to contradict the knowledge of conch-shell 1 . For this reason the
self, which is intuitively realised as all-consciousness, cannot be
regarded as having only limited knowledge. That appearance of
the souls possessing limited knowledge must be due to its associa
tion with impurities. The energy of consciousness is eternal, and
therefore its nature cannot be disturbed by the association of
impurities which may constitute experience, as arising from dharma
and adharma. The malas are regarded as sevenfold, and include
within them the passions of mada, moha, etc. These malas are
1 kin caitad anyathd-jndnam na samyag jndna-bddhakam.
Fourth patala.
xxxi v] Pauskardgama 33
regarded as being natural to the souls. The mala of moha appears
in various forms, as attachment to wife, son, money, etc.
It is only the spiritual that can contradict the non-spiritual.
Two spiritual entities or the non-spiritual entities cannot contra
dict each other. One soul cannot be contradicted by another soul.
If the association of malas with the souls is regarded as
beginningless, then how can they veil the nature of the self, and
what must be the nature of this veil? It cannot be said that this
veiling means the covering of what was already illuminated; for in
that case, this obscuration of illumination of an entity, which is of
the nature of light, must mean its destruction. The reply is that the
energy of consciousness (cicchakti) cannot be veiled by the malas.
The malas can only arrest its function.
Saktiis defined as being of the nature of immediate intuition and
action. If that is so, the sakti is associated with knowable objects.
How can then the objects be different from the energy? In reply
it is said that the intuitive knowledge and action (drkkriyd), the
sakti, as such remains united as drk and kriyd. They are indivisibly
connected as one, and it is for us to think of them as divided into
drk and kriyd 1 . All words denoting particular objects are for others
and are under the veil of mala. By the suppression of mala, the
energy is turned away from sense objects. In this way the mala
operates against the cicchakti, and thereby malas obscure the
omniscient character of the souls.
In the fifth chapter, the Agama deals with the different kinds
of pas as or bonds. These bonds are kald, avidyd, rdga, kdla and
niyati. These five categories are regarded as proceeding from mdyd.
The consciousness shows itself through these kolas. The conscious
ness is associated with both intuitive knowledge and the power of
work. The kalds reflect the consciousness of the soul only partially.
This reflection is effected in accordance with one s karma.
All experience is due to the functioning of the power of know
ledge and of the objects to be known. This is technically called
grdhaka and grdhya. It is by the association of consciousness that
the kalds appear to be functioning for the apprehension of things.
From kald comes vidyd. Kald supplies the basis of experience as
time and space. Later on other categories of the intellect also
avibhdgasya bhdgoktau tad-vibhdga upddhitah.
Fourth patala.
34 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
evolve and we have the concept of buddhi as deliberate decision.
In this way the different categories such as ahankdra or abhimdna
are produced. They in themselves would not be conscious except
through the consciousness which impregnates them.
The buddhi manifests itself through diverse forms according to
their vdsands. A full enumeration of them is given in the texts, but
we omit them as they are not philosophically important. They,
however, include the various instinctive tendencies and delusions
which are enumerated in Samkhya and other places.
The difficulty is that the buddhi and ahankdra seem to cover the
same ground. How is it then possible to distinguish buddhi from
ahankdral To this the reply is that when something is deliberately
known as this or that, we have the stage of buddhi. But in the stage
of ahankdra we seem to behave as knowers, and all objects that
come to our purview are labelled as parts of our knowledge. There
is no means by which the ego-consciousness of any individual can
be confused with the ego-consciousness of another. They are thus
realised as different from one another 1 .
The Agama describes the three kinds of creation as sdttvika,
rdjasa and tdmasa as proceeding from three kinds of ahankdra, and
describes the origination of jndnendriyas, karmendriyas, tanmdtras
and manas. When things are perceived by the senses and their value
as this or that is attested by an inner function, so that the red can
be distinguished from the blue, that inner function is called manas 2 .
When we perceive an animal having certain peculiarities, then
we can extend the use of the word to denote another animal having
the same kind of features. The inner function by which this is done
is manas.
The Agama gives an elaborate description of the cognitive senses
and particularly of the organ of the eye. The mere proximity of con
sciousness cannot generate the activity. This can only be generated
by the association of the consciousness with the sense organs.
The Agama criticises the Buddhist position and supposes that
the Buddhist doctrine of artha-kriyd-kdritd can hold good only if
the entities are not momentary, but have extensive existence.
yady abhinnam ahankrt sydu devadatto pyaham matih,
anyasydm upajdyeta ndtmaikatvam tatah sthitam. Sixth patala.
caksusd locite hy arthe tamartham buddhi-gocaram,
vidadhdtlha yad viprds tanmanah paripathyate. Sixth patala.
xxxi v] Pauskardgama 35
Speaking of the gunas, the Agama refuses to admit their
substantive nature. It is only when certain gunas are in a collocated
state that we call them guna reals.
Our senses can only perceive certain objective qualities, but
they cannot perceive any substratum behind them. Therefore it is
logically incorrect to infer any substratum, which may be called
gunas as reals. After a discussion about what may be the original
material cause either as partless atoms or as immaterial prakrti, the
Agama decides in favour of the latter. But this prakrti is not the
state of equilibrium (sdmydvastha) of the gunas as the Samkhya holds.
The Agama discusses the prdpya-kdritva and aprdpya-kdritva
of the different senses. It also says that movement does not belong
originally to every atom, but it belongs only to the living atoms, the
souls. It cannot also be due to the mere presence of other things.
When the manas is associated with cicchakti, then it attains the
knowledge of all things by the exercise of the internal organs. At
the first moment this knowledge is indeterminate. Later on various
determinations become associated with it. The perception of
things at different times becomes synthetised and concretised,
otherwise the various memory images might arise before the mind
and prevent the formation of a synthetic image, as we find in the
case of a concrete perception.
It is only the ego-consciousness or the abhimdna that produces
in us the sense agency (katrtvd). Without this sense of abhimdna
there would be no difference between the self and other material
objects. From ego-consciousness there proceeds the deliberate
consciousness of decision (niscaya).
Knowledge of things cannot arise merely from buddhi, for the
stuff of buddhi is material. Consciousness can only arise occasionally
in consequence of its relation with cicchakti. If the mental states
are always changing, then they cannot be perceived as constant,
though they may appear to be so, like the flame of a lamp which
changes from moment to moment, but yet appears to be the same.
Turning to the doctrine of artha-kriyd-kdritd of the Buddhists,
the Agama says that if the doctrine of artha-kriyd-kdritd be
accepted, then the existence of things cannot properly be explained.
The proper view is that of parindma-vdda. If the things are
momentary, then effects cannot be produced, for a thing must
remain for at least two moments in order to produce an effect. If
3-2
36 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
the two moments are separate entities, then one cannot be the
cause of the other. The causal change can only be with reference to
the existing things, but not with regard to the entities which are
momentary. In order that there may be a production, the thing
must remain for two moments at least. Things that are existent
need not always be productive. The production of an effect may
depend on accessory causes. A jug cannot be produced by threads,
but the threads may produce a piece of cloth. This shows that the
effect is always already in the cause.
It cannot also be held that our mental states are identical with
the external objects, for in that case it would be difficult to explain
the multiplicity of our cognitive states in accordance with their
objects. We would not be able to explain how one entity assumes
so many diverse forms. The only course left is to admit some
external objects with which our senses come into contact. These
objects consist of a conglomeration of tanmdtras. It is in and
through this conglomeration of tanmdtras that new qualities arise
to which we give the names of different bhutas. The difference
between tanmdtras and bhutas is that the former are more subtle
and the latter more gross. This view is somewhat different from
the Samkhya view, for here the bhutas are not regarded as different
categories, but only as a conglomeration of tanmdtras. The idea
that the gunas are certain objective entities is again and again
repudiated. It is held that it is the conglomeration of gunas that is
regarded by us as substantive entity.
The Agama then criticises the theory of atoms which are part-
less. It is held that the partless atoms cannot have sides in which
other atoms could be associated. The question is raised that tan
mdtras being formless (amurta) cannot themselves be the causes of
all forms. The world of forms thus leads us to infer some material
as its cause. To this Siva replies that the prakrti can be regarded
as being endowed with form and also as formless 1 .
Siva in further replying to the questions says that things having
form must have other entities endowed with forms as their causes.
Therefore one may infer that the atoms are the causes of the world.
In that case one cannot deny the fact that the atoms have forms.
In further discussing the subject Siva says that the atoms are many
may a tu paramo, murta nitydnityasya kdranam,
ekdneka-vibhdeddhyd vastu-rupd sivdtmikd. Sixth patala.
xxxiv] Pauskardgama 37
and they have parts. So they are of the same type as other effects,
such as jug, etc. As such the cause of the world must be regarded
as being something which is formless. All effects are anitya,
dependent on others (dsrita), and have parts and are many. The
Saivism, therefore, holds that their cause must be different, it must
be one, independent and partless. Therefore it discards the view
that the atoms are the material cause of the world 1 . The gross
elements gradually evolved from the five tanmdtras.
The Agama refutes the view that dkdsa is mere vacuity. Had
it been a vacuity, it would have been a negation, and a negation
always belongs to the positive entity. The Agama also refutes the
possibility of dkdsa being regarded as any kind of negation. Sabda
is regarded as the specific quality of dkdsa.
The Agama says that it admits only four pramdnas : pratyaksa,
anumdna, sabda, and arthdpatti. In reality it is pure consciousness
devoid of all doubts that constitutes the truth underlying the
pramdnas. Doubt arises out of the oscillation of the mind between
two poles. Memory refers to objects experienced before. In order
that any knowledge may attain to the state of proper validity, it
must be devoid of memory and doubt.
Pure consciousness is the real valid part in knowledge. Buddhi
being itself a material thing cannot be regarded as constituting the
valid element of knowledge. It is in and through the kolas that the
pure consciousness comes into contact with the objective world.
This perception may be either nirvikalpa or savikalpa. In the
nirvikalpa perception there is no reference in the mind to class
concepts or names. By the nirvikalpa perception one can perceive
things as they are without any association of names, etc.
Perception is of two kinds: (i) as associated with the senses,
and (2) as unassociated with the senses as in the case of intuitive
knowledge by yoga. When associated with senses the perceptive
function removes the veil between the objects and the self, so that
the objects can be directly perceived. In explaining the nature of
perception the Agama follows the Nyaya technique of samyukta-
samavdya, etc., for explaining the situation. It believes like Nyaya
in five types of propositions, namely pratijnd, hetu, drstdnta, upanaya
and nigamana.
1 tato na paramdnundm hetutvam yuktibhir matam. Sixth patala.
38 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
Vatulagama 1 .
Vdtuldgama from Adyar with commentary seems to be almost
identical with the Vdtuldgama of the Mysore Oriental Research
Institute, only with this difference that the Vdtuldgama of Mysore
contains more verses in the concluding tenth chapter in which the
Vira-saiva doctrine is praised above other Saiva doctrines. But
the original beginning is more or less like the general Saiva doctrine
as may be found in Tattva-prakdsikd with Aghora-sivacarya s
commentary. There is also the tendency to derive the existence of
Siva as the ultimate reality on the basis of inference, as may be
found in the Siddhanta systems of Saivism, such as the Mrgendrd-
gama or in the Lakullsa-Pasupata system. The supplementary
portion of Vdtuldgama introduces the doctrine of linga-dhdrana of
the Vira-saivas, but does not say anything about its specific
philosophy or about its other doctrines associated with sat-sthala.
Vatula-tantram 2 .
Siva-tattva is of three kinds: (i) niskala, (2) sakala and
(3) niskala-sakala. Siva may be distinguished in ten ways:
(1) tattva-bheda, (2) varna-bheda, (3) cakra-bheda, (4) varga-bheda,
(5) mantra-bheda, (6) pranava, (7) brahma-bheda, (8) anga-bheda,
(9) mantra-jdta, (10) kila. Though previously it has been said to be
of three kinds, it has three forms again: (i) subrahmanya-siva,
(2) sadd-siva and (3) mahesa.
Siva is called niskala when all His kalds, that is parts or organs
or functions, are concentrated in a unity within Him. In further
defining the nature of nifkalatva, the author says that when the
pure and impure elements that contribute to experience are
collected together and merged in the original cause, and remain
there as the budding cause of all powers that are to develop the
universe, we have the niskala stage. The commentator supports
this idea by quotations from many texts. The sakala-niskala is that
in which the deeds of persons are in a dormant state, and when the
time of creation comes it associates itself with the bindu state for
1 Oriental Research Institute, Mysore.
2 Adyar Library manuscript.
xxxiv] Pauskardgama 39
the formation of the world. The bindu represents the mdyopdddna
with which Siva associates Himself for the creation 1 . These
different names of sakala and niskala and sakala-niskala of Siva are
but different moments in Siva and do not constitute any actual
transformation in Him, for He always remains unchanged in
Himself. In Siva, therefore, there is no change. The changes are
to be found in the bindu and the anus 2 .
God can only be proved by anumdna as being the instrumental
cause of the world. This is taking the old Saiva view of the
Siddhanta, like the Mrgendrdgama. The agency of God is to be
explained by the supposition that by His desire everything is
accomplished. He does not take to any instrument or organs for
accomplishing any act. Thus when the potter makes his pot, it is
through the infusion of God s power that he can do so. In the case
of the potter, the agency is different, because he works with his
instruments and organs. Siva through His energy can know and
do all things.
Siva creates all things by His simple samkalpa and this creation
is called the suddhddhva. The author refers to Tattva-prakdsika of
Bhoja and the commentary on it by Aghora-sivacarya.
Sakti is the will of God and that is called bindu. From that
arises ndda which is a source of all speech 3 .
We have given some analysis of some of the important Agamas
just to show the nature of the subjects that are dealt with in these
Agamas. A more comprehensive account of the Agamas could
easily have been given, but that would have involved only tiresome
repetition. Most of the Agamas deal with the same sort of subjects
more or less in the same manner with some incidental variations as
1 mahesah sakalah bindu-mdyopdddna-janita-tanu-karanddibhir dtmdnam yadd
suddhdsuddha-bhogam prayacchati tadd siva-sangakah sa eva bhagavdn sakala ity
ucyate.
2 laya-bhogddhikdrdndm na bhedo vdstavah sive, kintu vindor anundm ca
vdstavd eva te matdh.
3 saktir iccheti vijneyd sabdo jnanam ihocyate, vdgbhavam sydt kriyd-saktih
kald vai odasa smrtah. yd paramesvarasya icchd sd saktir iti jneyd, saktestu
jdyate sabdah. Yat paramesvarasya jnanam tadeva sabdah. sabddt jdyate
vdgbhavah. yd paramesvarasya kriyd sd tu vdgbhavah. sodasa svardh kald ity
ucyante.
Quoted from Pauskardgama :
acetanam jagad viprds cetana-prerakam vind,
pravrttau vd nivrttau vd na svatantram rathddivat.
40 Literature of Southern Saivism [CH.
regards their emphasis on this or that subject. They also sometimes
vary as regards their style and mode of approach. Thus the Agama
called Siva-jndna-siddhi deals with the various subjects by quota
tions from a large number of Agamas. This shows that there was
an internal unity among the various Agamas. From these collective
works we can know much of the contents of the different Agamas.
This is important as some of these Agamas are scarcely available
even as a single manuscript.
The date of these Agamas cannot be definitely fixed. It may
be suggested that the earliest of them were written sometime in the
second or third century A.D., and these must have been continued
till the thirteenth or fourteenth century. In addition to the theo
logical or religious dogmatics, they contain discussions on the
nature of the various ducts or nddis in connection with the direc
tions regarding the performance of yoga or mental concentration.
There are some slight disputations with rival systems of thought
as those of the Buddhists, Jains and the Samkhya. But all this is
very slight and may be practically ignored. There is no real
contribution to any epistemological thought. We have only the
same kind of stereotyped metaphysical dogma and the same kind
of argument that leads to the admission of a creator from the
creation as of the agent from the effects. Thus apparently the
material cause, the updddna kdrana, described asprakrti and some
times atoms, is different from the instrumental cause, God. But
in order to maintain the absolute monistic view that Siva alone is
the ultimate reality, this material cause is often regarded as the
sakti or energy which is identical with God. Sometimes the entire
creation is described as having an appearance before the individuals
according to their karma through God s power of bondage. The
individual souls are all infected by various impurities derived from
mdyd or karma. These impurities are ultimately destroyed by the
grace of God, when the Saiva initiation is taken.
These Agamas are also full of directions as regards various
religious practices and disciplines, and also of various kinds of
rituals, mantras, directions for the building of temples or of setting
up of various kinds of phallic symbols, which, however, have to be
entirely omitted from the present treatment of Saivism. But it is
easy to see that the so-called Saiva philosophy of the Agamas is
just a metaphysical kernel for upholding the Saiva religious life and
xxxiv] Pauskardgama 41
practices. These consist largely in inspiring the devotees to lead an
absolutely moral life, wholly dedicated to Siva, and full of intoxi
cating fervour of devotion, as one may find in Tiru-vdchaka of
Manikka-vachakar. This devotion is the devotion of service, of a
life entirely dedicated to Lord Siva.
CHAPTER XXXV
VfRA-SAIVISM
History and Literature of Vira-saivism.
THE name Vlra-saiva as applied to a particular Saiva sect appears
to be of a later date. Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-samgraha of
the fourteenth century A.D., who mentions the Pasupatas and the
Agamic Saivas, does not seem to know anything about the Vlra-
saivas. Sankara and Vacaspati and Ananda-giri of the eighth and
the ninth centuries do not seem to know anything of the Vlra-
saivas. Neither are they alluded to in any of the Saivdgamas. The
Vdtula-tantra seems to have two editions (in manuscript), and in
one of them the sat-sthala doctrine is mentioned in the form of an
appendix, which shows that this introduction was of the nature of
an apocrypha. The doctrine of linga-dhdrana in the manner in
which it is done by the Lihgayats of the Vira-saivas can hardly be
traced in any early works, though later Vlra-saiva writers like
Sripati and others have twisted some of the older texts which
allude to linga to mean the specific practices of linga-dhdrana as
done by the Lingayats.
There is a general tradition that Basava, a Brahmin, son of
Madiraja and Madamba was the founder of the Vlra-saiva sect.
From his native place Bagevadi, he went to Kalyan near Bombay,
at a comparatively young age, when Vijjala was reigning there as
king (A.D. 1157-67). His maternal uncle Baladeva having resigned
on account of illness, Basava was appointed as the minister in
complete charge of Vijjala s treasury and other administrative
functions. According to another tradition Basava succeeded in
deciphering an inscription which disclosed some hidden treasure,
and at this, King Vijjala was so pleased that he gave Basava the
office of prime minister. According to the Basava-purdna, which
narrates the life of Basava in a mythical puranic manner, Basava,
on assuming the office, began to distribute gifts to all those who
professed themselves to be the devotees of Siva. This led to much
confusion and heart-burning among the other sects, and it so
happened that King Vijjala cruelly punished two of the devotees
CH. xxxv] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 43
of Siva. At this, by the instigation of Basava, one of his followers
murdered Vijjala. Bhandarkar gives some other details, which the
present writer has not been able to trace in the Basava-purdna (the
source, according to Bhandarkar himself) 1 .
The Basava-purdna was written after the time of Sripati
Pandita. It is said there that at one time Narada reported to Siva
that, while other religions were flourishing, the Saiva faith was
with few exceptions dying out among the Brahmins, and so it was
decaying among other castes also. Lord Siva then asked Nandi to
get himself incarnated for taking the Vlra-saiva faith in consonance
with the Varndsrama rites 2 . If this remark is of any value, it has to
be admitted that even after the time of Sripati Pandita the Vlra-
saiva faith had not assumed any importance in the Carnatic region.
It also indicates that the Vlra-saiva faith at this time was not
intended to be preached in opposition to the Hindu system of
castes and caste duties. It has been contended that Basava intro
duced social reforms for the removal of castes and caste duties and
some other Hindu customs. But this claim cannot be substantiated,
as, in most of the Vlra-saiva works, we find a loyalty to the Hindu
caste order. There is, of course, a tendency to create a brotherhood
among the followers of Siva who grouped round Basava, as he was
both politically and financially a patron of the followers of Siva.
The Basava-purdna also says that Basava was taken before the
assembly of pandits for the performance of the rite of initiation of
the holy thread at the age of eight, according to the custom of
compulsory initiation among the Brahmins. Basava, however, at
that early age protested against the rite of initiation, on the grounds
that the holy thread could purify neither the soul nor body, and
that there were many instances in the puranic accounts where
saints of the highest reputation had not taken the holy thread.
We find no account of Basava as preaching a crusade against Hindu
customs and manners, or against Brahmanism as such.
Basava s own writings are in Canarese, in the form of sayings or
musings, such as is common among the devotees of other sects of
Saivism, Vaisnavism, etc. The present writer had the occasion to
go through a large mass of these sayings in their English transla
tions. On the basis of these it can be said that they contain a
1 See Bhandarkar s Vaisnavism and Saivism, p. 132.
2 varndcdrdnurodhena saivdcaranpravartaya. Basava-purdna, ch. II, verse 32.
44 Vlra-saivism [CH.
rapturous enthusiasm for the God Siva, who to Basava appeared
as the Lord Kudala Sahgama. These sayings referred to Siva as
the supreme Lord, and to Basava himself as his servant or slave.
They also contain here and there some biographical allusions
which cannot be reconstructed satisfactorily without the help of
other contemporary evidence. So far as can be judged from the
sayings of Basava, it is not possible to give any definite account of
Vira-saiva thought as having been propounded or systematised by
Basava. According to Basava-purdna, the practice of linga-
dhdrana seems to have been in vogue even before Basava. Basava
himself does not say anything about the doctrine of sat-sthala, and
these two are the indispensably necessary items by which Vira-
saivism can be sharply distinguished from the other forms of
Saivism, apart from its philosophical peculiarity. On this also
Basava does not seem to indicate any definite line of thought which
could be systematised without supplementing it or reconstructing
it by the ideas of later Vira-saiva writers. Though the kernel of the
Vira-saiva philosophy may be traced back to the early centuries of
the Christian era, and though we find it current in works like
Suta-samhitd of the sixth century A.D., yet we do not know how the
name Vira-saiva came to be given to this type of thought.
In the work Siddhdnta-tikhdmani, written by Revanacarya some
time between Basava and Sripati, we find the name Vira-saiva
associated with the doctrine of sthala, and this is probably the
earliest use of the term in available literature. Siddhdnta-
sikhdmani refers to Basava and is itself referred to by Srlpati. This
shows that the book must have been written between the dates of
Basava and Srlpati. The Siddhdnta-sikhdmani gives a fanciful
interpretation of the word, vira as being composed of vi
meaning knowledge of identity with Brahman, and * ra as meaning
someone who takes pleasure in such knowledge. But such an
etymology, accepting it to be correct, would give the form vira
and not vira. No explanation is given as to how vi standing for
vidya, would lengthen its vowel into vi. I therefore find it
difficult to accept this etymological interpretation as justifying the
application of the word vira to Vira-saiva. Moreover, most
systems of Vedantic thought could be called vira in such an inter
pretation, for most types of Vedanta would feel enjoyment and
bliss in true knowledge of identity. The word vira would thus not
xxxv] History and Literature of Vlra-saivism 45
be a distinctive mark by which we could distinguish Vira-saivas
from the adherents of other religions. Most of the Agamic Saivas
also would believe in the ultimate identity of individuals with
Brahman or Siva. I therefore venture to suggest that Vira-saivas
were called Viras or heroes for their heroic attitude in an aggressive
or defensive manner in support of their faith.
We have at least two instances of religious persecution in the
Saiva context. Thus the Chola King Koluttunga I, a Saiva, put out
the eyes of Mahapurna and Kuresa, the Vaisnava disciples of
Ramanuja, who refused to be converted to Saivism. The same sort
of story comes in the life of Basava where the eyes of two of his
disciples were put out by Vijjala, and Vijjala got himself murdered
by Basava s followers. These are but few instances where violence
was resorted to for the spread of any religion, or as actions of
religious vengeance. I suppose that the militant attitude of some
Saivas, who defied the caste rules and customs and were enthu
siasts for the Saiva faith, gave them the name of Vlra-saiva or
Heroic Saiva. Even the Siddhdnta-sikhdmani refers to the view of
Basava that those who decried Siva should be killed 1 . Such a
militant attitude in the cause of religion is rarely to be found in the
case of other religions or religious sects. In the above context
Siddhdnta-sikhdmani points out in the ninth chapter that, though
Vira-saivas are prohibited from partaking in the offerings made to
a fixed phallic symbol sthdvara-linga, yet if there is a threat to
destroy or disturb such a symbol, a Vlra-saiva should risk his life
in preventing the aggression by violent means.
So far our examination has not proved very fruitful in dis
covering the actual contribution to Vlra-saiva philosophy or
thought, or even the practice of sat-sthala and linga-dhdrana, made
by Basava. He must have imparted a good deal of emotional
enthusiasm to inspire the Saivas of different types who came into
contact with him, either through religious fervour or for his
1 atha vira-bhadrdcara-basavesvaracdram sucayan bhaktd-cdra-bhedam prati-
pddayati
siva-ninddkaram drstvd ghdtayed athavd sapet,
sthdnam vd tat-parityajya gacched yady-aksamo bhavet.
Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, ch. 9, verse 36.
It is further introduced in the context:
nanu prdna-tydge durmaranam him na sydt,
sivdrtham mukta-jivas cecchiva-sdyujyam dpnuydt.
46 Vira-saivism [CH.
financial and other kinds of patronage. It seems from the Basava-
purdna that his financial assistance to the devotees of Siva was of
rather an indiscriminate character. His money was poured on all
Saivas like showers of rain. This probably made him the most
powerful patron of the Saivas of that time, with the choicest of
whom he founded a learned assembly where religious problems
were discussed in a living manner, and he himself presided over
the meetings.
The present writer is of opinion that the kernel of Vira-saiva
thought is almost as early as the Upanisads, and it may be found
in a more or less systematic manner by way of suggestion in the
writings of Kalidasa who lived in the early centuries of the
Christian era 1 . The Suta-samhitd, a part of the Skanda-purdna,
seems to teach a philosophy which may be interpreted as being of
the same type as the Vira-saiva philosophy propounded by
Sripati, though the commentator interprets it in accordance with
the philosophy of Sankara. The Siita-samhitd gives a high place
to the Agama literature such as the Kdmika, and others, which
shows that it was closely related with the Agamic Saivism 2 .
But it is difficult to say at what time the Vira-saiva sect was
formed and when it had this special designation. Vira-saivism
differs from the Agamic Saivism and the Pasupata system in its
philosophy and its doctrine of sthala, the special kind of linga-
dhdrana and also in some other ritualistic matters which are not
quite relevant for treatment in a work like the present one. It is
unfortunate that Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, a work probably of the
thirteenth century, should contain the earliest reference to Vira-
saivism in literature. A small manuscript called Vira-saiva-guru-
parampard gives the names of the following teachers in order of
priority: (i) Visvesvara-guru, (2) Ekorama, (3) Viresaradhya,
(4) Vlra-bhadra, (5) Viranaradhya, (6) Manikyaradhya, (7) Buccay-
yaradhya, (8) Vlra-mallesvararadhya, (9) Desikaradhya, (10)
Vrsabha, (n) Aksaka and (12) Mukha-lingesvara. In the Vira-
saivdgamcP, eighth patala, it is said that in the four pithas or
pontifical seats, namely yoga-ptfha, mahd-pttha, jndna-pitha and
1 See author s A History of Sanskrit Literature, Vol. I, pp. 728 et seq.
2 Suta-samhita, yajna-vaibhava-khanda, ch. 22, verses 2 and 3. See also
ch. 20, verse 22; ch. 39, verse 23.
3 Madras manuscript.
xxxv] History and Literature of Vlra-saivism 47
soma-pitha, there were four teachers of different priority, Revana,
Marula, Vamadeva 1 , and Panditaradhya. These names are of a
mythical nature, as they are said to be referred to in the different
Vedas. But the names that we have quoted above from the Vlra-
saiva-guru-parampard form a succession list of teachers up to the
time of the teacher of the author of the manuscript 2 . On studying
the succession list of teachers, we find that we know nothing of
them either by allusion or by any text ascribed to them, excepting
Vira-bhadra, who has been referred to in the Siddhdnta-sikhdmani 3 .
We cannot say how much earlier Vira-bhadra was than the author
of the Siddhdnta-sikhdmani. But since Vira-bhadra is mentioned
along with Basava in the same context, we may suppose that this
Vira-bhadra could not have been much earlier than Basava. So if
we are safe in supposing that Vira-bhadra lived somewhere in the
twelfth century, we have only to compute the time of the three
Acaryas who lived before Vira-bhadra. According to ordinary
methods of computation we can put a hundred years for the
teaching period of the three teachers. This would mean that Vira-
saivism as a sect started in the eleventh century. It is possible that
these teachers wrote or preached in the Dravidian tongue which
could be understood by the people among whom they preached.
This would explain why no Sanskrit books are found ascribed to
them. Basava was probably one of the most intelligent and emotional
thinkers, who expressed his effusions in the Kaunada language.
But about our specification of the succession list of Vira-saiva
teachers much remains yet to be said. It does not explain any
thing about the other lines of teachers, of whom we hear from
stray allusions. Thus we hear of Agastya as being the first pro-
pounder of the Saiva faith. We find also that one Renukacarya
wrote the work, Siddhdnta-sikhdmani based upon the verdict of
other Vira-saiva works and giving us the purport of the mythical
dialogue that took place between Renuka-siddha and Agastya some
time in the past. The Renuka-siddha was also called Revana-
siddha, and it is supposed that he expounded the Vira-saiva
Sastra to Agastya in the beginning of the Kali age. We find at a
much later date one Siddha-ramesvara, who was impregnated with
1 Another reading is Rama-deva (eighth and sixteenth patalas).
2 asmad-dcdrya-paryantdm bande guru-parampardm. (Madras manuscript.)
3 Siddhdnta-sikhdmani. avataranikd of the 36th verse, ch. 9.
48 Vlra-saivism [CH.
the doctrine of Vlra-saivism ; it is in his school of thought that we
have a person called Siva-yoglsvara, who gives us the supposed
purport of the dialogue between Ranuka and Agastya, as it had
traditionally come down to him, supplementing it with the
teachings of other relevant literature. In the family of Siddha-
ramesvara there was born one Mudda-deva, a great teacher. He
had a son called Siddha-natha, who wrote a work called Siva-
siddhdnta-nirnaya containing the purport of the Agamas. The
other teachers of the time regarded him as the most prominent of
the Vlra-saiva teachers (Vira-saiva-sikhd-ratnd) and Renukacarya,
who called himself also Siva-yogin, wrote the work, Siddhdnta-
sikhdmani. We thus see that there was a long list of Vlra-saiva
teachers before Renukacarya, who probably lived somewhere in the
thirteenth century. Even if we do not take this into account,
Renukacarya, the author of Siddhdnta-sikhdmani says that he had
written the work for the elucidation of the nature of Siva by
consulting the Saiva Tantras beginning from the Kdmikdgama to
the Vdtuldgama and also the Puranas. He further says that the
Vlra-saiva Tantra is the last of the Saiva Tantras and therefore it
is the essence of them all 1 .
But what is exactly the content of the Vlra-saiva philosophy as
explained in the Siddhdnta-sikhdmani^. It is said that Brahman is
the identity of being, bliss and consciousness, and devoid of
any form or differentiation. It is limitless and beyond all ways
of knowledge. It is self-luminous and absolutely without any
obstruction of knowledge, passion or power. It is in Him that the
whole world of the conscious and the unconscious remains, in a
potential form untraceable by any of our senses, and it is from Him
that the whole world becomes expressed or manifest of itself, with
out the operation of any other instrument. It implies that when it
so pleases God, He expands Himself out of His own joy, and there
by the world appears, just as solid butter expands itself into its
liquid state. The qualities of Siva are of a transcendent nature
(aprdkrta). The character of being, consciousness and bliss is
power (sakti). It is curious, however, to note that side by side with
this purely ultra-monistic and impersonal view we find God Siva
as being endowed with will by which He creates and destroys the
1 Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, ch. I, verses 31-2.
xxxv] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 49
world. As we shall have occasion to notice later on, the whole
doctrine of sat-sthala, which forms the crux of Vira-saiva thought,
is only an emphasis on the necessity on the part of every individual
to look upon him and the world as being sustained in God and
being completely identified with God. There are, indeed, many
phrases which suggest a sort of bhedabheda view, but this bhedabheda
or difference in unity is not of the nature of the tree and its flowers
and fruits, as such a view will suggest a modification or trans
formation of the nature of Siva. The idea of bhedabheda is to be
interpreted with the notion that God, who is transcendent, appears
also in the form of the objects that we perceive and also of the
nature of our own selves.
The Siddhdnta-sikhdmani was based on the Agamas and there
fore had the oscillating nature of philosophical outlook as we find
in the different Agamas. Thus in Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, ch. v, verse
34, it is said that the Brahman is without any form or quality, but
it appears to be the individual souls (jivas) by its beginningless
association with avidyd or nescience. In that sense jiva or the
individual soul is only a part of God. Siddhdnta-sikhdmani further
says that God is the controller, the mover (preraka) of all living
beings. In another verse it says that Brahman is both God and the
souls of beings at the same time. In pure Siva there are no qualities
as sattva, rajas and tamas 1 . Again Siddhdnta-sikhdmani oscillates
to the Vedanta view that the individual souls, the objects of the
world as well as the Supreme Controller, are all but illusory
imposition on the pure consciousness or Brahman 2 . The Siddhdnta-
sikhdmani admits both avidyd and mdyd after the fashion of
Sahkarites. It is in association with avidyd that we have the various
kinds of souls and it is with the association of mdyd that Brahman
appears as omniscient and omnipotent. It is on account of the
avidyd that the individual soul cannot realise its identity with
Brahman, and thus goes through the cycle of births and rebirths.
Yet there is another point to note. In the Yoga-sutra of
Patanjali, it is said that the nature of our birth, the period of life
guna-traydtmikd saktir brahma-nisthd-sandtani,
tad-vaisamydt samutpannd tasmin vastu-traydbhidhd.
Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, ch. v, verse 39.
bhoktd bhojyam prerayitd vastu-trayamidam smrtam,
akhande brahma-caitanye kalpitam guna-bhedatah.
Ibid. ch. v, verse 41.
DV
50 Vira-saivism [CH.
and the nature of our experiences, are determined by our karma,
and that the law of the distribution of the fruits of karma is
mysterious. But the effects of karma take place automatically. This
view is only modified by the Pasupatas and the Naiyayikas who
belong to their fold. It is interesting to notice that the Siddhdnta-
sikhdmani borrows this idea of karma from the Pasupatas, who hold
that the distribution of karma is managed and controlled by God.
Siddhdnta-sikhdmani thus seems to present before us an eclectic
type of thought which is unstable and still in the state of formation.
This explains the author s ill- digested assimilation of elements of
thought on Pasupata doctrine, the varying Agama doctrines, the
influence of Samkhya, and ultimately the Vedantaof the Sankarites.
This being so, in the thirteenth century we cannot expect a
systematic Vlra-saiva philosophy in its own individual character as
a philosophical system in the time of Basava. It will be easy for us
to show that Allama-prabhu, the teacher of Basava, was thoroughly
surcharged with the Vedantism of the Sankara school.
In the Sankara-vijaya Anandagiri, a junior contemporary and a
pupil of Sankara gives a long description of the various types of the
devotees of Siva who could be distinguished from one another by
their outward marks. Sankara himself only speaks of the Pasupatas
and the Saivas who followed the Siddhantas or the Agamas, in
which God Siva has been described as being the instrumental
cause, different from the material cause out of which the world has
been made. Vacaspati in his Bhdmati, a commentary on the bhdsya
of Sankara on the Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37, speaks of four types of
the followers of Siva. Of these we have found ample literature of
the Saivas and the Pasupatas, and had ventured to suggest that the
Karunika-siddhantins were also the followers of the Agamic Saiva
thought. But we could find no literature of the Kapalikas or of the
Kalamukhas referred to in the bhdsya of the same sutra by
Ramanuja. In the Suta-samhitd we find the names of the Kdmika
and other Agamas, the Kapalikas, the Lakulas, the Pasupatas, the
Somas, and the Bhairavas, who had also their Agamas. These
Agamas branched off into a number of sections or schools 1 . In our
investigation we have found that the Lakulas and the Pasupatas
were one and the same, and we have the testimony of Madhava,
the author of the Sarva-darsana-samgraha, to the same effect.
1 Suta-samhitd iv, Vajna-vaibhava-khanda, ch. xxn, verses 2-4.
xxxv] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 51
Suta-samhitd was probably a work of the sixth century A.D., while
Madhava s work was of the fourteenth century. Nevertheless, it
seems that the Pasupatas were earlier than the Lakulas. Neither
Sankara nor Vacaspati speaks of the Lakullsas as being the same as
the Pasupatas. But some time before the fourteenth century the
Lakullsas and Pasupatas had coalesced and later on they remained
as one system, as we find them regarded as one by Appaya Dlksita
of the sixteenth century in his commentary, Veddnta-kalpataru-
parimala on Brahma-sutra n. 2. 37. But there can be but little
doubt that the Lakulas had their own Agamas long before the sixth
century A.D., which is probably the date of Suta-samhita. We find
references to the Bhairavas, and the name Bhairava is given to Siva
as the presiding male god wherever there is the Sakti deity repre
senting the limbs of Sakti, the consort of Siva and the daughter of
Daksa. But we have not been able to secure any Agamas containing
an account of the philosophical doctrine of this creed of Bhairavism,
though we have found ritualistic references to Bhairava. The
Suta-samhitd also refers to the Agamic rsis such as Sveta, etc. ; each
of these twenty-eight rsis had four disciples, thus making the
number one hundred and twelve. They are also referred to in the
Suta-samhitd (Book iv, ch. xxi, verses 2-3), where they are described
as smearing their bodies with ashes and wearing the necklaces of
rudrdksa. We have noticed before that Siva-mahdpurdna also refers
to them. The existence of so many Saiva saints at such an early date
naturally implies the great antiquity of Saivism. These Saiva saints
seem to have been loyal to the Varndsrama dharma or duties of
caste and the stages of life.
A later Agama probably of the thirteenth century called the
Vira-saivdgama speaks of the four schools of thought, Saiva,
Pasupata, Varna and Kula. Saiva is again divided into Saumya
and Raudra. The Saumya is of five kinds including demonology
and magic as antidote to poison. The Saiva school is called
Daksina, and the cult of Sakti is called Varna. The two can be
mixed together as Varna and Daksina, and regarded as one school.
The Siddhdnta sdstra is called pure Saiva belonging only to Siva.
There is, however, another sect, or rather three schools of a sect,
called Daksina, Kalamukha and Mahavrata 1 . Bhandarkar has
suggested that the Kala-mukhas and the Mahavratadharins are
1 See Ramanuja s bhaya ($fl-bh&fyd) y n. 2. 37.
4-2
52 Vira-saivism [CH.
one and the same. The Siddhantas again are divided into three
sects: Adi-saiva, Maha-saiva and Anta-saiva. These subdivisions
of Saivism have sprung from the Pasupata-saivism. The writer
of the Vira-saivdgama says that Saivism scattered itself into
infinite variety of schools of thought or bands of devotees and
had a huge literature for supplementing their position 1 . All these
sects have now practically vanished with their literature if they
had any.
From the testimony of the same Agama it appears that Vira-
saivism was not a part of the older Saivas, but it originated as a
doctrinal school which accepted four lingas in the four pontifical
seats, the worship of Siva as sat-sthala and their special rites and
customs. This view may be correct, as we cannot trace the Vlra-
saiva as a system of thought in any of the earlier works on Saivism.
We have a number of Vira-saivdgamas such as Makutdgama,
Suprabheddgama, Vira-saivd -gama and the like in manuscript.
But none of them, excepting the Basava-rdjiya called also Vira-
saiva-sdroddhdra (manuscript) with the bhdsya of Somanatha,
make any reference to Basava or even the Vlra-saiva philosophy.
The Basava-rdjiya also speaks of Basava as being the incarnation
of the bull of Siva and the patron of Saivas. But the author of the
work does not say anything about the philosophical doctrine of
Basava, but only describes the idea of sat-sthala in an elaborate
manner.
Professor Sakhare in his introduction to Linga-dhdrana-
candrikd of Nandikesvara quotes a passage from Svdyambhuvdgama
in which the mythical origins of Revana-siddha from Somesa-
linga, of Marula-siddha from Siddhesa-Unga, of Panditarya from
Mallikdrjuna-linga, of Ekorama from Rdmandtha-tinga, and of
Visvaradhya from the Vis vesa-linga, are described. We have no
further evidence of these teachers or the nature of their teachings.
We do not even know if they called themselves Vira-saivas. This
account does not tally with the description found in the Vira-
saiva-guru-parampard, or with the other Vlra-saiva texts published
or unpublished with which we are familiar.
The gotras and the pravaras of the Vira-saivas, given in the
Suprabheddgama as emanating from the unknown past, are quite
1 samudra-sikatasamkhyds samayas santi kotisah. Vira-saivdgama (Madras
manuscript).
xxxv] History and Literature of Vlra-saivism 53
fanciful and need not further be discussed. Such a discussion
could shed no historical light on the origin and development of the
Vira-saiva philosophy and dogmatics.
We have seen before that there is a tradition which links
Agastya, Renuka or Revana-siddha, Siddha-rama and Renuka-
carya, the author of the Siddhdnta-sikhdmani. Sripati mainly bases
his arguments on the Upanisads and the Puranas, but he also refers
to Agastya-sutra and Renukacarya. He does not, however, refer to
Basava and the contemporaries who were associated with him, such
as Allama-prabhu, Cannabasava, Macaya, Goga, Siddha-rama and
Mahadevi 1 . This seems to show that the Vlra-saivism had two or
more lines of development which later on coalesced and began to
be regarded as one system of Vira-saiva thought. From Basava s
vacanas it is difficult to assess the real philosophical value of the
faith that was professed by Basava. In the Prabhu-linga-llld and
the Basava-purdna we find a system of thought which, in the
absence of other corroborating materials, may be accepted as
approximately outlining the system of thought which was known
as Vlra-saivism in Basava s time.
We find that the doctrines of sthala and linga-dhdrana were
known to the author of the Prabhu-linga-llld. But though in one
place, where instruction was being given to Basava by Allama-
prabhu, sat-sthala is mentioned, yet the entire emphasis through
out the book is on the doctrine of unity of the self with Siva, the
ground of the reality 2 . In the above passage it is held that there are
double knots associated with the gross, the subtle and the cause, in
accordance with which we have the six sthalas in three groups of a
pair of each. Thus the two knots associated with the gross go by
the name of bhakta and mahesvara\ those with the subtle as
associated with prdna are called prdna and prasdda-lingi sthalas ;
1 Thus it appears from Sripati s statement in the Snkara-bhasya n. 2. 37,
p. 234, and in. 3. 3, p. 347, that Revana-siddha, Marula-siddha, Rama-siddha,
Udbha^aradhya, Vemanaradhya were real teachers who had expressed their
views or articles of faith in some distinctive works. But unfortunately no trace
of such works can be discovered, nor is it possible to enunciate the actual views
propounded by them. Whether Sripati had himself seen them or not is merely
a matter of conjecture. He does not quote from the works of those teachers, and
it is just possible that he is only making statements on the strength of tradition.
In another passage (u. i. 4) Sripati mentions the names of Manu, Vamadeva.
Agastya, Durvasa, Upamanyu, who are quite mythical puranic figures along
with Revana-siddha and Marula-siddha.
2 See Prabhu-linga-llla, ch. 16, pp. 132-4.
54 Vlra-iawism [CH.
those with the cause are of an emotional nature, and are called
sarana and aikya sthalas. In other works such as Basava-rdjlya y
Vira-saivdgama and Siddhanta-sikhdmani the names of sthalas
extend to one hundred and one. But in none of those works is the
idea of these different sthalas explained to show their philo
sophical importance. In Prabhu-linga-lild we hear that Canna-
basava knew the mystery of sat-sthala, but we do not know exactly
what that mystery was. In this connection guru, linga, cara,
prasdda and pddodaka are also mentioned. The whole emphasis of
the book is on the necessity of realising the unity of the self and,
indeed, of anything else with Siva. Allama decries the external
ritualism and lays stress on the necessity of realising the ultimate
reality of the universe and the self with Siva. He vehemently
decries all forms of injury to animal life, and persuades Goga to
give up ploughing the ground, as it would involve the killing of
many insects. Allama further advised Goga to surrender the fruits
of all his actions to God and carry on his duties without any
attachment. As a matter of fact the Vira-saiva thought as repre
sented by Allama can hardly be distinguished from the philosophy
of Sahkara, for Allama accepted one reality which appeared in
diverse forms under the condition of may a and avidyd. In that
sense the whole world would be an illusion. The bhakti preached
by Allama was also of an intellectual type, as it consisted of a
constant and unflinching meditation and realisation of the ultimate
reality of all things with Siva. This view of bhakti seems to have
influenced Renukacarya, the author of Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, who
describes inner devotion (dntara-bhakti) in almost the same type of
phraseology 1 .
In his teachings to Muktayi, Allama says that just as the sucking
babe is gradually weaned from the mother s milk to various kinds
of food, so the real teacher teaches the devotee to concentrate his
lirige prdnam samddhdya prdne lingam tu sdmbhavam,
svastham manas tathd krtvd na kincic cintayed yadi.
sdbhyantard bhaktir iti procyate siva-yogibhih,
sd yasmin vartate tasya jlvanam bhrasta-vljavat.
Siddhanta-sikhdmani, ch. 9, verses 8-9.
tatah sdvadhdnena tat-prdna-linge,
samtkrtya krtydni vismrtya maty a t
mahd-yoga-sdmrdjya-pattdbhisikto,
bhajed dtmano linga-tdddtmya-siddhim.
Prabhu-linga-llld, ch. 16, verse 63.
xxxv] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 55
mind on external forms of worship and later on makes him give
them up, so that he ultimately becomes unattached to all kinds
of duties, and attains true knowledge by which all his deeds
are destroyed. There is not much use in learning or delivering
speeches, but what is necessary, is to realise the unity of all with
Siva 1 .
In his conversation with Siddha-rama and Goraksa, he not only
demonstrates the non-existence of all things but Siva, but he also
shows his familiarity with a type of magical yoga, the details of
which are not given and cannot be traced in the Yogasdstra of
Patanjali. In the instruction given by Allama to his pupil Basava,
the former explains briefly the nature of bhakti, sat-sthala and yoga.
It seems that the restful passivity that is attained by yoga is nothing
but complete and steady identification of the ultimate truth, Siva,
with all the variable forms of experience, and our life and experience
as a complete person. This yoga leading to the apperception of the
ultimate unity can be done by arresting all the vital processes in
the nervous centres of the body at higher and higher grades, until
these energies become one with the supreme reality, God Siva. It
is in this way that the cakras are traversed and passed over till the
Yogin settle down in Siva. The entire physical processes being
arrested by the peculiar yoga method, our mind does not vaccilate
or change, but remains in the consciousness of the pure Lord, Siva.
The teacher of Basava, Allama, says that without a strong effort
to make the mind steady by the complete arrest of the vital forces,
the Vdyu, there can be no bhakti and no cessation to bondage. It
is by the arrest of these vital forces or Vdyu, that the citta or the
mind of the Vira-saiva becomes arrested and merged in the
elemental physical constituents of the body, such as fire, water, etc.
The mayd is a product of manas, and vdyu also is regarded as a
product of manas, and this vdyu becomes the body through the
activity of the manas. The existence of the body is possible only by
the activity of the vital forces or vdyu, which keep us away from
realising the unity of all things with Siva, which is also called
bhakti. The Vira-saiva has, therefore, to take recourse to a process
opposite to the normal course of activity of the vdyus by concen
trating them on one point, and by accepting the mastery of the
vdyus over the different cakras or nerve plexuses (technically
1 See Prabhu-linga-lila, ch. 12, pp. 57-8.
5 6 Vira-saivism [CH.
known as the control of the six cakras), which would in their own
way be regarded as the six stages or stations of the process of the
control of the vdyus, the sat-sthalas 1 . It is thus seen that according
to the description given in Prabhu-linga-lild of the doctrine of
sat-sthala, the process of sat-sthala is to be regarded as an upward
journey through a hierarchy of stations, by which alone the unity
with Siva can be realised. The instruction of this dynamic process
of yoga is a practical method of a semi-physiological process by
which the ultimate identity of God and soul can be realised. In
Sankara s monistic philosophy it is said that the realisation of the
ultimate identity of the self with Brahman is the highest attainable
goal of life. It is, however, said that such an enlightenment can be
realised by proper intuition of the significance of the monistic texts
such as "thou art that." It refuses to admit any practical utility of
any dynamic course of practice which is so strongly advised in the
Vlra-saiva doctrine of sat-sthala as taught by Allama.
Allama had met Goraksa in one of his travels. Goraksa, who
was also probably a Saiva, had by his yogic processes attained such
miraculous powers that no stroke of any weapon could produce an
injury on him. He made a demonstration of it to Allama. Allama
in reply asked him to pass a sword through his body. But to
Goraksa s utter amazement he found that when he ran through
Allama s body with his sword, no sound of impact was produced.
The sword passed through Allama s body as if it were passing
through vacant space. Goraksa wanted humbly to know the secret
by which Allama could show such miraculous powers. In reply
Allama said that the maya becomes frozen, as does the body, and
when the body and the maya both become frozen, shadow forms
appear as real 2 , and the body and the mind appear as one. When
the body and the maya are removed in the heart, then the shadow
is destroyed. At this, Goraksa further implored Allama to initiate
him into those powers. Allama touched his body and blessed him,
and by that produced an internal conversion. As an effect of this,
attachment vanished and with the disappearance of attachment,
antipathy, egotism and other vices also disappeared. Allama further
said that unless the self could realise that the association with the
body was false, and the two were completely separated, one could
1 Prdbhu-linga-lila, part in, pp. 6-8 (ist edition).
2 Ibid. p. 25 (ist edition).
xxxv] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 57
not realise the true identity with the Lord Siva, devotion to whom
was the cause of all true knowledge. It is only by the continual
meditation of Siva and by the proper processes of breath control,
that it is possible to realise the ultimate unity.
There is a subtle difference between the proper and practical
adoption of the dynamic process of sat-sthala and the realisation of
unity as taught by the Sankara Veddnta. In the Sdnkara Veddnta,
when the mind is properly prepared by suitable accessory processes,
the teacher instructs the pupil or the would-be saint about the
ultimate knowledge of the unity of the self and the Brahman, and
the would-be saint at once perceives the truth of his identity with
Brahman as being the only reality. He also at once perceives that
all knowledge of duality is false, though he does not actually melt
himself into the nothingness of pure consciousness or the Brahman.
In the Vira-saiva system the scheme of sat-sthala is a scheme of the
performance of yogic processes. By them the vital processes as
associated with the various vital forces and the nerve plexuses, are
controlled, and by that very means the yogin gets a mastery over
his passions and is also introduced to new and advanced stages of
knowledge, until his soul becomes so united with the permanent
reality, Siva, that all appearance and duality cease both in fact and
in thought. Thus a successful Vira-saiva saint should not only
perceive his identity with Siva, but his whole body, which was an
appearance or shadow over the reality, would also cease to exist.
His apparent body would not be a material fact in the world, and
therefore would not be liable to any impact with other physical
bodies, though externally they may appear as physical bodies.
A similar philosophical view can be found in the work called
Siddha-siddhdnta-paddhati attributed to Goraksa-nath, who is
regarded as a Saiva saint, an incarnation of Siva Himself. Many
legends are attributed to him and many poems have been composed
in vernaculars of Bengali and Hindi, extolling the deeds and
miraculous performances of his disciples and of himself. His date
seems to be uncertain. References to Goraksa are found in the
works of writers of the eighth to fifteenth centuries, and his miracu
lous deeds are described as having taken place in countries ranging
from Gujarat, Nepal and Bengal and other parts of northern and
western India. One of his well-known disciples was called
Matsyendra-natha. Siva is called Pasupati, the lord of animals,
58 Vira-saivism [CH.
and the word goraksa also means the protector of the cattle. In the
lexicons the word go means the name of a rsi and also the name
of cattle. There is thus an easy association of the -word goraksa with
the word pasupati. Goraksa s views are also regarded as the
views of Siddhanta. This reminds us of the fact that the Saiva
doctrines of the South were regarded as having been propounded
by Mahesvara or Siva in the Siddhantas, an elaboration of which
has elsewhere been made in this work as the Agama philosophy
of the Siddhantas. Only a few Sanskrit books on the philosophical
aspects of the teachings of Goraksa-nath have come down to
us. There are, however, quite a number of books in the
vernaculars which describe the miraculous powers of the
Kanphata Yogis of the school of Goraksa-nath, also called
Gorakh-nath.
One of these Sanskrit works is called Siddha-siddhanta-
paddhati. It is there that the ultimate reality of the unmoved, and
the immovable nature of the pure consciousness which forms the
ultimate ground of all our internal and external experiences, are
to be sought. It is never produced nor destroyed, and in that sense
eternal and always self-luminous. In this way it is different from
ordinary knowledge, which is called buddhi. Ordinary knowledge
rises and fades, but this pure consciousness which is identified as
being one with Siva is beyond all occurrence and beyond all time.
It is, therefore, regarded as the ground of all things. It is from
this that all effects, for example, the bodies, the instruments or the
karanas (senses, etc.), and the agents, for example, the souls or the
jtvas, shoot forth. It is by its spontaneity that the so-called God
as well as His powers are manifested. In this original state Siva
shows itself as identical with His sakti. This is called the sdmarasya,
that is, both having the same taste. This ultimate nature is the
original ego, called also kula, which shows itself in various aspects.
We should distinguish this ultimate nature of reality, which is
changeless, from the reality as associated with class concepts and
other distinguishing traits. These distinguishing traits are also held
up in the supreme reality, for in all stages of experience these
distinguishing features have no reality but the ultimate reality,
which holds them all in the oneness of pure consciousness. Since
the distinguishing characteristics have no further reality beyond
them than the unchangeable ground-consciousness, they ulti-
xxxv] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 59
mately have to be regarded as being homogeneous (sama-rasd)
with ubiquitous reality.
The concept of sama-rasa is homogeneity. A thing which
appears as different from another thing, but is in reality or essence
the same, is said to be sama-rasa with the first one. It is also a way
in which the bheddbheda theory of the reality and the appearance
is explained. Thus a drop of water is in appearance different from
the sheet of water in which it is held, but in fact it has no other
reality and no other taste than that sheet of water. The ultimate
reality, without losing its nature as such, shows itself in various
forms, though in and through them all it alone remains as the
ultimately real. It is for this reason that though the ultimate
reality is endowed with all powers, it does not show itself except
through its various manifesting forms. So the all-powerful Siva,
though it is the source of all power, behaves as if it were without
any power. This power therefore remains in the body as the ever-
awaking kundalini or the serpentine force, and also as manifesting
in different ways. The consideration of the body as indestructible
is called kdya-siddhi.
We need not go into further detail in explaining the philo
sophical ideas of Goraksa as contained in Siddha-siddhdnta-
paddhati, for this would be to digress. But we find that there is a
curious combination of Hatha-yoga, the control of the nerve
plexuses, the idea of the individual and the world as having the
same reality, though they appear as different, as we find in the
lecture attributed to Allama in Prabhu-linga-lild. It also holds a
type of bheddbheda theory and is distinctly opposed to the monistic
interpretation of the Upanisads as introduced by Sahkara.
The idea of sat-sthala must have been prevalent either as a
separate doctrine or as a part of some form of Saivism. We know
that there were many schools of Saivism, many of which have now
become lost. The name sat-sthala cannot be found in any of the
sacred Sanskrit works. We have no account of Vlra-s*aivism before
Siddhdnta-sikhdmani. Descriptions of it are found in many works,
some of the most important of which are Prabhu-linga-lild and
Basava-purdna. We also hear that Canna-basava, the nephew of
Basava, was initiated into the doctrine of sat-sthala. In Prabhu-
linga-lild we hear that Allama instructed the doctrine of sat-sthala
to Basava. We also find the interesting dialogue between Allama
60 Vira-saivism [CH.
and Goraksa in the Prabhu-linga-lild. We have also examined
briefly some of the contents of Siddha-siddhdnta-paddhati of
Goraksa, and we find that the sat-sthala doctrine preached by
Allama was more or less similar to the Yoga doctrine found in the
Siddha-siddhdnta-paddhati. If we had more space, we could have
brought out an interesting comparison between the doctrines of
Allama and Goraksa. It is not impossible that there was a mutual
exchange of views between Goraksa and Allama. Unfortunately
the date of Goraksa cannot be definitely known, though it is known
that his doctrines had spread very widely in various parts of India,
extending over a long period in the Middle Ages.
The interpretation of sat-sthala is rather different in different
works dealing with it. This shows that, though the sat-sthala
doctrine was regarded as the most important feature of Vira-
saivism after Basava, we are all confused as to what the sat-sthala
might have been. As a matter of fact we are not even certain about
the number. Thus in Vlra-saiva-siddhdnta (MS.) we have a
reference to 101 sthalas, and so also in Siddhdnta-sikhdmani. But
elsewhere in Sripati s bhdsya, Anubhava-sutra of Mayi-deva, and
in Prabhu-linga-llld and Basava-purdna we find reference to six
sthalas only.
In the same way the sthalas have not been the same in the
various authoritative works. The concepts of these sthalas are also
different, and they are sometimes used in different meanings. In
some works sthala is used to denote the six nerve plexuses in the
body or the six centres from which the power of God is manifested
in different ways; sometimes they are used to denote the sixfold
majestic powers of God and sometimes to denote the important
natural elements, such as earth, fire, air, etc. The whole idea seems
to be that the macrocosm and microcosm being the same identical
entity, it is possible to control the dissipated forces of any centre
and pass on to a more concentrated point of manifestation of the
energy, and this process is regarded as the upward process of
ascension from one stage to another.
xxxv] Anubhava-sutra of Mdyi-deva 61
Anubhava-sutra of Mayi-deva 1 .
Upamanyu, the first teacher, was born in Aaipura. The second
teacher was Bhlma-natha Prabhu. Then came Maha-guru Kales-
vara. His son, well versed in srauta and smarta literature and their
customs and manners, was Sri Boppa-natha. Boppa-natha s son
was Sri Naka-raja Prabhu, who was well versed in Vlra-saiva rites
and customs of religion. The disciple of Naka-raja was Sari-
gamesvara. Sangamesvara s son was Mayi-deva. He is well versed
in the knowledge of Sivadvaita, and he is a sat-sthala-Brahma-
vddl. The Saivdgamas begin with Kdmika and end with Vatula.
Vdtula-tantra is the best. Its second part, called Pradlpa, contains
the Siva-siddhdnta-tantra. Sat-sthala doctrine is based on the
principles of the Gltd together with the older views. It is supported
by the instructions of teachers and self-realisation by anubhuti and
by arguments. In the Anubhava-sutra there are (i) the guru-
par -ampard , (2) the definition of sthala\ (3) the linga-sthala] (4) the
ariga-sthala; (5) the liriga-samyoga-vidhi; (6) the lingdrpana-
sadbhdva ; (7) the sarvdnga-linga-sdhitya ; and (8) the kriyd-visrdnti.
Sthala is defined as one Brahman identically the same with sat,
cit and dnanda, which is called the ultimate category of Siva the
ground of the manifestation of the world and dissolution. He is
also the category from which the different categories of mahat, etc.
have sprung forth. * Stha means Sthdna and / means lay a. It
is the source of all energies and all beings have come from it and
shall return into it. It is by the self-perturbation of the energy of
this ultimate category that the various other sthalas are evolved.
This one sthala may be divided into the linga-sthala and the Anga-
sthala. As the empty space can be distinctively qualified as the
space inside the room or inside the jar, so the dual bifurcation of
sthala may appear as the object of worship and the worshipper.
Siva remaining unchanged in Himself appears in these two
forms. It is the same Siva which appears as pure consciousness and
also as the part of linga. The part of linga, lingdnga is also called
jiva or the individual souls.
1 Anubhava-sutra forms the second part of Siva-siddhanta-tantra, which is
complete in two parts. The first part is Visesartha-prakasaka. Anubhava-sutra is
written by Mayi-deva; it is evident from the colophons of Anubhava-sutra. It
is also mentioned in the last colophon of iva-siddhdnta-tantra.
62 Vlra-saivism [CH.
As sthala is of two parts, Brahma and jlva, so His sakti is also
twofold. It is indeterminate and is called Mahesvara. It assumes
two forms by its own pure spontaneity. One part of it may be
regarded as associated with linga, the Brahman, and the other with
anga, thejtva. In reality sakti and bhakti are the same 1 . When the
energy moves forward for creation it is called sakti as pravrtti, and
as cessation nivrtti is called bhakti 2 . On account of the diverse
nature of bhakti its indeterminateness disintegrates into various
forms. The twofold functions of sakti as the upper and the lower
show themselves in the fact that the upper one tends to manifest
the world and the lower one, appearing as bhakti, tends to return to
God. In these twofold forms the same sakti is called mdyd and
bhakti. The sakti in the linga appears as the bhakti in the anga, and
the unity of linga and anga is the identity of Siva and jlva.
The linga-sthala is threefold, as: (i) bhdva-linga , (2) prdna-
linga\ and (3) ista-linga. The bhdva-linga can only be grasped
through inner intuition as pure Being, and this bhdva-linga is
called niskala. Prdna-linga is the reality as grasped by thought and
as such it is both indeterminate and determinate. The ista-linga is
that which fulfils one s good as self-realisation or adoration, and it
is beyond space and time.
The ultimate sakti as being pure cessation and beyond all, is
sdntyatlta\ the next one is icchd- sakti, called also vidya as pure
knowledge. The third one is called the kriyd-sakti which leads to
cessation. The three saktis of icchd, jndna and kriyd become sixfold.
The six sthalas are again described as follows :
(1) That which is completely full in itself, subtle, having no
beginning nor end, and is indefinable, but can be grasped only by
the intuition of the heart as the manifestation of pure consciousness,
is called the mahdtma-linga.
(2) That in which we find the seed of development as conscious
ness beyond the senses, called also the sdddkhya-tattva, is called
prasdda-ghana-linga.
(3) The pure luminous purusa, which is without inward and
outward, without any form, and known by the name Atman, is
called the cara-linga.
1 akti-bhaktyor na bhedo sti. Anubhava-sutra, p. 8.
saktyd prapanca-srstih sydu,
bhaktya tad-vilayo matah. Ibid.
xxxv] Anubhava-sutra of Mdyi-deva 63
(4) When this by the icchd-sakti manifests itself as the ego, we
have what is called Siva-linga.
(5) When it by its own knowledge and power and omnipotence
assumes the role of an instructor for taking all beings beyond the
range of all pleasures, it is called guru-linga.
(6) The aspect in which by its action it upholds the universe
and holds them all in the mind, is called the dcdra-linga.
There are further divisions and sub-divisions of these sthalas,
anga-sthala.
Am means Brahma and l ga means that which goes. Anga-
sthala is of three kinds as yogdnga, bhogdnga and tydgdnga. In the
first, one attains the bliss of union with Siva. In the second,
bhogdnga, one enjoys with Siva, and in tydgdnga one leaves aside
the illusion or the false notion of the cycle of births and rebirths.
Yogdnga is the original cause, the bhogdnga is the subtle cause and
tydgdnga is the gross one. Yogdnga is the dreamless state, bhogdnga
is the ordinary state of sleep, and tydgdnga is the waking state.
Yogdnga is the state of prajnd, bhogdnga is taijas and tydgdnga is
visva. Yogdnga is called the unity with Siva and sarana-sthala.
Bhogdnga is twofold, prdna-lingi andprasddi. The gross is twofold,
bhakta-sthala and mdhesvara sthala. Again prdjna is aikya-sthala
and sarana-sthala. The taijas is prdna-lingi and prasddi. Visva
again is twofold as mdhesvara and bhakta-sthala. The unity, the
sarana, the prdna-lingi, the prasddi, the mdhesvara and the bhakta
may be regarded as the successive of the six sthalas.
Again omnipotence, contentment, and beginningless conscious
ness, independence, unobstructedness of power and infinite power
these are the parts of God, which being in sat-sthala are regarded
as six types of bhakti depending on various conditions. The bhakti
manifests itself in diverse forms, just as water manifests in various
tastes in various fruits. The bhakti is of the nature of Siva. Then it
is of the nature of dnanda or bliss. Then it is of the nature of
anubhava or realisation. Then it is of the nature of adoration
(naisthiki) and the sixth is of the nature of bhakti among good men.
It is further said that all those classifications are meaningless. The
truth is the identity of myself and everything, all else is false this
is aikya-sthala. By the self-illumination of knowledge, the body
and senses appear as having no form, being united with God;
when everything appears as pure, that is called the sarana-sthala.
64 Vira-saivism [CH. xxxv
When one avoids all illusions or errors about body, etc., and
conceives in the mind that one is at one with the linga, that is called
the prdna-linga> or cara-sthala. When one surrenders all objects of
gratification to God, it is called the prasdda-sthala, and when one
fixes one s mind on God as being one with Him it is called
mahesvara-sthala. When the false appears as true and the mind is
detached from it by the adorative action of bhakti, and the person
becomes detached from the world this is called bhakti-sthala.
Thus we have another six kinds of sat-sthala.
Again from another point of view we have another description
of sat-sthala, such as from Atman comes dkdsa, from dkdsa comes
vdyu, from vdyu comes agni, from agni comes water and from
water earth. Again the unity of Atman with Brahman is called
vyomdnga. Prdna-linga is called vdyvdnga, and prasdda is called
analdnga, and mahesvara is called jaldnga and the bhakta is called
bhumyanga. Again from bindu comes ndda, and from ndda comes
kald, and reversely from kald to bindu.
Unlike the Vaisnavas, the Anubhava-sutra describes bhakti not
as attachment involving a sense-duality between the worshipper
and the worshipped, but as revealing pure oneness or identity with
God in the strongest terms. This implies, and in fact it has been
specifically stated, that all ceremonial forms of worship involving
duality are merely imaginary creations. In His sportive spirit the
Lord may assume diverse forms, but the light of bhakti should
show that they are all one with Him.
CHAPTER XXXVI
PHILOSOPHY OF SRIKANTHA
Philosophy of Saivism as expounded by rikantha in his
Commentary on the Brahma-satra and the Sub-
commentary on it by Appaya Diksita.
INTRODUCTORY
IT has often been stated in the previous volumes of the present
work that the Brahma-sutra attributed to Badarayana was an
attempt at a systematisation of the apparently different strands of
the Upanisadic thought in the various early Upanisads, which
form the background of most of the non-heretical systems of
Indian philosophy. The Brahma-sutra had been interpreted by the
exponents of different schools of thought in various ways, for
example, by Sankara, Ramanuja, Bhaskara, Madhva, Vallabha,
and others, and they have all been dealt with in the previous
volumes of the present work. Vedanta primarily means the
teachings of the Upanisads. Consequently the Brahma-sutra is
supposed to be a systematisation of Upanisadic wisdom; and its
various interpretations in diverse ways by the different exponents
of diverse philosophical views, all go by the name of the Vedanta,
though the Vedanta philosophy of one school of thinkers may
appear to be largely different from that of any other school. Thus
while the exposition of the Brahma-sutra by Sarikara is monistic,
the interpretation of Madhva is explicitly pluralistic. We have seen
the acuteness of the controversy between the adherents of the two
schools of thought, extending over centuries, in the fourth volume
of the present work.
As Srikantha expounded his views as an interpretation of the
Brahma-sutra and accepted the allegiance and loyalty to the
Upanisads, the work has to be regarded as an interpretation of the
Vedanta. Like many other interpretations of the Vedanta (for
example, by Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha, or Nimbarka), the
philosophy of Srikantha is associated with the personal religion,
where Siva is regarded as the highest Deity, being equated with
66 Philosophy of Srlkantha [CH.
Brahman. It can, therefore, be claimed as an authoritative
exposition of Saivism. Saivism, or rather Saiva philosophy, also
had assumed various forms, both as expressed in Sanskritic works
and in the vernacular Dravidian works. But in the present work,
we are only interested in the exposition of Saiva philosophy in
Sanskrit works. The present writer has no access to the original
Dravidian literature such as Tamil, Telegu and Canarese, etc., and
it is not within the proposed scheme of the present work to collect
philosophical materials from the diverse vernacular literature of
India.
In introducing his commentary, Srlkantha says that the object
of his interpretation of the Brahma-sutra is the clarification of its
purport since it has been made turbid by previous teachers 1 . We
do not know who were these previous teachers, but a comparison
between the commentary of Sankara and that of Srlkantha shows
that at least Sankara was one of his targets. Sahkara s idea of
Saiva philosophy can briefly be gathered from his commentary on
the Brahma-sutra n. 2. 35-8, and his view of the Saiva philosophy
tallies more with some of the Puranic interpretations which were
in all probability borrowed by Vijfiana Bhiksu in his commentary
on the Brahma-sutra called Vijnanamrta-bhdsya, and his com
mentary on the Isvara-gita of the Kurma-purana. Sankara lived
somewhere about the eighth century A.D., and his testimony shows
that the sort of Saiva philosophy that he expounded was pretty
well known to Badarayana, so that he included it as a rival system
for refutation in the Brahma-sutra. This shows the great antiquity
of the Saiva system of thought, and in a separate section we shall
attend to this question.
Sankara came from the Kerala country in the South, and he
must have been acquainted with some documents of Saiva philo
sophy or the Saivdgamas. But neither Sankara nor his com
mentators mention their names. But obviously Srlkantha followed
some Saivdgamas, which were initiated in early times by one called
Sveta, an incarnation of Siva, who must have been followed by
other teachers of the same school, and according to Srikantha s
own testimony, twenty-eight of them had flourished before
1 Vyasa-sutram idam netram vidu$dm brahma-darsane.
purvdcdryaih kalusitam snkanthena prasddyate.
Srikantha s bhd$ya, introductory verse, 5.
xxxvi] Philosophy of Saivism 67
Srikantha and had written Saivdgama works. The original teacher
Sveta has also been mentioned in the Vdyaviya samhitd of the
Siva-mahdpuranal.
In the initiatory adoration hymn Srikantha adores Siva, the
Lord, as being of the nature of ego-substance (aham-paddrtha).
The sub-commentator Appaya Diksita (A.D. 1550), in following the
characterisation of Siva in the Mahdbhdrata, tries to give an
etymological derivation in rather a fanciful way from the root
vasa, to will. This means that the personality of Siva, the Lord,
is of the nature of pure egohood and that his will is always directed
to the effectuation of good and happiness to all beings. This ego-
hood is also described as pure being (sat), pure consciousness
(cit) and pure bliss (dnanda). Srikantha further says that his
commentary will expound the essence of the teachings of the
Upanisads or the Vedanta and will appeal to those who are devoted
to Siva 2 . Srikantha describes Siva on the one hand as being the
category of aham or egohood which forms the individual person
ality, and at the same time regards it as being of the nature of pure
being, pure consciousness, and pure bliss. He thinks that this
individual personality can be regarded only in unlimited sense to
be identified with the infinite nature of Siva. Appaya Diksita in
commenting on this verse quotes the testimony of some of the
Upanisads to emphasise the personal aspect of the God Siva as a
personal God. Ordinarily the word sac-cid-dnanda-rftpdya* would
be used in the writings of monistic Vedanta of the school of
Sahkara, in the sense of a concrete unity of pure being, pure
consciousness, and pure bliss. But that kind of interpretation
would not suit the purposes of a purely theistic philosophy. For
this reason Appaya says that the words sac-cid-dndnda are the
qualities of the supreme God Siva and that this is indicated by the
terminal word rupdya? because Brahman as such is arupa or form
less. The expansion of the limited individual into the infinite
nature of Siva also implies that the individual enjoys with Him
qualities of bliss and consciousness. In a Sahkarite interpretation
the person who attains liberation becomes one with Brahman, that
1 Siva-mahapurdna, Vdyaviya samhitd i. 5. 5 et seq. (Vehkatesvara Press,
Bombay, 1925).
2 om namo ham-paddrthdya lokdndm siddhi-hetave,
sacciddnanda-rupdya sivdya paramdtmane. i .
Preliminary adoration to iva by
5-2
68 Philosophy of Srlkantha [CH.
is, with the unity of sat, cit and ananda. He does not enjoy
consciousness or bliss but is at once one with it. The Brahman in
the system of Sankara and his school is absolutely qualityless and
differenceless (nirvisesa). Ramanuja in his commentary on the
Brahma-sutra tries to refute the idea of Brahman as qualityless or
differenceless and regards the Brahman as being the abode of an
infinite number of auspicious and benevolent characters and
qualities. This is called saguna-brahman, that is, the Brahman
having qualities. The same idea is put forward in a somewhat
different form by Srikantha. Except in the Puranas and some
older Sanskrit literature, the idea of a Brahman with qualities does
not seem to be available in the existent philosophical literature
outside Ramanuja. Ramanuja is said to have followed the
Bodhdyana-vrtti which, however, is no longer available. It may,
therefore, be suggested that Srikantha s bhdsya was inspired by the
Bodhdyana-vrtti, or by Ramanuja, or by any of the Saivdgamas
following a simple theistic idea.
On the one hand Lord Siva is regarded as the supreme and
transcendent Deity, and on the other he is regarded as the material
cause of this material universe, just as milk is the material cause of
curd. This naturally raises some difficulties, as the supreme God
cannot at the same time be regarded as entirely transcendent and
also undergoing changes for the creation of the material universe
which is to be regarded as of the nature of God Himself. To avoid
this difficulty Appaya summarises the view of Srlkantha and tries
to harmonise the texts of the Upanisads, pointing to monistic and
dualistic interpretations. He thus says that God Himself is not
transformed into the form of the material universe, but the energy
of God which manifests itself as the material universe is a part and
parcel of the entire personality of God. The material universe is
not thus regarded either as illusion or as an attribute of God (in
a Spinozistic sense), nor is the universe to be regarded as a part
or a limb of God, so that all the activities of the universe are
dependent on the will of God, as Ramanuja holds in his theory of
Visistadvaita ; nor does Srlkantha regard the relation between the
universe and God as being of the same nature as that between the
waves or foam and the sea itself. The waves or foam are neither
different from nor one with the sea ; this is called the bheddbheda-
vdda of Bhaskara. It may also be noted that this view of Srlkantha
xxxvi] Philosophy of Saivism 69
is entirely different from the view of Vijnana Bhiksu as expressed
in the Vijndndmrta-bhdsya, a commentary on the Brahma-sutra in
which he tries to establish a view well known in the Puranas, that
the prakrti and the purusa are abiding entities outside God and are
co-existent with Him ; they are moved by God for the production
of the universe, for the teleological purposes of enjoyment and
experience of the purusas, and ultimately lead the purusas to
liberation beyond bondage. It may not be out of place here to
refer to the commentary of Sahkara on the Brahma-sutra (n. 2.
37 et seq.) where he tried to refute a Saiva doctrine which regards
God as the instrumental cause that transforms the prakrti to form
the universe, a view somewhat similar to that found in the
Vijndndmrta-bhasya of Vijnana Bhiksu. This Saiva view seems to
have been entirely different from the Saiva view expressed by
Srikantha, expressly based on the traditions of the twenty-eight
yogacaryas beginning with Sveta. Lord Siva, the supreme personal
God, is regarded as fulfilling all our desires, or rather our beneficent
wishes. This idea is brought out by Appaya in his somewhat
fanciful etymology of the word * siva, a twofold derivation from
the root vasa and from the word siva meaning good.
Srikantha adores the first teacher of the Saiva thought and
regards him (Sveta) as having made the various Agamas. But we
do not know what these Agamas were. Appaya in his commentary
is also uncertain about the meaning of the word ndndgama-
vidhdyine. He gives two alternative interpretations. In one he
suggests that the early teacher Sveta had resolved the various
contradictions of the Upanisadic texts, and had originated a
system of Saiva thought which may be properly supported by the
Upanisadic texts. In the second interpretation he suggests that the
word l ndndgama-vidhdyineS that is, he who has produced the
various Agamas, only means that the system of Sveta was based
on the various Saivdgamas. In such an interpretation we are not
sure whether these Agamas were based on the Upanisads or on
other vernacular Dravidian texts, or on both. 1 In commenting
upon the bhdsya of Sankara on the Brahma-sutra (n. 2. 37),
Vacaspati says in his Bhdmati that the systems known as Saiva,
1 asmin pak$e nanagama-vidhdyind ity
asya nanavidha-pdsupatady-dgama-nirmatra ity arthah.
Appaya s commentary on 3rikantha s bhdsya (Bombay, 1908), Vol. I, p. 6.
70 Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
Pasupata, Karunika-siddhantin, and the Kapalikas are known as
the fourfold schools called the Mahesvaras 1 . They all believe in the
Samkhya doctrine ofprakrti, mahat, etc., and also in some kind of
Yoga on the syllable om ; their final aim was liberation and end of
all sorrow. The individual souls are called pasus and the word
l pdsa means bondage. The Mahesvaras believe that God is the
instrumental cause of the world as the potter is of jugs and earthen
vessels.
Both Sankara and Vacaspati regard this Mahesvara doctrine,
based upon certain treatises (Siddhdntd) written by Mahesvara, as
being opposed to the Upanisadic texts. None of them mentions the
name of the teacher Sveta, who is recorded in Srikantha s bhdsya
and the Siva-mahdpurdna. It is clear therefore that, if Sankara s
testimony is to be believed, this word ndndgama-vidhdyine cannot
mean the reconciliatory doctrine based on the Upanisads as
composed by Sveta and the other twenty-seven Saiva teachers 2 .
We have already pointed out that the Saiva doctrine, that we find
in Srikantha, is largely different from the Mahesvara school of
thought which Sankara and Vacaspati wanted to refute. There
Sankara had compared the Mahesvara school of thought as being
somewhat similar to the Nyaya philosophy.
What the Siddhanta treatises, supposed to have been written by
Mahesvara, were, is still unknown to us. But it is certain that they
were composed in the beginning of or before the Christian era, as
that doctrine was referred to by Badarayana in his Brahma-sutra.
1 Ramanuja, however, in his commentary on the same sutra mentions as
the fourfold schools the Kapalas, the Kalamukhas, the Pasupatas, and the
^aivas.
2 The Vdyaviya-samhitd section mentions the names of the twenty-eight
yogacaryas beginning with iaveta. Their names are as follows:
Svetah sutdro madanah suhotrah kanka eva ca,
laugaksis ca mahamdyo jaiglsavyas tathaiva ca. 2.
dadhivdhas-ca rabho munir ugro trir eva ca,
supdlako gautamas ca tathd vedasird munih. 3.
gokarnas-ca guhdvdsi sikhadl cdparah smrtah,
jatdmdli cdttahdso ddruko Idnguli tathd. 4.
mahdkdlas ca suit ca dandl mundlsa eva ca,
savisnus soma-sarmd ca lakultsvara eva ca. 5.
Vdyavlya-samhitd u. 9, verses 2-5 (compare Kurma-purdna i. 53, 4 et seq.).
The names of their pupils are given from n. 9, verses 6-20 (compare
Kurma-purdna I. 53, 12 et seq.).
Each one of the yogacaryas had four disciples. The better known of them are
as follows (Vdyaviya-samhitd n. 9, 10 et seq.): Kapila, Asuri, Pancasikha,
Parasara, Brhadasva, Devala, ^alihotra, Aksapada, Kanada, Uluka, Vatsa.
xxxvi] Philosophy of Saivism 71
Srlkantha definitely says that the souls and the inanimate objects,
of which the universe is composed, all form materials for the
worship of the supreme Lord. The human souls worship Him
directly, and the inanimate objects form the materials with which
He is worshipped. So the whole universe may be regarded as
existing for the sake of the supreme Lord. Srlkantha further says
that the energy or the power of the Lord forms the basis or the
canvas, as it were, on which the whole world is painted in diverse
colours. So the reality of the world lies in the nature of God
Himself; the universe, as it appears to us, is only a picture-show
based on the ultimate reality of God who is regarded as definitely
described and testified in the Upanisads 1 . On the testimony of
Srlkantha, the philosophy of Saivism as interpreted by him
follows an interpretation of the Upanisads and is based on them.
It is unfortunate that most of the scholars who have contributed
articles to the study of Saivism or written books on it, have so far
mostly ignored the philosophy propounded by Srlkantha, although
his work had been published as early as 1908.
We have already seen that Sankara in his bhdsya on the
Brahma-sutra II. 2. 37, had attributed the instrumentality of God
as being the doctrine of the Siddhanta literature supposed to have
been written by Mahesvara. Appaya, in commenting upon the
same topic dealt with by Srlkantha, says that this is the view which
may be found in the Saivdgamas when they are imperfectly under
stood. But neither he nor Srlkantha mentions the names of any of
the Saivdgamas which have come down to us, which describe the
instrumentality of God. So Srlkantha also undertakes to refute the
view of Saivism which holds that God is only the instrumental
cause of the world. We may therefore infer that some of the
Saivdgamas were being interpreted on the line of regarding God
as being the instrumental cause of the world.
Srikantha s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra II. 2. 37 and the com
mentary of Appaya on it bring out some other important points.
We know from these that there were two types of Agamas, one
meant for the three castes (Varna) who had access to the Vedic
1 nija-sakti-bhitti-nirmita-nikhila-jagajjdld-citra-nikurumbah,
sa jayati sivah pardtmd nikhildgama-sdra-sarvasvam. z.
bhavatu sa bhavatdm siddhyai paramdtmd sarva-mangalo-petah,
cidacinmayah prapancah seso seso pi yasyaisah. 3.
Introductory verses, Srikantha s bhdsya.
72 Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
literature, and the other for those that had no access to the Vedic
literature. These latter Agamas might have been written in the
Dravidian vernaculars, or translated into the Dravidian vernaculars
from Sanskrit manuals. Srikantha s own interpretation of the
Brahma-sutra is based mainly on the views propounded in the
Vdyaviya-samhitd section of the Siva-mahdpurdna. In the Kurma-
purdna and the Vardha-purdna also we hear of different types of
Saivdgamas and Saiva schools of thought. Some of the Saiva
schools, such as Lakulisa or Kapalikas, are regarded in those
Puranas (Kurma and Vardhd) as being outside the pale of Vedic
thought, and the upholders of those views are regarded as following
delusive Sastras or scriptures (mohd-sdstra). In reply to this it is
held that some of those schools follow some impure practices, and
have on that account been regarded as moha-sdstra. But they are
not fully opposed to the Vedic discipline, and they encourage some
kinds of adoration and worship which are found in the Vedic
practice. The Agamas of this latter type, that is, which are for the
Sudras and other lower castes, are like the well-known Agamas
such as Kdmika, Mrgendra, etc. It is urged, however, that these
non- Vedic Agamas and the Vedic Saivism as found in the Vdyaviya-
samhitd are essentially authoritative, and both of them owe their
origin to Lord Siva. Their essential doctrines are the same, as both
of them regard Siva as being both the material and the instrumental
cause of the world. It is only that some superficial interpreters
have tried to explain some of the Agamas, emphasising the
instrumentality of the supreme Lord, and the above topic of the
Brahma-sutra is intended to refute such a view of the supreme
Lord as being only the efficient or instrumental cause.
It is curious to note that the two systems of Saiva philosophy
called Ldkulisa-pdsupata and the Saiva-darsana as treated in the
Sarvadarsana-samgraha, deal mainly with the aspect of God as the
efficient cause of the universe ; they lay stress on various forms of
ritualism, and also encourage certain forms of moral discipline. It
is also surprising to note that the Sarva-darsana-samgraha should
not mention Srikantha s bhdsya, though the former was written
somewhere about the fourteenth century A.D. and Srikantha s
bhdsya must have been written much before that time, though it is
not possible for us as yet to locate his time exactly. Neither does
the Sarva-darsana-samgraha refer to any Puranic materials as
xxxvi] Philosophy of Saivism 73
found in the Siva-mahdpurdna, the Kur ma-pur ana and the
Vardha-purdna. But we shall treat of the systems later on in other
sections and show their relation with the philosophy as propounded
in Srikantha s bhdsya, so far as manuscript material and other
published texts are available.
In interpreting the first sutra of the Brahma-sutra * athdto-
brahma-jijndsa? Srikantha first introduces a long discussion on the
meaning of the word l atha. The word atha* generally means
after, or it introduces a subject to a proper incipient. Srlkantha
holds that the entire Mimdmsd-sutra by Jaimini, beginning with
"athdto dharma-jijndsd" to the last sutra of the Brahma-sutra
IV. 4. 22 "andvrttih sabddd andvrttih sabddt" is one whole. Con
sequently the brahma-jijndsd or the inquiry as to the nature of
Brahman must follow the inquiry as to the nature of dharma,
which forms the subject-matter of the Purva-mimdmsd-sutra of
Jaimini. We have seen in our other volumes that the subject-matter
of the Purva-mlmdmsd starts with the definition of the nature of
dharma, which is regarded as being the beneficial results accruing
from the dictates of the Vedic imperatives " codand-laksanortho
dharmah"). The sacrifices thus are regarded as dharma, and these
sacrifices are done partly for the attainment of some desired
benefits such as the birth of a son, attainment of prosperity, a
shower of rain, or long residence in heaven after death ; partly also
as obligatory rites, and those which are obligatory on ceremonial
occasions. Generally speaking these sacrificial duties have but
little relation to an inquiry about the nature of Brahman. Sankara,
therefore, had taken great pains in his commentary on the Brahma-
sutra as well as in his commentary on the Gitd, to show that the
sacrificial duties are to be assigned to persons of an entirely different
character from those who are entitled to inquire about the nature
of Brahman. The two parts of sacrifices (karma) and knowledge
(jndna) are entirely different and are intended for two different
classes of persons. Again, while the result of dharma may lead to
mundane prosperity or a residence in heaven for a time and will,
after a time, bring the person in the cycle of transmigratory birth
and death, the knowledge of Brahman once attained or intuited
directly, would liberate the person from all bondage eternally. So,
these two courses, that is the path of karma and the path of know
ledge, cannot be regarded as complementary to each other. It is
74 Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
wrong to regard them as segments of the same circle. This is what
is known as the refutation by Sahkara of the joint performance of
karma and jnana, technically called the jnana-karma-samuccaya-
vdda.
Snkantha here takes an entirely opposite view. He says that
the Brahmin who is properly initiated with the holy thread has
a right to study the Vedas, has even an obligatory duty to study the
Vedas under a proper teacher, and when he has mastered the Vedas
he also acquaints himself with their meaning. So the study of the
Vedas with a full comprehension of their meaning must be regarded
as preceding any inquiry or discussion regarding the nature of
Brahman. As dharma can be known from the Vedas, so the
Brahman has also to be known by the study of the Vedas. Con
sequently, one who has not studied the Vedas is not entitled to
enter into any discussion regarding the nature of Brahman. But
then it cannot be said that merely after the study of the Vedas one
is entitled to enter into a discussion regarding the nature of
Brahman. For such a person must, after the study of the Vedas,
discuss the nature of dharma, without which he cannot be intro
duced into a discussion regarding the nature of Brahman. So
the discussion about the nature of Brahman can only begin after a
discussion on the nature of dharma 1 . He further says that it may
be that the principles and maxims used in the interpretation of
Vedic injunctions as found in the Purva-mtmdmsa were necessary
for the understanding of the Upanisadic texts leading to a discus
sion on the nature of Brahman. It is for this reason that a discus
sion of the nature of dharma is indispensably necessary for the
discussion of the nature of Brahman.
It cannot, however, be said that if sacrifices lead to an under
standing of the nature of Brahman, what is the good of any discus
sion on its nature. One might rather indulge in a discussion of the
nature of dharma, because when the Vedic duties are performed
without desire for the fulfilment of any purpose, that itself might
purify the mind of a man and make him fit for inquiring into the
nature of Brahman, for, by such a purposeless performance of
1 tarhi kim anantaram asydrambhah. dharma-vicdrdnantaram. Srikantha s
bhdsya I. i. i, Vol. I, p. 34.
na vayam dharma-brahma-vicdra-rupayos sdstrayor atyanta-b-hedavddinah.
kintu ekatva-vddinah. Ibid.
xxxvi] Philosophy of Saivism 75
Vedic sacrifices, one may be purified of one s sins, and this may
lead to a proper illumination of the nature of Brahman 1 . He also
makes references to Gautama and other smrtis to establish the view
that only those who are initiated in the Vedic ceremonial works are
entitled to abide with Brahman, and get commingled with him.
The most important point is that only those Vedic sacrifices which
are done without any idea of the achievement of a purpose lead
finally to the cessation of sins, and thereby making the Brahma-
illumination possible. In the case of such a person the result of
karma becomes the same as the result of knowledge. The karmas
are to be performed until true knowledge dawns. Consequently
one can say that the discussion on the nature of Brahman must be
preceded by the discussion on the nature of dharma accruing from
the prescribed Vedic duties. The inquiry after the nature of
Brahman is not meant as the carrying out of any Vedic mandate,
but people turn to it for its superior attraction as being the most
valued possession that one may have, and one can perceive that
only when one s mind is completely purified by performing the
Vedic duties in a disinterested manner, can one attain the know
ledge of Brahman. It is only in this way that we can regard the
discussion on the nature of dharma as leading to the discussion
of the nature of Brahman. If the mind is not purified by the
performance of the Vedic duties in a disinterested manner, then
the mere performance of the Vedic duties does not entitle anyone
to inquire about the nature of Brahman.
Appaya Dlksita, in commenting on the above bhdsya of
Srlkantha, says that the discussion on the nature of Brahman means
a discussion on the texts of the Upanisads. Such discussions
would naturally lead to the apprehension of the nature of Brahman.
The word brahman is derived from the root brmhati* meaning
4 great which again is not limited by any qualification of time,
space, or quality, that is, which is unlimitedly great. We have to
accept this meaning because there is nothing to signify any limita
tion of any kind (samkocakabhavat). The Brahman is different from
all that is animate (cetand) and inanimate (acetand). There are two
kinds of energy: that which is the representative of the material
power or energy (jada-idkti), which transforms itself in the form of
1 t asya phaldbhisandhi-rahitasya pdpdpanayana-rupacitta-suddhi-sampddana-
dvdrd bodha-hetutvdt. 3rikantha s bhdsya i. i. i, Vol. I, p. 39.
76 Philosophy of Srlkantha [CH.
the material universe under the direction or instrumentality of the
Brahman; and there is also the energy as consciousness (cicchakti),
and this consciousness energy, as we find it in animate beings, is
also controlled by the Brahman 1 . The Brahman Himself is different
from the phenomenal world consisting of inanimate things and
conscious souls. But as the conscious souls and unconscious
world are both manifestations of the energy of God called Brahman
or Siva or any other of His names, God Himself has no other
instrument for the creation and maintenance of the world. So the
greatness of Brahman is absolutely unlimited as there is nothing
else beyond Him which can lend Him any support. The two
energies of God representing the material cause and the spiritual
force may be regarded somehow as the qualities of God.
Just as a tree has leaves and flowers, but still in spite of this
variety is regarded as one tree, so God also, though He has these
diversified energies as his qualities, is regarded as one. So, when
considered from the aspect of material and spiritual energies, the
two may be differentiated from the nature of Brahman, yet
considered internally they should be regarded as being one with
Brahman. These two energies have no existence separate from the
nature of God. The word brahman means not onlyunlimitedness,
it also means that He serves all possible purposes. He creates the
world at the time of creation and then leading the souls through
many kinds of enjoyment and sorrow, ultimately expands them
into His own nature when the liberation takes place.
Appaya Diksita, after a long discussion, conclusively points out
that not all persons who had passed through the discipline of
sacrificial duties are entitled to inquire about the nature of
Brahman. Only those who, by reason of their deeds in past lives,
had had their minds properly purified could further purify their
minds in this life by the performance of the Vedic duties without
any desire for fruit, and can attain a discriminative knowledge of
what is eternal and non-eternal, and have the necessary disinclina
tion (vairdgya), inner control and external control of actions and
desire for liberation, thereby qualifying themselves for making an
1 tasya cetandcetana-prapanca-vilaksanatvd-bhyupagamena vastu-paricchinat-
vdd ity dsankdm nirasitum ddya-visesanam. sakala-cetandcetana-prapancd-
kdryayd tadrupa-parindminyd parama-saktyd jada-sakter may ay a niydmakatvena
tata utkrstayd cicchaktyd visistasya. Sivdrkamani-dipikd, Appaya s commentary,
Vol. I, p. 68.
xxxvi] The Nature of Brahman 77
inquiry about the nature of Brahman. Appaya Diksita thus tries
to bridge over the gulf between the standpoint of Srikantha and
the standpoint of Sankara. With Sankara it is only those inner
virtues and qualities, desire for liberation and the like that could
entitle a person to inquire about the nature of Brahman. According
to Sankara the discussion on the nature of Vedic duties or their
performance did not form an indispensable precedent to the
inquiry about the nature of Brahman. But Appaya Diksita tries
to connect Srikantha s view with that of Sankara by suggesting
that only in those cases where, on account of good deeds in past
lives, one s mind is sufficiently purified to be further chastened by
the desireless performance of Vedic duties, that one can attain
the mental virtues and equipments pointed out by Sarikara
as an indispensable desideratum for inquiry into the nature of
Brahman.
Appaya Diksita tries to justify the possibility of a discussion
regarding the nature of Brahman by pointing out that in the
various texts of the Upanisads the Brahman is variously described
as being the ego, the food, the bio-motor force (prdna), and the like.
It is necessary, therefore, by textual criticism to find out the exact
connotation of Brahman. If Brahman meant only the ego, or if it
meant the pure differenceless consciousness, then there would be
no scope for discussion. No one doubts his own limited ego and
nothing is gained by knowing Brahman, which is pure difference-
less consciousness. For this reason it is necessary to discuss the
various texts of the Upanisads which give evidence of a personal
God who can bestow on His devotee eternal bliss and eternal
consciousness.
The Nature of Brahman.
Srikantha introduces a number of Upanisadic texts supposed to
describe or define the nature of Brahman. These apparently are in
conflict with one another, and the contradiction is not resolved
either by taking those definitions alternately or collectively, and for
this reason it is felt necessary to enter into a textual and critical
interpretation of those texts as yielding a unified meaning. These
texts describe Brahman as that from which everything has sprung
into being and into which everything will ultimately return, and
78 Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
taht, it is of the nature of pure bliss, pure being and pure conscious
ness. Appaya Diksita says that, such qualities being ascribed to
various deities, it is for us to find out the really ultimate Deity, the
Lord Siva, who has all these qualities. He also introduces a long
discussion as to whether the ascription of these diverse epithets
would cause any reasonable doubt as to the entity or person who
possesses them. He further enters into a long discussion as to the
nature of doubt that may arise when an entity is described with
many epithets, or when an entity is described with many contra
dictory epithets, or when several objects are described as having
one common epithet. In the course of this discussion he introduces
many problems of doubt with which we are already familiar in our
treatment of Indian philosophy 1 . Ultimately Appaya tries to
emphasise the fact that these qualities may be regarded as abiding
in the person of Siva and there can be no contradiction, as qualities
do not mean contradictory entities. Many qualities of diverse
character may remain in harmony in one entity or person.
Lord Siva is supposed to be the cause of the creation of the
world, its maintenance, and its ultimate dissolution, or the libera
tion of souls, through the cessation of bondage. All these qualities
of the production of the world, its maintenance, etc., belong to the
phenomenal world of appearance, and cannot therefore be attri
buted to the Lord Siva as constituting His essential definition. It
is true that a person may, by his good deeds and his disinclination
to worldly enjoyments and devotion, attain liberation automatically.
But even in such cases it has to be answered that, though the person
may be regarded as an active agent with reference to his actions,
yet the grace of God has to be admitted as determining him to act.
So also, since all the epithets of creation, maintenance, etc., belong
to the world of appearance, they cannot be regarded as in any way
limiting the nature of Lord Siva. They may at best be regarded as
non-essential qualities by which we can only signify the nature of
Brahman, but cannot get at His own true nature. The application
of the concept of agency to individual persons or inanimate things
is only one of emphasis ; for, from certain points of view, one may
say that a person attains liberation by his own action, while from
another point of view the whole action of the individual may be
1 See especially the third volume of the present work dealing with the
problem of doubt in Venkaja.
xxxvi] The Nature of Brahman 79
regarded as being due to the grace of God. So, from one point of
view the laws of the world of appearance may be regarded as
natural laws, while from another all the natural laws may be
regarded as being the manifestations of the grace of God.
It may be urged that if Lord Siva is all-merciful why does He
not remove the sorrows of all beings by liberating them? To this
question it may be said that it is only when, by the deeds of the
persons, the veil of ignorance and impurity is removed that the
ever-flowing mercy of God manifests itself in liberating the person.
Thus there is a twofold action, one by the person himself and the
other by the extension of mercy on the part of God in consonance
with his actions.
Again, the dissolution of the world of appearance is not a
magical disappearance, but rather the return of the grosser nature
of the prakrti or primal matter into its subtle nature of the same
prakrti. The world as a whole is not illusion, but it had at one time
manifested itself in a grosser form of apparent reality, and in the
end it will again return into the subtle nature of the cosmic matter
or prakrti. This return into the nature of the subtle prakrti is due
to the conjoint actions of all animate beings as favoured by the
grace of God.
The second sutra, which describes or defines Brahman as that
from which all things have come into being, into which all things
will ultimately return, and wherein all things are maintained,
regards these qualities of production, maintenance, and dissolution
of all things, according to Srikantha as interpreted by Appaya, as
being the final determinant causal aspect, both material and
instrumental, by virtue of which the nature of Brahman as God or
Isvara can be inferred. So according to Srikantha and Appaya this
sutra janmady-asya yatah should be regarded as a statement of
infallible inference of the nature of Brahman. Sankara in his
commentary had definitely pointed out that those who regard
Isvara or God as the cause of all things and beings interpret this
sutra as an example of inference, by which the unlimited nature of
Brahman could be directly argued; and that such a definition, in
that it points out the reasons, is sufficient description, not too wide
nor too narrow. Therefore, by this argument one can understand
the Brahman as being the supreme and unlimited Lord of the
whole of the material and spiritual universe. Sankara definitely
8o Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
refuses to accept such an interpretation, and regards it as merely
stating the general purport of the Upanisadic texts, which say that
it is from Brahman that everything has come into being, and that it
is in and through Brahman that everything lives, and that ulti
mately everything returns into Brahman. The main point at issue
between Sarikara and Srikantha is that, while Sankara refuses to
accept this sutra as establishing an argument in favour of the
existence of Brahman, and while he regards the purpose of the
Brahma-sutra as being nothing more than to reconcile and relate
in a harmonious manner the different texts of the Upanisads,
Srikantha and the other Saivas regard this sutra as an inferential
statement in favour of the existence of the unlimited Brahman or
the supreme Lord Siva 1 .
Ramanuja also does not interpret this sutra as being an
inferential statement for establishing the nature and existence of
Brahman. He thinks that by reconciling the apparently contra
dictory statements of the Upanisadic texts, and by regarding
Brahman as the cause of the production, maintenance, and
dissolution of the world, it is possible to have an intuition or
apprehension of the nature of Brahman through the Upanisadic
texts 2 .
Srikantha tries to interpret the various epithets of Brahman
such as ananda or bliss, sat or being, jnana or consciousness, and
the fact that in some texts Siva is mentioned as the original cause
of the world in the sense that Siva is both the original and ultimate
cause of the universe. He raises the difficulty of treating these
epithets as applying to Brahman either alternately or collectively.
He also further raises the difficulty that in some of the Upanisadic
texts prakrtiy which is inanimate, is called the mdya and the cause
of the inanimate world. If Brahman is of the nature of knowledge
or consciousness then He could not have transformed Himself into
the material world. The transformation of pure consciousness into
the material universe would mean that Brahman is changeable and
this would contradict the Upanisadic statement that the Brahman
is absolutely without any action and in a state of pure passivity.
1 etad evdnumdnam samsdriv-vyatirikte-svardstitvddi-sddhanam manyanta
isvara-kdraninah. nanu ihdpi tad evopanyastam janmddi-sutre, na\ veddnta-
vdkya-kusuma-grathandrthatvdt sutrdndm. ^ahkara s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra I.
I. 2.
2 Ramanuja s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra I. i. 2..
xxxvi} The Nature of Brahman 81
From this point of view the objector might say that all the epithets
that are ascribed to Brahman in the Upanisads cannot be applied
to it at the same time, and they may not be taken collectively as the
defining characteristics of the nature of Brahman. Srikantha,
therefore, thinks that the abstract terms as truth, consciousness,
bliss, etc., that are applied to Brahman, are to be taken as personal
qualities of the Supreme Lord. Thus, instead of regarding
Brahman as pure consciousness, Srikantha considers the Supreme
Lord as being endowed with omniscience, eternally self-satisfied,
independent, that is, one who always contains his power or energy,
and one who possesses omnipotence. He is eternally self-efficient
(nitya aparoksa) and never depends on any external thing for the
execution of his energy or power (anapeksita-bdhya-karana). Lord
Siva, thus being omniscient, knows the deeds of all animate beings
and the fruits of those deeds to which they are entitled, and He also
knows the forms of bodies that these animate souls should have in
accordance with their past deeds, and He has thus a direct know
ledge of the collocation of materials with which these bodies are to
be built up 1 . The fact that the Brahman is described as dnanda or
bliss is interpreted as meaning that Lord Siva is always full of bliss
and self-contented 2 .
In the Upanisads it is said that the Brahman has the akdsa as
his body (dkdsa-sariram brahma). It is also said in some of the
Upanisads that this akdsa is bliss (dnanda). Srikantha says that
this akdsa is not the elemental akdsa (bhutdkdsa)\ it merely
means the plane of consciousness (cidakdsa), and in that way it
means the ultimate material (para-prakrti), which is the same
as the ultimate energy. Appaya points out that there are people
who think that the energy of consciousness is like an instru
ment for creating this universe, as an axe for cutting down a
tree. But Appaya denies this view and holds that the ultimate
energy is called the akdsa 3 . It is this energy of consciousness
1 anenasakala-cetana-bahu-vidha-karma-phala-bhogdnu-kula-tat-tac-charira-
nirmdnopdya-sdmagn-visesa jnam brahma nimittam bhavati. Srikantha s bhasya
on Brahma-sutra I. i. 2, p. 121.
2 parabrahma-dharmatvena ca sa eva dnando brahmeti pracuratvdd brahmat-
venopacaryate. tddrsdnanda-bhoga-rasikam brahma nitya-trptam ity ucyate.
Ibid. p. 122.
3 yasya sd paramd devi saktir dkdsa-samjnitd. Appaya s commentary, Vol. I,
p. 123.
DV 6
82 Philosophy of Srlkantha [CH.
(cicchakti) that is regarded as pervading through all things and it is
this energy that undergoes the transformations for the creation of
the universe. It is this cicchakti that is to be regarded as the
original force of life that manifests itself in the activities of life.
All kinds of life functions and all experiences of pleasure are based
on the lower or on the higher level of this ultimate life force, called
also the cicchakti or dkdsa.
Again, Brahman is described as being of the nature of being,
consciousness and bliss (dnandd). In this case, it is held that
Brahman enjoys His own bliss without the aid of any external
instrumentality. And it is for this reason that the liberated souls
may enjoy bliss of a superlative nature without the aid of any
external instruments. The truth as consciousness is also the truth
as pure bliss which are eternal in their existence not as mere
abstract qualities, but as concrete qualities adhering to the person
of Lord Siva. Thus, though the Brahman or Lord Siva may be
absolutely unchangeable in Himself, yet His energy might undergo
the transformations that have created this universe. Brahman has
thus within Him both the energy of consciousness and the energy
of materiality which form the matter of the universe (cid-acit-
prapanca-rupa-sakti-visistatvam svdbhdbikam eva brahmanah). As
the energy of Brahman is limitless, he can in and through those
energies form the material cause of the universe. As all external
things are said to have being as the common element that
pervades them all, it represents the aspect of Brahman as being/
in which capacity it is the material cause of the world. The supreme
Lord is called Sarva, because all things are finally absorbed in
Him. He is called Isdna, because He lords over all things, and He
is hence also called Pasupati. By the epithet pasupati it is signified
that He is not only the Lord of all souls (pasu\ but also all that
binds them (pdsa). The Brahman thus is the controller of all
conscious entities and the material world 1 .
It has been said that the mdya is the primal matter, prakrti,
which is the material cause of the universe. But God or the Lord
Siva is said to be always associated with the mdyd, that is, He has
no separate existence entirely apart from the mdyd. In such a view,
if the mdyd is to be regarded as the material cause of the universe,
1 anena cid-acin-niyamakam brahmeti vijnayate. ^rikantha s bhdsya on
Brahma-sutra I. i. 2, p. 127.
xxxvi] The Nature of Brahman 83
then the Lord Siva, who is associated with the mdyd, has also to be,
in some distant sense, regarded as the material cause of the
universe. So the final conclusion is that the Brahman as associated
with subtle consciousness and subtle materiality is the cause, and
the effect is the universe which is but gross consciousness as
associated with gross matter 1 . It is true, indeed, that the facts of
production, maintenance, and dissolution are epithets that can
only apply to the phenomenal world, and therefore they cannot be
regarded as essential characteristics determining the nature of
Brahman as an inferential statement. Yet the production, main
tenance, and dissolution of the world of phenomena may be
regarded as a temporary phase (tatastha-laksand) of the nature of
Brahman. It should also be noted that when mdyd transforms
itself into the world by the controlling agency of God, God Him
self being eternally associated with mdyd, may in some sense be
regarded as being also the material cause of the world, though in
His supreme transcendence He remains outside the mdyd. The
difference between this view and that of Ramanuja is that,
according to the latter, the Brahman is a concrete universal having
the entire materiality and the groups of souls always associated with
Him and controlled directly by Him, as the limbs of a person are
controlled by the person himself. The conception is that of an
entire organisation, in which the Brahman is the person and the
world of souls and matter are entirely parts of Him and dominated
by Him. The position of Sankara is entirely different. He holds
that the central meaning of the sutra is just an interpretation of the
texts of Upanisads which show that the world has come out of
Brahman, is maintained in Him, and will ultimately return into
Him. But it does not declare that this appearance of the world is
ultimately real. Sankara is not concerned with the actual nature of
the appearance, but he has his mind fixed on the ultimate and
1 may dm tu prakrtim vidydd iti may ay ah prakrtitvam isvardtmikdyd eva
mdyinam tu mahesvaram iti vdkya-sesdt. suksma-cid-acid-visi$tam brahma
kdranam sthula-cid-acid-visistam tat-kdryam bhavati. iarikantha s bhdsya on
Brahma-sutra I. 1.2, pp. 134 et seq.
satyam mdyopdddnam iti brahmdpy updddnam eva. aprthak-siddha-karyd-
vasthd srayatva-rupam hi mdydyd updddnatvam samarthanlyam. tat-samarthya-
mdnam eva brahma-paryantam dydti. nitya-yoge khalu mdyinam iti mdyd-
sabdddi-nipratyayah. tatas ca mdydydh brahmd-prthak-siddhyaiva tad-aprthak-
siddhdydh kdrydvasthdyd api brahmdprthak-siddhis siddhyati.
Appaya Dikita s commentary, Vol. I, p. 134.
6-2
84 Philosophy of Srikantha [CH.
unchangeable ground which always remains true and is not only
relatively true as the world of appearance 1 .
We have said above that Srikantha regarded the second sutra
as indicating an inference for the existence of God. But in the
course of later discussions he seems to move to the other side, and
regards the existence of Brahman as being proved by the testimony
of the Vedas. The general argument from the unity of purpose
throughout the universe cannot necessarily lead to the postulation
of one creator, for a house or a temple which shows unity of purpose
is really effected by a large number of architects and artisans. He
also thinks that the Vedas were produced by God. That is also
somehow regarded as additional testimony to His existence. The
nature of Brahman also can be known by reconciling the different
Upanisadic texts which all point to the supreme existence of
Lord Siva. In Brahma-sutra n. i. 18, 19 Srikantha says that the
Brahman as contracted within Himself is the cause while, when by
His inner desire He expands Himself, He shows Himself and the
universe which is His effect 2 . This view is more or less like the
view of Vallabha, and may be regarded as largely different from
the idea of Brahman as given by Srikantha in I. i. 2. Srikantha,
in further illustrating his views, says that he admits Brahman to be
the ultimate material cause of the universe only in the sense that
the prakrti, from which the world is evolved, is itself in Brahman.
So as Brahman cannot remain without His sakti or energy, He can
be regarded as the material cause of the world, though He in
Himself remains transcendent, and it is only His mdyd that works
as an immanent cause of the production of the world. He thus
says that there is a difference between the individual souls and the
Brahman, and there is a difference between the prakrti and the
Brahman. He would not admit that the world of appearance is
entirely different from Brahman ; neither would he admit that they
are entirely identical. His position is like that of the modified
1 For the view of ankara and his school, see Vols. i and n. For the view of
Ramanuja and his school see Vol. in.
2 " ciddtmaiva hi devo" ntah-sthitam icchd-vasdd bahih. yoglva nirupdddnam
arthajdtam prkdsayed iti. nirupdddnam iti anapeksitopdddndntaram svayam
updddnam bhutvety arthah. tatah parama-kdrandt parabrahmanah sivdd abhinnam
evajagat kdryam iti. . .yathd samkucitah suksma-rupah patah prasdrito mahdpata-
kutt-rupena kdryam bhavati, tathd brahmdpi samkucita-rupam kdranam prasdrita-
rupam kdryam bhavati. rikantha s bhdsya, Vol. n, p. 29.
xxxvi] Moral Responsibility 85
monists, like that of the Visistadvaita-vdda of Ramanuja. Brahman
exists in quite a transcendent manner, apart from the individual
souls and the inanimate world. But yet, since the individual souls
and the material universe are emanations from His energy, the
world of souls and matter may be regarded as parts of Him, though
they are completely transcended by Himself 1 .
Moral Responsibility and the Grace of God.
The question is, why did the supreme Lord create the whole
universe? He is always self-realised and self-satisfied, and He has
no attachment and no antipathy. He is absolutely neutral and
impartial. How is it, then, that He should create a world which is
so full of happiness to some (e.g. the gods) and so full of sorrow
and misery to others? This will naturally lead us to the charge of
partiality and cruelty. Moreover, since before the creation there
must have been destruction, it will necessarily be argued that God
Himself is so cruel as to indulge in universal destruction out of
simple cruelty. So one may naturally argue that what purpose
should God have in creating a world which is not a field for the
attainment of our own desires and values. The reply given to this
is that God indulges in the creation and destruction of the world
in accordance with the diversity of human deeds and their results
(karma and karmaphald).
It cannot be argued that before the creation there were no souls,
for we know from the Upanisadic texts that the souls and God both
exist eternally. As the souls have no beginning in time, so their
deeds also are beginningless. This may lead to an infinite regress,
but this infinite regress is not vicious. The series of births and
deaths in the world in different bodies is within the stream of
beginningless karma. Since God in His omniscience directly
knows by intuition the various kinds of deeds that the individual
1 bheddbheda-kalpanam visistddvaitam sddhaydmah na vayam brahma-
prapancayor atyantam eva bheda-vddinah ghata-patayor iva. tad-ananyatva-
para-sruti-virodhdt. na vd tyantd-bheda-vddinah sukti-rajatayor iva. ekatara-
mithydtvena tat-svdbhdvika-guna-bheda parasruti-virodhdt. na ca bheddbheda-
vddinah, vastu-virodhdt. kin tu sanra-sarlrinor iva guna-guninor iva ca visist-
ddvaita-vddinah. prapanca-brahm anor ananyatvam ndma mrd-ghatayor iva
guna-guninor iva ca kdrya-kdranatvena visesana-visesyatvena ca vindbhdva-
rahitatvam. rikantha s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra n. i. 22, Vol. n, p. 31.
86 Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
would perform, He arranges suitable bodies and circumstances for
the enjoyment or suffering of such deeds already anticipated by
Him. So the difference in creation is due to the diversity of one s
deeds. The time of destruction comes when the souls become tired
and fatigued by the process of birth and death, and require some
rest in dreamless sleep. So the effectuation of dissolution does not
prove the cruelty of God.
Now, since the pleasures and sorrows of all beings depend upon
their deeds (karma), what is the necessity of admitting any God at
all? The reply is that the law of karma depends upon the will of
God and it does not operate in an autonomous manner, nor does it
curb the freedom or independence of God. This, however, would
lead us in a circular way to the same position, for while the
pleasures and sorrows of men depend upon the deeds of men and
the law of karma, and since the law of karma depends upon the
will of God, it actually means that the pleasures and sorrows of
beings are due indirectly to the partiality of God.
Again, since the karma and the law of karma are both unintelli
gent, they must be operated by the intelligence of God. But how
could God before the creation, when beings were devoid of the
miseries of death and birth, were not endowed with any bodies,
and were therefore in a state of enjoyment, associate them with
bodies, lead them to the cycle of birth and rebirth, and expose
them to so much sorrow? The reply is that God extends His grace
to all (sarvanugrdhaka paramesvara) ; and thus, since without the
fruition of one s deeds (karmapdkam antarena) there cannot be
pure knowledge, and since without pure knowledge there cannot
be the liberation of enjoying bliss in a superlative manner, and since
also without the fruition of karma through enjoyment and suffering
there cannot be the relevant bodies through which the souls could
enjoy or suffer the fruits of karma, bodies have necessarily to be
associated with all the souls which were lying idle at the time of the
dissolution. So when in this manner the deeds of a person are
exhausted through enjoyment or suffering, and the minds of beings
become pure, it is only then that there may arise self-knowledge
leading to the supreme bliss of liberation.
It may again be asked that, if God is absolutely merciful, why
could not He arrange for the fruition of the deeds of all persons
at one and the same time and allow them to enjoy the bliss of
xxxvi] Moral Responsibility 87
liberation? The reply is that, even if God would have extended
His grace uniformly to all persons, then those whose impurities
have been burnt up would be liberated and those whose impurities
still remained could only attain salvation through the process of
time. Thus, though God is always self-contented, He operates only
for the benefit of all beings.
From the interpretation of Appaya it appears that the word
grace (annugrahd) is taken by him in the sense of justice. So God
does not merely extend His mercy, but His mercy is an extension
of justice in accordance with the deeds of persons, and therefore He
cannot be regarded as partial or cruel 1 . Appaya anticipates the
objection that in such a view there is no scope for the absolute
lordship of God, for He only awards happiness and misery in
accordance with the law of karma. It is therefore meaningless to
say that it is He, the Lord, that makes one commit sins or perform
good deeds merely as He wishes to lower a person or to elevate him.
For God does not on His own will make one do bad or good deeds,
but the persons themselves perform good or bad actions according
to their own inclinations as acquired in past creations, and it is in
accordance with those deeds that the new creation is made for the
fulfilment of the law of karma 2 . Appaya further says that the good
and bad deeds are but the qualities of the mind (antahkarana) of
the persons. At the time of dissolution these minds are also
dissolved in the mdyd and remain there as unconscious impressions
or tendencies (vdsdna), and being there they are reproduced in the
next creation as individual bodies and their actions in such a way
that, though they were dissolved in the mdyd y they do not com
mingle, and each one is associated with his own specific mind and
deeds at the next birth 3 . In the Agamas, where thirty-six categories
1 evam ca yathd narapatih prajdndm vyavahdra-darsane tadlya-yuktdyukta-
vacandnusdrena anugraha-nigraha-visesam kurvan paksapdtitva-laksanam vai-
samyam na pratipadyate evam Isvaro pi tadlya-karma-visesd-nusdrena vi$ama-
srstim kurvan na tatpratipadyate. Appaya Dlkita s commentary, Vol. n, p. 47.
2 paramesvaro na svayam sddhvasddhuni karmdni kdrayati, tais sukha-
duhkhddini ca notpddayati, yenatasya vaisamyam dpatet. kin tu prdnina eva
tathdbhutdni karmdni ydni sva-sva-rucyanusdrenapiirva-sargesu kurvanti tdny eva
punas-sargesu visama-srsti-hetavo bhavanti. Ibid. Vol. n, p. 48.
3 parmesvarastu purva-sarga-krtdndm tat-tad-antahkarana-dharmarupdndm
sadhva-asddhu-karmandm pralaye sarvdntah-karandndm villnatayd mdydydm eva
vdsand-rupatayd lagndndm kevalam asankarena phala-vyavasthdpakah. anyathd
mdydydm sankirnesu karma-phalam anyo grhnlydt. Appaya Diksita s com
mentary, Vol. II, p. 48.
88 Philosophy of Srikantha [CH.
(tattvd) are counted, the law of karma called niyati is also counted
as one of the categories. Though the category of niyati is admitted,
it cannot operate blindly, but only under the superintendence of
God, so that the actions or fruits of action of one may not be
usurped by another. Pure niyati or the law of karma could not
have done it. The view supported here is that when, at the time of
dissolution, all karmas are in a state of profound slumber, God
awakens them and helps the formation of bodies in accordance
with them, and associates the bodies with the respective souls, and
makes them suffer or enjoy according to their own deeds.
The problem still remains unexplained as to how we are to
reconcile the freedom of will of all persons with the determinism
by God. If God is regarded as being responsible for making us
act in the way of good or of evil, then deferring God s determina
tion to beginningless lives does not help the solution of the
difficulty. If God determines that we shall behave in a particular
manner in this life, and if that manner is determined by the actions
of our past lives ad infinitum, then when we seek for the original
determination we are bound to confess that God is partial ; for He
must have determined us to act differently at some distant period
and He is making us act and suffer and enjoy accordingly. So the
ultimate responsibility lies with God. In reply to this it is held by
Appaya, interpreting the commentary of Srikantha, that we were
all born with impurities. Our bondage lies in the veil that covers
our wisdom and action, and God, who possesses infinite and
manifold powers, is always trying to make us act in such a manner
that we may ultimately purify ourselves and make ourselves similar
to Him. The dissolution of our impurities through natural trans
formation is like that of a boil or wound in the body which dis
appears only after giving some pain. The Vedic duties which are
obligatory and occasional help to cure us of these impurities, just
as medicine helps to cure a wound, and this may necessarily cause
misery of birth and death. It is only when our deeds fructify that
knowledge can spring from them. So also by the performance of
obligatory and occasional deeds as prescribed in the Vedas, our
karmas become mature and there arises in us a spirit of disinclina
tion (vatragya), devotion to Siva and an inquiry after Him, which
ultimately produces in us the wisdom that leads to liberation. The
fruition of one s karma cannot take place without the environment
xxxvi] Moral Responsibility 89
of the world such as we have it. Thus, for the ultimate liberation
we must perform certain actions. God makes us perform these
actions, and according to the manifold character of our deeds He
creates different kinds of bodies, making us do such actions as we
may suffer from, and thereby gradually advance towards the
ultimate goal of liberation. In accordance with the diversity of our
original impurities and actions, we are made to perform different
kinds of deeds, just as a medical adviser would prescribe different
kinds of remedies for different diseases. All this is due to the
supreme grace of God. Srikantha s usage of the word karma means
that by which the cycle of birth and death is made possible through
the agency of God 1 . In the dissolution, of course, there cannot be
any process for the fulfilment or fruition of action, so that state
is supposed to be brought about only for giving a rest to all
beings.
In Brahma-sutra n. 3. 41 Srikantha seems to make it definitely
clear that the individual souls themselves do things which may be
regarded as the cause of their acting in a particular way, or desisting
from a particular way of action, in accordance with the nature of
the fruition of their past deeds. It is further said that God only
helps a person when he wishes to act in a particular way, or to
desist from a particular action. So a man is ultimately responsible
for his own volition, which he can follow by the will of God in the
practical field of the world. The responsibility of man rests in the
assertion of his will and the carrying of the will into action, and
the will of God helps us to carry out our will in the external world
around us. Man performs his actions in accordance with the way
in which he can best satisfy his interests. He is therefore respon
sible for his actions, though in the actual carrying out of the will he
is dependent on God. God thus cannot be charged with partiality
or cruelty, for God only leads the individual souls to action in
accordance with His own will and inner effort 2 .
1 bhasye " karma-pdkam antarene tyddi-vdkyesu karma-sabdah kriyate" nena
samsdra iti karana-vyutpattyd vd paramesvarena pakvah kriyata iti karma-
vyutpattyd vd malavaranapa.ro drastavyah. Appaya Dlksita s commentary,
Vol. n, p. 50.
2 ato jlva-krta-prayatndpeksatvdt karmasu jivasya pravartaka isvaro na
vaisamyabhdk. tasydpi svddhina-pravrtti-sadbhdvdt vidhi-nisedhddi-vaiyartham
ca na sambhavafiti siddham. Srikantha s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra n. 3. 41,
P. 157.
90 Philosophy of Srikantha [CH.
It is curious to note, however, that Appaya thinks that, even
allowing for the inner human effort of will, the individual is
wholly dominated by God. Appaya thus leaves no scope for the
freedom of the will 1 .
In Brahma-sutra n. 2. 36-8 Srikantha makes a special effort to
repudiate the view of Sankara, that the Saivas believed in a doctrine
that God was the instrumental cause of the world, and could be
known as such through inference. He also repudiates the view that
the Brahman or Siva had entered into the prakrti or the primal
matter, and thereby superintended the course of its evolution and
transformation into the universe. For in that case He should be
open to the enjoyment and suffering associated with the prakrti.
Srikantha therefore holds that according to the Saiva view the
Brahman is both the material and the efficient cause of the uni
verse, and that He cannot be known merely by reason, but by the
testimony of the Vedic scriptures. There is here apparently an
oscillation of view on the subject as propounded by Srikantha.
Here and in the earlier parts of his work, as has been pointed out,
Srikantha asserts that, though God is the material cause of the
universe, He is somehow unaffected by the changes of the world 2 .
The ultimate Brahman or Siva is associated with a subtle energy
of consciousness and materiality which together are called cicchakti,
and as associated with the cicchakti, God Siva is one and beyond
everything. When in the beginning of creation there comes out
from this supreme mdyd or cicchakti the creative mdyd which has
a serpentine motion, then that energy becomes the material cause
of the entire world. It is from this that four categories evolve,
namely as sakti, Saddsiva, Mahesvara, and Suddha-vidyd. After that
comes the lower mdyd of a mixed character, which is in reality the
direct material cause of the world and the bodies. Then comes time
(kdld), destiny (niyati\ knowledge (vidyd\ attachment (rdgd), and
the souls. In another line there comes from the impure mdyd the
entire universe and the bodies of living beings. From that comes
intelligence (buddhi), egotism (ahankdra), manas, the fivefold
cognitive senses, the fivefold conative senses, the fivefold subtle
1 tathd ca paramesvara-kdrita-purva-karma-mula-svecchddhlne yatne, para-
mesvarddhinatvan na hlyate. Appaya s commentary, Vol. n, p. 156.
z jagad-upddana-nimitta-bhutasyapi paramesvarasya "niskalam niskriyam"
ityadi-srutibhir nirvikdratvam apy upapadyate. rlkantha s bhdsya on Brahma-
sutra n. 2. 38, p. 109.
xxxvi] Moral Responsibility 91
causes of gross matter called tanmatra, and also the fivefold
elements of matter. Thus are the twenty-three categories. Count
ing the previous categories, we get thirty-six categories altogether.
These are well known in the Saiva texts and they have been
established there both logically and by reference to the testimony
of the scriptural texts. A distinction is made, as has been shown
above, between the pure mdyd and the impure mdyd. The impure
mdyd includes within itself all the effects such as time and the
impure souls. The word vyakta is used to denote the material
cause or the purely material world, including the mental psychosis
called buddhi.
The category of Siva is also sometimes denoted by the term
sakti or energy 1 . The word siva-tattva has also been used as merely
Siva in the Vdyaviya-samhitd.
We have seen before that Sankara explained this topic of the
Brahma-sutra as refuting the view of the different schools of Saivas
or Mahesvaras who regard God as being the instrumental cause of
the universe. Srikantha has tried to show that God is both the
material cause and the instrumental cause of the universe. In his
support he addresses texts from the Vdyaviya-samhitd of the
Siva-mahdpurdna to show that, according to the Vedic authority,
God is both the material and the instrumental cause of the
universe. But Srikantha says that, though the Agamas and the
Vedic view of Saivism are one and the same, since both of them
were composed by Siva, in some of the Agamas, such as the
Kdmika, the instrumental side is more emphasised; but that
emphasis should not be interpreted as a refutation of the view that
God is also the material cause of the universe. It is true that in
some sects of Saivism, such as the Kapalikas or Kalamukhas, some
of the religious practices are of an impure character and so far they
may be regarded as non- Vedic; and it is possible that for that
reason, in the Mahdbhdrata and elsewhere, some sects of Saivism
have been described as non- Vedic. Yet from the testimony of the
Vardha-purdna and other Puranas, Saivism or the Pdsupata-yoga
has been regarded as Vedic. Srikantha and Appaya took great
pains to bridge the gulf between the vernacular Saivism and the
1 siva-tattva-sabdena tu siva evocyate. na tu atra siva-tattva-sabdah para-
saktiparah. sakti-sabdas tat-karya-dvitlya-tattva-rupa-saktiparah. Appaya
Dlksita s commentary, Vol. u, p. no.
92 Philosophy of Snkantha [CH.
Sanskritic, that is, those forms of Saivism which were based on the
authority of the Vedas and were open to the first three castes
(varna) y and those which are open to all castes. Both try to make
out that the present topic was not directed against the views pro
pounded in the Saivdgamas as Sankara explained, but against other
views which do not form any part of the Saiva philosophy.
In some texts of the Kalpa-sutras we hear of objections against
the valid authority of some of the texts, but these objections do not
apply to the Agamas composed by Siva. It is said that Siva cannot
be the material cause of the universe, because the Upanisads hold
that the Brahman is changeless, and in this way an attempt is
made to refute the parinama doctrine. Parindma means "change
from a former state to a latter state." It is further held that sakti
or energy is in itself changeless. Even if that sakti be of the nature
of consciousness, then such a change would also be inadmissible.
Against this view it is held that there may be change in the
spiritual power or energy (cicchakti) on the occasion of a desire for
creation or a desire for destruction. The cicchakti which is within
us goes out and comes into contact, in association with the senses,
with the external objects, and this explains our perception of
things. So, since we have to admit the theory of the functional
expansion (vrtti) of the cicchakti, it is easy to admit that the
original sakti has also its functional expansion or contraction 1 .
According to the Saiva school as propounded by Snkantha, the
individual souls have not emanated from God, but they are co
existent with Him. The apparent scriptural texts that affirm that
souls came out of Brahman like sparks from a fire are interpreted
as meaning only the later association of souls with buddhiand manas,
and also with the different bodies. It must also be said that the
souls are the conscious knowers, both by way of senses and by the
manas. The manas is explained as a special property or quality of
knowledge which the soul possesses and by virtue of which it is
a knower. This manas must be differentiated from a lower type of
manas which is a product ofprakrti, and which becomes associated
with the soul in the process of birth and rebirth through association
1 tesvapi sisrksd-samjihirddi-vyavahdrena siva-cicchakteh " cicchaktir artha-
samyogo- dhyaksam indriya-mdrgata" iti cicchakti-vrtti-nirgama-vyavahdrena
jlva-cicchaktes ca parindmitvam dviskrtam eveti bhdvah. Appaya Diksita s
commentary, Vol. n, p. 112.
xxxvi] Moral Responsibility 93
with the power of mdyd. This power gives it a special character as
a knower, by which it can enjoy or suffer pleasure and pain, and
which is limited to the body and the egoism. It is by virtue of this
manas that the soul is called a jiva. When through Brahma-
knowledge its threefold association with impurities is removed,
then it becomes like Brahman, and its self-knowledge in a liberated
state manifests itself. This knowledge is almost like Brahma-
knowledge. In this state the individual soul may enjoy its own
natural joy without the association of any of the internal organs,
merely by the manas. The manas there is the only internal organ
for the enjoyment of bliss and there is no necessity of any external
organs. The difference between the individual soul and God is
that the latter is omniscient and the former knows things only
particularly during the process of birth and rebirth. But in the
actual state of liberation the souls also become omniscient 1 .
Srikantha also holds that the souls are all atomic in size, and that
they are not of the nature of pure consciousness, but they all
possess knowledge as their permanent quality. In all these points
Srikantha differs from Sankara and is in partial agreement with
Ramanuja. Knowledge as consciousness is not an acquired quality
of the soul as with the Naiyayikas or the Vaisesikas, but it is
always invariably co-existent in the nature of the selves. The
individual souls are also regarded as the real agents of their actions,
and not merely illusory agents, as some philosophical theories hold.
Thus Samkhya maintains that the prakrti is the real agent and also
the real enjoyer of joys and sorrows, which are falsely attributed to
the individual souls. According to Srikantha, however, the souls
are both real agents and real enjoyers of their deeds. It is by the
individual will that a soul performs an action, and there is no
misattribution of the sense of agency as is supposed by Samkhya
or other schools of thought. The souls are ultimately regarded as
parts of Brahman, and Srikantha tries to repudiate the monistic
view that God falsely appears as an individual soul through the
limitations of causes and conditions (upddhif.
1 tat-sadrsa-gunatvdt apagata-samsdrasya jlvasya svarupdnanddnubhava-
sddhanam manorupam antah-karanam anapeksita-bdhya-karanam asti iti gamy ate.
jndjnau iti jlvasya ajnatvam kimcij jnatvam eva. asamsdrinah paramesvarasya tu
sarvajnatvam ucyate. atah samsdre kimcij jnatvam muktau sarvajnatvam itijndtd
eva dtmd. ^rikantha s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra, n. 3. 19, pp. 142-3.
2 Srikantha s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra, n, 3. 42-52.
94 Philosophy of Srlkantha [CH.
Regarding the view that karmas or deeds produce their own
effects directly, or through the intermediary of certain effects
called apurva, Srlkantha holds that the karmas being without any
intelligence (acetand) cannot be expected to produce the manifold
effects running through various births and various bodies. It has
therefore to be admitted that, as the karmas can be performed only
by the will of God operating in consonance with the original free
will of man, or as determined in later stages by his own karma, so
the prints of all the karmas are also distributed in the proper order
by the grace of God. In this way God is ultimately responsible on
the one hand for our actions, and on the other for the enjoyment
and suffering in accordance with our karmas, without any prejudice
to our moral responsibility as expressed in our original free
inclination or as determined later by our own deeds. 1
In the state of liberation the liberated soul does not become one
with the Brahman in its state of being without any qualities. The
Upanisadic texts that affirm that the Brahman is without any
qualities do so only with the view to affirm that Brahman has none
of the undesirable qualities, and that He is endowed with all
excellent qualities which are consistent with our notion of God.
When in the state of liberation the liberated souls become one with
the Brahman, it only means that they share with God all His
excellent qualities, but they never become divested of all qualities,
as the monistic interpretation of Sankara likes to explain. It has
been pointed out before that God may have many attributes at one
and the same time, and that such a conception is not self-contra
dictory if it is not affirmed that he has many qualities of a contra
dictory character at one and the same time. Thus, we can speak of
a lotus as being white, fragrant and big, but we cannot speak of it
as being both blue and white at the same time. 2
Srlkantha holds that only those karmas which are ripe for
producing fruits (prdrabdha-karma) will continue to give fruits, and
will do so until the present body falls away. No amount of know
ledge or intuition can save us from enjoying or suffering the fruits
of karma that we have earned, but if we attain true knowledge by
continuing our meditation on the nature of Siva as being one
with ourselves, we shall not have to suffer birth and rebirth of the
1 rlkantha s bhasya on Brahma-sutra, in. 2. 37-40.
2 Srikantha s bhasya on Brahma-sutra, in. 3. 40.
xxxvi] Moral Responsibility 95
accumulated karmas which had not yet ripened to the stage of
giving their fruits of enjoyment or suffering 1 .
When all the impurities (mala) are removed and a person is
liberated, he can in that state of liberation enjoy all blissful
experiences and all kinds of powers, except the power of creating
the universe. He can remain without a body and enjoy all happiness
through his mind alone, or he can at one and the same time
animate or recreate many spiritual bodies which transcend the laws
ofprakrti, and through them enjoy any happiness that he wishes to
have. In no case, however, is he at that stage brought under the
law of karma to suffer the cycles of birth and rebirth, but remains
absolutely free in himself in tune with the Lord Siva, with whom
he may participate in all kinds of pleasurable experiences. He thus
retains his personality and power of enjoying pleasures. He does
this only through his mind or through his immaterial body and
senses. His experiences would no longer be of the type of the
experiences of normal persons, who utilise experiences for attaining
particular ends. His experience of the world would be a vision of
it as being of the nature of Brahman 2 .
bhdsya on Brahma-sutra, iv. i. 19.
2 Srlkantfia s bhdsya on Brahma-sutra, iv. 4. 17-22.
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE SAIVA PHILOSOPHY IN THE PURANAS
The Saiva Philosophy in the iva-mahapurana.
WE shall discuss the antiquity of the Saiva religion and philosophy
in a separate section. It is a pity that it is extremely difficult, nay,
almost impossible, to trace the history of the continuous develop
ment of Saiva thought from earliest times. We can do no more
than make separate studies of different aspects of Saiva thought
appearing in different contexts, and then try to piece them together
into an unsatisfactory whole. This is largely due to various factors.
First, the Saiva thought was expressed both in Sanskrit and also
in Dravidian languages. We do not yet know definitely if the
Dravidian texts were but translations from Sanskrit sources, or
were only inspired by Sanskrit writings. Later writers, even in the
Puranas, hold that Siva was the author of all Saiva scriptures either
in Sanskrit or in Dravidian. This, of course, refers to the earliest
writings, the Agamas.
We do not know the exact date of the earliest Agamas. The word
dgama needs a little explanation. It means "texts that have come
down to us", and which are attributed either to God or to some
mythical personage. We have a list of twenty-eight Sivacaryas in
the Vdyaviya-samhitd of the iva-mahapurdna, and these have
been referred to as late as the tenth century A.D. But there is
nothing to prove the historical existence of these Saiva teachers,
nor do we know what Agamas we owe to each of them. We have no
direct knowledge of any Dravidian philosophical culture before the
Aryan culture had penetrated into the South. It is, therefore,
difficult to imagine how there could be Dravidian works of
philosophy which ran parallel to the Sanskrit works.
The other difficulty is that most of these supposed Agamas of
the past are not now available. Most of the Agamas that we get
now are written in Sanskrit in various Dravidian scripts. The
records of the schools of Saiva philosophy mentioned by Sankara
in his bhdsya on the Brahma-sutra must have been written in
Sanskrit, but the present writer is quite unable to identify all the
CH. xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Siva-mahapurdna 97
schools referred to in the seventh or eighth centuries with the
existing records of Saiva thought. There was a great upheaval of
Saiva thought from the twelfth century, contemporaneously with
the revival of Vaisnava thought in Ramanuja, but Ramanuja him
self does not refer to all the schools of Saivism referred to by
Sankara and Vacaspati Misra in his Bhdmatl commentary.
Ramanuja only mentions the Kalamukhas and the Kapalikas, and
no literature about their philosophical views is now available. The
Kapalika sect probably still exists here and there, and one may
note some of their practices, but so far we have not been able to
discover any literature on the practices of the Kalamukhas. But
we shall revert again to the problem when we discuss the antiquity
of Saiva thought and its various schools. The three schools of
Southern Saivism that are now generally known are the Vlra-
saivas, the Sivajnana-siddhi school and the school of Saivism as
represented by Srikantha. We have dealt with the Saivism of
Srikantha in two sections. The school of Pasupata-Saivism is
mentioned in the fourteenth century in Madhava s Sarva-darsana-
samgraha and the Pasupata school is referred to in the Mahdbhdrata
and many other Puranas. In the Siva-mahdpurdna, particularly in
the last section called the Vdyaviya-samhitd, we have a description
of the Pasupata philosophy. I shall, therefore, now try to collect
the description of the Pasupata system of thought as found in the
Vdyaviya-samhitd of the Siva-mahdpurdna.
The Siva-mahapurdna, according to the testimony of the
Purana itself, is supposed to have been a massive work of one
hundred thousand verses divided into seven sections, written by
Siva Himself. This big work has been condensed into twenty-four
thousand verses by Vyasa in the Kaliyuga. We know nothing about
the historicity of this Vyasa. He is supposed to have written most
of the Puranas. The present Siva-mahdpurdna, however, contains
seven sections, of which the last section called the Vdyaviya-
samhitd is divided into two parts and is supposed to elucidate the
view of the different schools of Saivism. According to our inter
pretation it shows only one school of Saivism, namely the Pasupata-
Saivism in two variant forms. None of the works that we have been
able to discover so far have been attributed to Siva or Mahesvara,
though Sankara in his bhdsya on the Brahma-sUtra n. 2, 37 refers
to Siddhanta works written by Mahesvara. We have traced some of
98 Saiva Philosophy in the Purdnas [CH.
the Agamas, but these Agamas are not called Siddhanta, nor are
they supposed to owe their authorship to Mahesvara. On the
evidence of the Siva-mahdpurdna, we have quite a number of
Saiva teachers who are regarded as incarnations of Siva and also
many of their disciples, but we know nothing about these mythical
teachers. One teacher called Upamanyu is often referred to in the
Vdyaviya-samhitd section as instructing the principles of Saivism.
The account of Saivism given by Sankara in his bhdsya referred to
above, is very meagre, but it seems to indicate that the Saivas
regarded prakrti as the material cause and Siva as the instrumental
or efficient cause; and it is this latter view that Sankara mainly
criticises as the school of Xsvara-karanins, implying thereby the
view that the Upanisads cannot tolerate the idea of a separate
efficient cause as Isvara. Vacaspati also points out that the prakrti
being the material cause could not be identified with the efficient
cause, the Isvara. In Saivism we are faced with the problem of
solving the issue between Sankara and the Saivas. Our treatment
of Srikantha s bhdsya has shown the direction in which the Saivas
want to solve the difficulty, but Srikantha s bhdsya is probably a
work not earlier than the eleventh century, and many other works
of Saivism can be traced only as far back as the twelfth century A.D.
On the testimony of the Siva-mahdpurdna, which must have been
written before the time of Sankara, we know that Saiva works by
great Saiva teachers were written both for those who adhered to
the Varndsrama dharma and for those who did not care for the
Varndsrama dharma and were not privileged to study the Vedas.
The latter class of works must therefore have been the Dravidian
works of the South, many of which are now lost, and of which only
some traditions are available in the Sanskrit Agamas. We have
already dealt with these in another section. We shall have occasion
to show that the Kasmlr form of Saivism was more or less contem
poraneous with Sankara.
In the second section of the Siva-mahdpurdna called the
Rudra-samhitd, we are told that at the time of the great dissolution,
when all things were destroyed, there was only darkness, no sun, no
planets, no stars, no moon, and no day and night ; there is only pure
vacuity devoid of all energy. There was no sensibility of any kind ;
it was a state when there was neither being nor non-being; it was
beyond all mind and speech, beyond all name and form. But yet
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Siva-mahdpurdna 99
in that neutral state there existed only the pure being, the pure
consciousness, infinite and pure bliss, which was immeasurable and
a state in itself; it had no form and was devoid of all qualities 1 . This
was purely of the nature of pure consciousness, without beginning
and end and without any development. Gradually there arose
a second desire or will by which the formless was changed into
some form by its own playful activities. This may be regarded
as the all-creating pure energy, of which there is no parallel. The
form created by this energy is called saddsiva. People also call
Him Isvara, or God. The lone energy, spontaneously moving,
created from itself its own eternal body, which is called pradhana,
prakrti, or maya, and which generates the category of buddhi. This
mdyd or prakrti is the creator of all beings and is regarded as
coming into contact with the supreme purusa, the Siva, called
Sambhu, who is different from God. This sakti or energy is also
regarded as kdla or time.
From prakrti came the mahat or buddhi and from buddhi came
the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas, and from them the three
fold ahankdra. From ahankdra came the tanmdtras, the five bhutas,
the five conative senses, and the five cognitive senses, and manas.
In the Kaildsa-samhitd of the Siva-mahdpurdna the view of
Saivism is described as being the Sivadvaita system or the monistic
theory of Saivism 2 . It is said here that since all living beings are
constituted of a male and a female part, the original cause must also
be represented by a male and a female principle united. As a matter
of fact, the Samkhyas had taken that idea from this statement, and
had regarded the original cause as being prakrti and purusa. But
they tried to establish it merely on rational grounds ; they were not
disposed to establish it in a theistic sense. For that reason, though
some of the Samkhya categories may be accepted, yet the Samkhya
philosophy as a whole, being a purely rationalistic system, ought
to be abandoned. The Brahman is regarded in the Vedas as being
the unity of sat, cit and dnanda, and it is in the neuter gender. The
satyam jndnam anantam ca pardnandam param-mahah.
aprameyam anddhdram avikdram andkrti,
nirgunam yogigamyan ca sarva-vydpyeka-kdrakam.
Siva-mahdpurdna, n. i. 6, nc, d-iz.
utpdtya ajndna-sambhutam samsaydkhyam visa-drumam,
sivddvaita-mahd-kalpa-vrk$a-bhumir yathd bhavet.
Ibid. vi. 1 6. ii.
7-2
ioo Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
being represented in Brahman means that all negation of being is
excluded. The neuter character of the being represents the fact
that it is the purusa, and this purusa also is of an illuminating
nature. The pure consciousness in the unity of sat-cid-ananda
represents the female part. So the two parts that are regarded as
male and female are the illuminating part (prakdsa) and the pure
consciousness, and these two together are the generating causes of
the world. So in the unity of sac-cid-dnanda we have the unity of
Siva and Sakti. This illumination is also sometimes impeded, as
the flame of a wick is impeded by smoke and other impurities.
These are the malas which do not belong to Siva, but are seen in
the fire of pure consciousness. It is on this account that the
cicchakti or the energy of pure consciousness is seen in an impure
state in human souls. It is for the expulsion of this mala that the
pervasiveness of sakti or energy is to be assumed as existing in all
time. Sakti thus is the symbol of bala or strength. In the para-
mdtman there is both the Siva-aspect and the sakti-aspect. It is by
the connection of Siva and Sakti that there is dnanda or bliss. The
Atman is pure consciousness and this consciousness holds within
it all knowledge and all energy ; it is independent and free, and that
is its nature. In the Siva-sutra, jndna or knowledge has been
described as a bondage, but the word jndna there means only
finite, limited or turbid knowledge which all human beings have,
and in this way alone can knowledge be regarded as bondage.
The Sakti or energy is also called spanda or vibration. Know
ledge, movement and will are like the three sides of Siva, and
human beings get their inspiration from between these. As we
have said above, the Siva and Sakti combined gives the supreme
sakti called pardJakti, and from this pardsakti there evolves the
cicchakti or power of consciousness. From this comes the sakti or
bliss or dnanda-sakti, from this the will-power or iccha-sakti, and
from this come jndna-sakti y or power of knowledge, and the power
of motivation, or kriyd-sakti. The first category of vibration in the
category of Siva is called siva-tattva. The world and the souls are
entirely identical with Siva, and such a knowledge leads to
liberation.
The supreme Lord contracts Himself and manifests Himself as
the individual purusas or souls who enjoy the qualities oftheprakrti.
This enjoyment takes place through the function of fivefold kald,
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Siva-mahapurdna 101
such as that which leads the individual to action ; that which leads
him to discover the true reality of twofold vidyd\ that which
attaches him to the objects of sense (rdgd)\ kdla or time which
makes things happen in succession; niyati y which is used in a
peculiar sense, not of destiny but of conscience, that is, it is the
factor by which one decides what one should do or not do 1 .
The purusa or the individual souls possess in a cumulative way
the qualities of knowledge, will, etc. The so-called citta or the
psychic plane is constituted of the various qualities existent in the
prakrti. From buddhi come the various senses and subtle matter.
The system of thought referred to above, the Sivadvaita
system, is arranged in rather a clumsy manner. The points that
emerge from the above statements can be briefly summarised.
First, it regards the Brahman as being an undifferentiated Being
or Non-being, when there is nothing but void in the universe.
From this Being-and-Non-being, the Brahman, there sprang forth
an entity which represents within it the two principles of male and
female energy which pervades all living beings. It is out of this
principle, the Siva, that we have, on the one hand the individual
selves which are but contractions of the nature of the supreme
Lord, and on the other we have the world evolving out of the
female energy side, the prakrti, more or less in the Samkhya
fashion. The purusa is supposed to have within him fivefold
categories, through which he can experience joys and sufferings of
his intercourse with the world as such. These individuals, on
account of the contraction that they suffered, show themselves as
impure as a flame in a wick appears smoky. Thus the whole system
tends towards a sort of monism without being purely idealistic.
The closeness or its affinity with Srikantha s philosophy will be
immediately apparent, though there are differences in the mode of
expression. There are certain passages which remind us of some
form of Kasmir Saivism, which though a monism, is largely
different from the monism as expressed herein. We also find here
a reference to the spanda theory of Kasmir Saivism. But in spite
of this we need not think that the monistic Saivism was first
enunciated in this Purana or in this chapter. We shall have occasion
to show that some form of distinctly monistic Saivism with relative
idam tu mama kartavyam idam neti niydmikd,
niyatis sydt.. . . Siva-mahdpurdna, vi. 16, 83.
102 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
bias could be traced to the beginnings of the Christian era. The
Kasmlr Saivism flourished probably from the seventh to the
eleventh century A.D. It may, therefore, be thought that the
chapter under reference of the &rca-mdhapurana was probably
written somewhere about the ninth or the tenth century A.D.,
which may also be regarded as the time of Srikantha, though we
are not sure if he flourished somewhere at the eleventh century A.D.
after Ramanuja. We discuss these matters further in the appropriate
sections.
In the second chapter of the Rudra-samhita of the Siva-mahd-
purdna 1 , Siva is supposed to say that the highest reality, the
knowledge of which brings liberation, is pure consciousness, and
in that consciousness there is no differentiation between the self
and the Brahman 2 . But strangely enough Siva seems to identify
bhakti or devotion with knowledge. There can be no knowledge
without bhakti*. When there is bhakti or devotion, there is no
distinction of caste in the way of attaining the grace of God. Siva
then classifies the different types of bhakti. The nature of devotion,
as described in this chapter under consideration, shows that bhakti
was not regarded as an emotional outburst, as we find in the
Caitanya school of bhakti. Here bhakti is regarded as listening to
the name of Siva, chanting it, and meditating on Him as well as
worshipping Him and regarding oneself as the servitor to Siva, and
also to develop the spirit of friendship through which one can
surrender oneself to God Siva. The chanting of the name of Siva
is to be associated with the legendary biography of Siva as given in
the Puranas. The meditation on Siva is regarded as amounting to the
development of the idea that Siva is all-pervasive and is omnipresent.
And this makes the devotee fearless. It is through bhakti that true
knowledge and the disinclination to worldly things can occur.
In iv. 41 four types of liberation are described as sdrupya,
salokya, sannidhya, and sayujya. We have already discussed in the
fourth volume the nature of those types of liberation which are also
1 iva-mahapurana II. 2. 23.
paratattvam vijarOht vijndnam paramesrari
dviEyam smaranam yatra naham brahmeti suddhadhih.
Siva-mahapurana n. 2. 23. 13.
bhaktau jnane na bhedo hi. . .
vijnanam na bhavaty eua sati bhakti-virodhtnah.
Ibid. ii. 2. 23. 16.
xxxvii] Scdva Philosophy in the Siva-mahapurana 103
admitted by the followers of the Madhva school of Vaisnavas. And
this liberation is only granted by Siva who is beyond all the gunas
oi prakrti.
The ultimate nature of Siva is described here (iv. 41) as being
changeless (nircikarin) and beyond prakrti. He is of the nature of
pure knowledge, unchangeable, all-perceiving. The fifth kind of
liberation called the katealya can be attained only by the knowledge
of Siva and His ultimate nature. The whole world springs out of
Him and returns to Him and is always pervaded by Him. He is
also designated as being the unit} of being, consciousness, and
bliss (sac-cid-ananda); He is without any qualities or conditions,
pure, and cannot be in any way made impure. He has no colour,
no form and no measure. Words cannot describe Him and thoughts
cannot reach Him. It is the Brahman which is also called Siva.
Just as space (dkasa) pervades all things, so He pervades all things.
He is beyond the range of maya and beyond conflict (d candvatitd).
He can be attained either through knowledge or through devotion,
but the way of devotion is easier to follow than the way of know
ledge. In the next chapter (iv. 42) it is said that it is from Siva,
the ultimate Brahman, that prakrti as associated with purusa
(individual souls) is produced 1 . This evolution of prakrti as
associated with purusa is called the category of Rudra, which is
only a transformation of Siva, the highest Brahman, just as golden
ornaments may be regarded as transformations of gold. The form
less Siva is considered as having a form only for the advantage of
meditation.
All that one can know or see in the universe, in the highest or
the lowest, is only Siva, and the character of things in their
plurality is formed from Him. Siva alone remains the same
unchangeable reality before the creation, and at the dissolution of
the creation. The pure Siva is regarded as qualified only when one
considers Him as being the possessor of sakti or energy with which
in reality He is identical. It is through the will of Siva that all
operations in the world can go on. He knows them all, but no one
knows Him. Having created the world He remains away from it
and is not involved with it. But it is in His form as pure conscious
ness that He is seen in and through the world, as the sun is seen in
tasmat prakrtir utpannd purusena samarrcitd.
Ibid. iv. 42. 3.
104 Saiva Philosophy in the Purdnas [CH.
his reflections. In actuality Siva does not enter into this world of
change. In reality Siva is the whole of the world, though the
world appearances seem to occur in a time series of discontinuity.
Ajndna or nescience only means misunderstanding, it is not a
substance that stands by Brahman and could be regarded as a dual
entity 1 .
According to the Vedantins the reality is one, and the individual
soul (jivd), which gets deluded by avidyd or nescience and thinks
itself to be different from the Brahman, is only a part of it. But when
released from the grasp of nescience it becomes one with Siva, and
Siva, as we have already said, pervades all things without being
actually in them. One can attain liberation by following the path
indicated by the Vedanta. As fire, which exists in the wood, can
be manifested by the constant rubbing of the wood, so by the
various processes of devotion one can attain Siva, but one must be
convinced of the fact that whatever exists is Siva, and it is only
through illusion that various names and forms appear before us 2 .
Just as the ocean, or a piece of gold, or a piece of mud may appear
in various shapes, though actually they remain the same, so it is
only by various conditions through which we look at things that
they appear so different, though they are actually nothing but
Siva. There is actually no difference between the cause and the
effect 3 , yet through illusion one thinks of something as cause and
something else as effect. From the seed comes the shoot, appearing
as different from the seed, but ultimately the shoot grows into a
tree and fructifies and thereby reduces itself into fruit and seed.
The seed stays on and produces other shoots and the original tree
is destroyed. The true seer is like the seed from which there are
many transformations, and when these have ceased we have again
the true seer. With the removal of nescience (avidyd) a person is
dissociated from egoism and becomes pure, and then through the
grace of God Siva he becomes what he really is, that is, Siva. Just
1 ajnanam ca mater bhedo nasty anyacca dvayam punah.
9 : darsanesu ca sarveu mati-bhedah pradarsyate.
giva-mahdpurdna iv. 43. 8 c, d.
2 bhrantyd ndnd-svarupo hi bhdsate sankaras sada.
Ibid. iv. 43. 150, d.
3 kdrya-kdranayor bhedo vastuto na pravartate,
kevalam bhrdnti-buddhyaiva tad-dbhdve sa nasyati.
Ibid. iv. 43. 17.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Siva-mahdpurdna 105
as in a mirror one can see one s body reflected, so one can see one
self reflected in one s pure mind, that is Siva, which is one s real
character.
We thus see that in this school of Saivism as described in the
Siva-mahdpurdna IV. 43, we have a monistic system of Saivism
which is very much like the monistic system of Sarikara. It believes
that the plurality of appearance is false, and that the only reality is
Brahman or Siva. It also believes that this false appearance is due
to the interference of nescience. It does not admit any difference
between cause and effect, but yet it seems to adhere to the mono
theistic faith that God Siva can bestow liberation on those who are
devoted to Him, though it does not deny that the Brahman can be
attained by the way indicated in the Upanisads. It says thatjndna
comes from bhakti or devotion, from bhakti comes love (prema),
and from prema one gets into the habit of listening to episodes
about the greatness of Siva, and from that one comes into contact
with saintly people, and from that one can attain one s preceptor.
When in this way true knowledge is attained, one becomes liberated.
The practice of the worship of the preceptor is also introduced
here. It is said that if one gets a good and saintly preceptor, one
should worship him as if he were Siva Himself, and in this way the
impurities of the body will be removed, and it will be possible for
such a devotee to attain knowledge.
We thus see that in this chapter, though Saivism is interpreted
purely on Vedantic lines, the doctrine of theism and the doctrine
of preceptor worship are somehow grafted into it, though such
doctrines cannot fit in with the monism of the Upanisads as
interpreted by Sahkara. This system, therefore, seems to present a
specimen of Saivism different from what we had in the second
book of the Siva-mahdpurdna^ and different also from the
philosophy of Saivism as presented by Srikantha and Appaya
Diksita.
io6 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
Saiva Philosophy in the Vayavlya-samhiid of
the Siva-mahapurana.
The Siva-mahapurdna seems to be a collection of seven treatises,
called Samhitas, dealing with different aspects of the worship of
Siva, myths of Siva, and philosophy of Saivism. Though there is
a general agreement on the fundamental patterns of Saiva thought
in the various systems of Saivism, yet these patterns often present
marked differences, which ought to be noted for the sake of a
detailed study of Saivism. This is particularly so, as no other
system of thought which had spread so far and wide all over India
from the days of the hoary past has suffered so much mutilation
and destruction of its literature as did Saivism. We have some older
records in the Vedas and the Upanisads, and also in the Indus
Valley Civilization period, but the systematic Saiva thought has
lost most of its traces from pre-Christian times, until we come to
the ninth or tenth centuries A.D. Most of the Agama works
written in Sanskrit and in Dravidian are not now available, and
it is even difficult to identify the systems of Saiva thought as
referred to by Sankara in the eighth century A.D. Our treatment
of Saivism can therefore be only gleanings from here and there,
and it will not have any proper historical perspective. Even
writers in the eleventh or the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are
unable to indicate the proper texts and their mutual relations, at
least so far as Sanskrit works are concerned. Much of what is
written about the Dravidian texts and their authors is either
mythological or largely unhistorical. Even the Siva-mahdpurdna
seems to be a composite work written at different times. It consists
of collections of thought more or less different from each other,
and points to different levels of attitude of Saiva thought. It is not
therefore possible to give a consistent account of the whole work
of the Siva-mahdpurdna ; I have accordingly attempted to give an
estimate of Saivism as delineated in Chapters n, iv, vi and vn.
But as the philosophical level of the seventh Samhita, the Vdya-
vtya-samhitd, seems to be somewhat different from that of the
Siva-mahdpurdna, I shall try briefly to review the contents of the
xxxvi i] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhitd 107
Vdyavlya-samhitd, which may be regarded as a school of Pasupata
Saivism. I shall try later on to give estimates of other forms of
Saivism so far as they have been available to me.
In vn. i. 2. 19 of the Vdyavlya-samhitd, the ultimate God is
regarded as being the original cause, the cause of maintenance, as
the ground, and also as the cause of destruction of all things. He
is called the ultimate purusa, the Brahman, or the paramdtman.
Thepradhdna or theprakrti is regarded as His body, and He is also
regarded as the agent who disturbs the equilibrium of prakrti 1 .
He manifests Himself in twenty-three different categories and yet
remains absolutely undisturbed and unchanged. Though the
world has been created and maintained by the supreme Lord, yet
people do not know him under the delusion of mdyd or nescience.
In vii. i. 3 it is said that the ultimate cause is that which is
unspeakable and unthinkable, and it is that from which the gods
Brahma, Visnu and Rudra have sprung forth, together with all
gross matter and sense faculties. He is the cause of all causes and
is not produced from any other cause. He is omnipotent and the
Lord of all. The supreme Lord stands silent and rooted in one
place like a tree and yet He pervades the whole universe. Every
thing else in the universe is moving excepting their final cause, the
Brahman. He alone is the inner controller of all beings, but yet
He Himself cannot be recognised as such, though He knows all.
Eternal power, knowledge, and action belong naturally to Him.
All that we know as destructible (ksara) and indestructible (aksara)
have sprung from the supreme Lord, by whose ideation they have
come into being. In the end of the mdyd, the universe will vanish
with the disappearance of the individual souls 2 . The supreme Lord,
like an omnipotent artist, has painted the canvas of world appear
ance, and this appearance will ultimately return to Him. Every
being is under His control and He can only be realised through
supreme devotion (bhakti). Only the true devotees can have any
real communication with Him. The creation is gross and subtle,
the former is visible to all, and the latter only to the yogins, but
beyond that there is a supreme Lord of eternal knowledge and
namah pradhdna-dehdya pradhdna-ksobha-kdrine,
trayo-vimsati-bhedena vikrtdy-dvikdrine.
Vdyavlya-samhitd vn. i. 2. 19.
bhuyo yasya pasor ante visva-mdyd nivartate.
Ibid. vn. i. 3. 13.
io8 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
bliss, and unchangeable. Devotion to God is also due to the
extension of grace by God. As a matter of fact, the grace is pro
duced out of devotion and the devotion is produced out of grace,
just as the tree grows out of a seedling and a seedling grows out of
a tree.
When one tries to think oneself as being of the nature of the
supreme Lord, then His grace is extended to such a person and
this increases his merit and his sins are attenuated. By a long
process of attenuation of sins through many births, there arises
devotion to God, as the supreme Lord with the proper conscious
ness of it. As a result of that there is a further extension of grace,
and in consequence of that one can leave off all desires for the fruits
of one s action, though one may be working all the same.
By the renunciation of the fruits of karma, one becomes
associated with the faith in Siva. This can be either through a
preceptor or without a preceptor. The former is much preferable
to the latter. Through knowledge of Siva one begins to discover
the sorrows of the cycles of birth and rebirth. In consequence of
that there is a disinclination to all sense-objects (vairdgya). From
this comes emotion (bhdva) for the supreme Lord, and through
this emotion one is inclined to meditation, and one is then
naturally led to renounce actions. When one thus concentrates and
meditates on the nature of Siva one attains the state of yoga. It is
through this yoga again that there is a further increase of devotion,
and through that a further extension of the grace of God. At the
end of this long process the individual is liberated, and he then
becomes equal to Siva (siva-sama), but he can never become Siva.
The process of the attainment of liberation may be different in
accordance with the fitness of the person concerned.
In vn. i. 5 Vayu is supposed to say that the knowledge ofpasu,
the individual souls, pdsa or the bondage, and pati, the supreme
Lord, is the ultimate object to all knowledge and faith, and this
only can lead to supreme happiness. All sorrows proceed from
ignorance, and they are removed through knowledge. Knowledge
means limitation by objectivity. This objectivisation through
knowledge may be with reference to material objects and non-
material things (jada and ajada). The supreme Lord controls them
both. The individual souls are indestructible and are therefore
called aksara] the bondage (pdsa) is destructible and therefore
xxxvn] Saw a Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhitd 109
called ksara ; and that, which is beyond these two, is the supreme
Lord.
Vayu, in further explaining the subject, says that prakrti can be
regarded as ksara, and purusa as the aksara, and the supreme
Lord moves them both to action. Again prakrti is identified with
may a and purusa is supposed to be encircled by may a. The contact
between maya and the purusa is through one s previous deeds by
the instrumentality of God. The maya is described as the power
of God. The impurity or mala consists in its power to veil the nature
of consciousness of the souls. When divested of this mala the purusa
returns to its original natural purity. The association of the veil
of maya with the soul is due, as we have said before, to previous
deeds and this gives the opportunity for enjoying the fruits of our
actions. In connection with this, one should also note the category of
kald which means knowledge, attachment, time, and niyati or destiny.
The individual person enjoys all this through his state of bondage.
He also enjoys and suffers the fruits of his good and bad deeds. The
association with the impurities (mala) is without a beginning, but
it may be destroyed with the attainment of liberation. All our ex
periences are intended for experiencing the fruits of our karma
through the gates of our external and internal senses and our body.
Vidyd or knowledge is here defined as that which manifests
space and action (dik-kriyd-vyanjakd vidyd). Time or kdla is that
which limits or experiences (kdlo vacchedakah), and niyati is that
which determines the order of things, and rdga or attachment
impels one to do actions. The avyakta is the cause consisting of
the three gunas \ from it come all objects and to it everything
returns. This prakrti, called also pradhdna or avyakta, manifests
itself in the form of pleasure, pain, and numbness. The method of
the manifestation of the prakrti is called kald. The three gunas,
sattva, rajas and tamas come out of prakrti. This is distinctively a
new view, different from the classical Samkhya theory. In the
classical Samkhya theory, prakrti is merely the state of equilibrium
of the three gunas, and there prakrti is nothing but that which is
constituted of the equilibrium between the three gunas. These
gunas permeate through the prakrti in a subtle state as oil permeates
through the seeds of sesamum. It is out of the modification of the
avyakta or pradhdna that the five tanmdtras and five gross matter-
elements, as well as five cognitive and five conative senses and the
no Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
manas, come into being. It is the causal state as such that is called
the unmanifested or the avyakta. The effects as transformations are
called the vyakta or the manifested; just as a lump of clay may be
regarded as the unmanifested and the earthen vessels made out of
it are regarded as the manifested. The manifold world of effects
find their unity in the unmanifested prakrti, and all bodies, senses,
etc. are regarded as being enjoyed through purusa.
Vayu, in further explaining the subject, says that, though it is
difficult to find out any proper reason for admitting a universal
soul, yet one is forced to admit a universal entity which experiences
the enjoyments and sufferings, and which is different from
intellect, the senses, and the body. This entity is the permanent
enjoyer of all human experiences, even when the body perishes
(aydvad-deha-vedandt). It is this universal entity to which all
objects of experience appeal, it is called the inner controller in the
Vedas and the Upanisads. It pervades all things, yet it manifests
itself here and there under certain circumstances and is itself
unperceivable. It cannot be seen by the eye nor by any of the
senses. It is only by the right wisdom of the mind that this great
soul or Atman can be realised. It is unchangeable in all changes
and it is the perceiver of all things, though it cannot be perceived
itself. Such a great soul is different from the body and the senses,
and those who consider it as being identical with the body cannot
perceive it. It is by being associated with the body that it under
goes all impurities and suffering, and is drawn to the cycles of
births and rebirths by its own deeds. As a field that is flooded
with water soon generates new shoots, so in the field of ignorance
the karma begins to shoot up and produce bodies which are the
source of all miseries. Through the cycle of birth and rebirth one
has to experience the fruits of one s karma and so the process goes
on. This universal entity appears as many and manifests various
intellectual shades in different persons 1 . All our human relations
are accidental and contingent, like two pieces of floating wood
drawn together by the waves and then separated again. All beings,
from the plants to Brahma, are the pasus or manifestations of this
chdditas ca viyuktas ca sanrair esu laksyate,
candra-bimba-vad akase taralair abhra-sancayath,
aneka-deha-bhedena bhinna vrttir ihatmanah.
Siva-mahapurana vn. i. 5. 56 et seq.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhitd
in
purusa. It is the purusa that is bound by the ties of pleasure and
pain, and is like the plaything of the great Lord. It is ignorant and
impotent, and cannot provide for its pleasure or arrange for the
dispelling of sorrow.
We have already seen the nature of the pasu and the pdsa. The
pdsa is the energy or sakti of Siva manifesting itself as prakrti\ it
evolves the material world, the subjective world, as well as pleasures
and pains, which fetter the universal soul, the pasu, appearing as
many under different conditions and circumstances. We cannot
fail to note that the purusa or Atman here is not many as the
purusas of the Samkhya or the Atmans of the Nyaya, or of some
other systems of Saiva thought. The idea of the Vedantic monism
is eclectically introduced here, and we are faced with the concep
tion of one purusa which appears as many in different bodies under
different conditions. This one purusa is all-pervading, and it is on
account of its being reflected through various conditions that it
appears in various divergent forms of things, ranging from Brahma
to a blade of grass.
But the supreme Lord who possesses an infinite number of
excellent and attractive qualities is the creator of both the pasu and
the pdsa. Without Him there could not be any creation of the
universe, for both the pasu and the pdsa are inanimate and without
knowledge. We must remember that according to Samkhya the
purusas are nothing but pure consciousness, but here they are
regarded as the reflection of one conscious entity appearing as many
through its being reflected in various conditions or environments.
Beginning from the prakrti down to the atoms, we have only the
inanimate things entering into various modifications. This could
not have been if they were not created and moulded by an intelli
gent creator. This world consisting of parts is an effect, and must
therefore have an agent to fashion it. The agency as the supreme
Lord, the Creator, belongs to Siva and not to the soul or to the
bondage. The soul itself is moved into activity by the motivity of
God. When an individual thinks of himself as the agent of his
action, it is only a wrong impression of the nature of causality
(ayathd-karana-jndna). It is only when one knows oneself to be
different from the true motivating agent that one may ultimately
attain immortality. The ksara and aksara, that is, the pdsa and the
pasu y are all associated with each other and they are both main-
ii2 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
tained by the supreme Lord in their manifested and unmanifested
forms. The so-called plurality itself is pervaded by the supreme
Lord. God alone is the Lord of all and the refuge of all. Though
one, He can uphold the universe by His manifold energies.
This sixth chapter of the first part of the Vdyaviya-samhitd
deals mostly with the contents derived from the Svetasvatara
Upanisad and may be regarded as an expansion of the philosophy
of the Svetasvatara Upanisad. The Lord Himself pervades all
things and there is no tinge of impurity in Him. Various other
texts of the Upanisad are also collated with it for the same purpose,
and the Brahman is identified with Siva. In the previous volumes
of the present work, attempts have been made to show that the
Upanisads were interpreted in the Brahma-sutras, in the Glta, and
also in the commentaries of the various schools of interpreters of
the Brahma-sutras in accordance with the specific views of the
relevant authors. In the iva-mahdpurana we find also the same
attempt to adapt the Upanisadic texts for the promulgation of the
Saiva view of philosophy. It is again and again emphasised that
there is only one Lord and there is no one second to Him, yet the
idea of mdyd or prakrti is introduced to explain the transformation
of the world of appearance. We have seen before that mdyd is
regarded as the energy or sakti of Brahman. But we do not find
much discussion about the relationship of this energy with God.
It is said also in accordance with the Upanisads that God is
naturally endowed with knowledge and power. But we have not
the philosophical satisfaction to know what is exactly the nature of
knowledge and power, and how this power is exerted, and what
knowledge can mean in relation to the supreme Lord, who has no
senses and no manas.
In vii. i. 6. 67 the Lord is described as one who produces time
and is the Lord of all the gunas and the liberator of all bondage.
A question is raised as regards the nature of kdla or time. In reply
to such a question Vayu says that kdla appears before us in the
form of successive moments and durations. The real essence of
kdla is the energy of Siva. Kdla therefore cannot be outstripped
by any being whatsoever. It is, as it were, the ordering power of
God 1 . The kdla thus is an energy of God that emanates from Him
1 niyogarupam isasya balam visva-niyamakam.
$iva-mahapur&na vn. i. 7. 7.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyaviya-samhitd 113
and pervades all things. For this reason everything is under the
domination of time. But Siva is not fettered by time ; He is the
master of all time. The unrestricted power of God is manifested
through time, and for this reason no one can transcend the limits
of time. No amount of wisdom can take us beyond time, and
whatever deeds are done in time cannot be outstripped. It is time
which decides the fates and destinies of persons in accordance with
their deeds, yet no one can say what is the nature of the essence of
time.
We have so far seen that the prakrti as superintended by
purusa evolves as the world before us by the inexorable will and
order of God. The order of the evolution of the prakrti or the
avyakta into different categories is more like what we have in the
classical Samkhya. The creation is a process of emanation or
emergence from the state of avyakta in the well-known classical
line of Samkhya, and the dissolution takes place by a process of
retrogression, in which the same process is reversed until the
whole world of appearance returns to avyakta or prakrti.
Turning again to the nature and function of Siva, the supreme
Lord, it is said that there is nothing but the tendency for helping
others that may be regarded as the essential nature of Siva. He has
nothing to do but help all beings to attain their best through their
actions. He is otherwise without any specific character, except to
be of service to the world consisting of the pasu and the pdsa. This
extension of the grace of the Lord is often described as His
ordering will. It is for the fulfilment of the function of the Lord s
will that one has to admit the existence of something for the good
of which the will of the Lord goes forward. For this reason God
may not be said to be dependent on others for the exercise of His
will. It is in and through the function of His will that things come
into being and move forward in an orderly process in accordance
with karma. The independence of God means that He is not
dependent on anything else; dependence means the condition in
which one thing depends on another 1 .
The whole world is supposed to be dependent on ajnana or
nescience, there is nothing of reality in the visible appearance of
the world. All the characters of Siva as described in the scriptures
1 atah svatantrya-sabdarthan anapeksatva-laksanah.
Ibid. vn. i. 31. 7.
DV 8
ii4 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
are only conditional assumptions; in reality there is no form that
one can ascribe to Siva 1 .
All that has been said so far about the evolution of the world is
based upon logical assumptions, while the transcendental reality of
God is beyond all logic. It is by imagining God to be something
of the nature of our Atman that we attribute the supreme lordship to
Him. Just as fire is different from the wood but cannot be seen with
out it, so we ascribe the lordship to Siva, in and through the persons
in whom He is manifested. It is by a similar extension of thought
that the image of Siva is also regarded as Siva and is worshipped.
Siva always helps all beings and never does harm to anyone.
When it may seem apparent that he has punished somebody, it is
only for the good of others. In many cases the punishment awarded
by Siva is for purging the impurities of the beings concerned. The
basis of all good and evil deeds is to be found in the ordinance of
God, that one must behave in this way and not in the other way.
Goodness means abidance in accordance with His will. He who is
engaged always in doing good to others is following the command
ment of God, and he cannot be made impure. God only punishes
those who could not be brought to the right path by any other
course, but his punishment is never due to any spirit of anger or
resentment. He is like the father who chastises the son to teach
him the proper course. He who tyrannises over others deserves to
be chastened. God does not injure others to cause them pain,
but only to chasten them and make them fitter for the right
path. He is like a doctor who gives bitter medicine for curing
a malady. If God remained indifferent to the vices and sins of
beings, then that would also be improper for Him, for that
would be a way of encouraging people to follow the wrong path ;
and that also would be denying the proper protection to persons
who ought to be protected and whom God is able to protect. The
Lord Siva is like fire; on contact with Him all impurities are
resolved. When a piece of iron is put into fire, it is the fire that
burns and not the iron; so all the inanimate objects of the world
are pervaded by Siva, the supreme Lord, and He alone shines
through all the appearances.
1 ajnanddhisthitam sambhor na kincid iha vidyate,
yenopalabhyate smabhis sakalendpi niskalah.
Siva-mahapurana vn. i. 31. 9 et seq.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhitd 115
The grace of Siva is not like the ordinary good qualities of
friendship, charity, etc., but it cannot be regarded as a good or a
bad quality. It means only the will of God leading to the benefit of
all beings. Obedience to His commandments may be regarded as
identical with the highest good, and the highest good is the same
as obedience to His commandments. God, therefore, may be
regarded as doing good to all and not merely to one individual. In
this manner the individual good is associated with the good of
humanity at large, and this can only be effected when all beings
follow the commandments of God. The things in the world would
behave in their own manners according to their specific nature. It
is the function of God to make them grow in consonance with one
another as far as their nature should permit. The natural character
of things is an important limitation to the scope of this develop
ment. One can only melt gold by fire, but not charcoal, so God
can only liberate those whose impurities have been purged, but
not those who are still in an impure condition. Things which
naturally can evolve into some other thing can be made to do so
by the will of God. So God s will is only effective when it acts in
co-operation with the natural tendency and the effective limits of
the things. The individual souls are naturally full of impurities,
and it is for that reason that they pass through the cycle of birth
and rebirth. The association of the souls with karma and illusion is
really what is called samsara, the passage through the cycle of
birth and rebirth. Since Siva is not associated with any such karma
and is absolutely pure, He can be the real agent for the motivation
for the development of the animate and inanimate world. The
impurity of the soul is natural to the soul and not accidental.
In the theory of the classical Samkhya as represented in the
karikd of Isvarakrisna or the Sdmkhya-sutra, the teleology is made
to abide in the prakrti, which out of its own necessity impels the
prakrti to evolve in the twofold scheme of the psychical and the
physical world for serving the purusas in twofold ways of the
experience of pleasure and pain, and the attainment of liberation
through knowledge. In this sense prakrti is supposed to move for
the fulfilment of the purpose of the purusas. In the Patanjala
school of Samkhya, called also the Yoga-sutra as explained by
Vyasa and Vacaspati, the gunas forming the prakrti have a natural
obstruction which limits their scope of development. It is admitted
8-2
n6 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
that there is the permanent will of God, that things would evolve
in particular directions in accordance with the karma of the
individuals. The energy of theprakrti or the gunas flows naturally
in the direction from which the obstruction has been removed.
God does not of Himself push the prakrti to move in a particular
direction. The function lies in the removal of obstructions in the
way of the development in particular channels. Had there been no
such obstruction or if all obstructions were removed, then every
thing could have become every other thing. There would be no
definite order of evolution and no limitation to various conditions
and by time and place. In the system that we are now dealing with
the natural obstructions of individuals are frankly admitted as
being due to the existence of impurities, and it is held that by the
all-pervading nature of God the souls can be emancipated only
when the natural obstructions are washed off. For this purpose
the individual persons have to exert themselves and through the
near proximity of God, the process of pacification is held; this is
called the grace of God, not grace in the ordinary sense of the term,
but a cosmic operation which helps all things and persons to
develop in accordance with their respective deserts. The command
ment of God is not like the commandment of a Mosaic god, but it
simply means the carrying on of the cosmic process for the good
of all. In the carrying out of this process some people must suffer
for their own good and some people may attain rewards according
to their merits. God Himself transcends all the appearances of the
world ; He does not actually exert His will to effect anything, but
the very fact that all things are pervaded by Him produces the
removal of such impurities as are consistent with the development
of the cosmos as a whole.
Though the soul is the same, yet some of the souls are in
bondage, as also, there are others who are in a state of liberation.
Those who are in bondage may also be in different conditions of
progress and may have accordingly different kinds of knowledge
and power. The impurities associated with the soul may be
regarded as green (dmd) and ripe (pakva), and in these two forms
they are responsible for the commission of all actions leading to
birth and rebirth. But even though all souls are associated with
mala or impurities, they are pervaded in and through by Siva ; and
as the malas are purged, the proximity of Siva becomes more
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vayaviya-samhitd 117
manifest, and the individual becomes more and more pure, until
he becomes like Siva. The differences of the souls are only due to
the conditioning factor of the mala. It is in accordance with the
nature and condition of the mala that one soul appears to be different
from the other. The root cause for all the suffering in the world is
the impurities, and it is the function of the divine doctor, Siva, to
lead us through knowledge far away from the impurities. Know
ledge alone is a means by which all sins may be removed. It may
be objected that, since God is all-powerful He could liberate
human beings without making them undergo suffering. To this
question it is suggested in reply that misery and suffering constitute
the nature of the samsdra of birth and rebirth. It has already been
stated before that God s omnipotence is somehow limited by the
natural conditions of the materials on which the will of God
operates. The nature of the malas or the impurities being of the
nature of sorrow and pain, it is not possible to make them painless,
and for this reason, in the period in which one passes through the
process of the expurgation of malas through samsdra, one must
necessarily suffer pain. The individual souls are by nature impure
and sorrowful, and it is by the administration of the order which
acts as medicine, that these individuals are liberated. The cause of
all impurities that generate the samsdra is the mdyd and the
material world, and these would not be set in motion in any way
without the proximity of Siva. Just as iron filings are set in motion
by the presence of a magnet without the magnet s doing anything
by itself, so it is by the immediate proximity of God that the world
process is set in motion for its benefit. Even though God is
transcendent and does not know the world, the fact of His proximity
cannot be ruled out. So He remains the superintending cause of
the world. All movement in the world is due to Siva. The power
by which He controls the world is His ordering will which is the
same as His proximity. We are reminded of the analogical example
introduced by Vacaspati in his commentary on the Yogasutra-
bhdsya, where it is said that though the purusa does not do any
thing, yet its proximity produces the special fitness (yogyatd) on
account of which the prakrti moves for the fulfilment of the
purposes of the purusa. The example of the magnet and the iron
filings is also given in that connection. As the whole world is but
a manifestation of Siva s own power, we may quite imagine that
Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
when there was nothing in the world, He alone existed with His
majestic order of will and there in the functioning of that will He
was not in any way polluted by the worldly impurities.
In this connection Vayu is supposed to say that knowledge is
of two kinds, mediate (paroksa) and immediate (aparoksa). That
which is known by reason or by instruction is called mediate
knowledge. Immediate knowledge, however, can only dawn
through practice of a high order, and without such immediate
knowledge there cannot be any liberation.
2
In the present section of the Vdyaviya-samhitd vn. 2, we find
a modification of the philosophical view as expressed in the
previous section, and this deserves some special attention. In the
previous section it was stated that the impurities of the individual
souls were natural to themselves, and God s will had to refashion
them or remould them or purge the impurities through the cycles
of birth and rebirth, in accordance with the natural limitations of
the individual souls, so that though God s will operates uniformly
through all, the development is not uniform. The sufferings of
human beings are due to the obstacles and resistance offered by the
inherent impurities of different souls. For this reason it is not
possible for God to liberate all souls without making them undergo
the cycles of birth and rebirth and sorrow.
The view that the souls are by nature impure is found also
among the Jainas and among the followers of the Pancaratra school 1 .
In the Vedanta view, as explained in the school of Sahkara, the
individual souls are no doubt regarded as the same as Brahman, but
yet it is believed that the individual souls are associated with the
beginningless nescience or Avidyd which can be destroyed later on
by the realisation of the true nature of the Self. Thus in a way, the
individual souls remain within a covering of impurity from
beginningless time. But in the second section of the Vdyaviya-
samhitd that we are now dealing with, it is said that God Himself
binds all beings through the impurities, the mdyd and the like,
1 See the relevant portion of Jainism in Vol. I (pp. 169 et seq.) and the
philosophy of Pancaratra, especially of the Ahirbudhnya-samhitd in Vol. in
(pp. 21 et seq. and 34 et seq.).
xxxvuj Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhitd 119
and He alone can liberate them when He is pleased to do so in
accordance with the devotion of the beings concerned 1 . All the
twenty-four categories of Samkhya are to be regarded as being due
to the action of mayo 2 , and they are called the visayas or objects
which are the bonds or ties by which the individuals are bound.
By binding all beings, from the blade of a grass up to Brahman, the
highest god, the great Lord makes them perform their own duties.
It is by the order of the Lord that the prakrti produces the buddhi
for the service of the purusas, and from buddhi there arise the ego,
the senses, the subtle matters (tanmdtras), and the gross matter.
It is by the same order that the different beings are associated with
different bodies suitable to them. The world order is maintained
in its uniform process by the will of God. This will or order of God
cannot be transcended by anybody. It is in accordance with the
same commandment of God as controlling all processes that one
attains riches and knowledge through the performance of meri
torious deeds, or that the sinners are punished. The parable of the
Kena Upanisad is quoted to show that the powers of all deities and
natural forces are derived from God. The whole world thus may
be regarded as manifestations of Lord Siva.
In different forms and functions and superintendence Lord
Siva is called by different names. Thus, when He enjoys the
prakrti and the purusa He is called isdna. This isdna appears in its
eightfold form, technically called astamurti\ these are: earth, water,
fire, air, the dkdsa, the soul, the sun and the moon. So these are the
forms of Siva as performing different functions and called by
different names such as sdrvt, bhdvi, raudri, etc. Raudn is the form
in which the whole world is vibrating. The soul itself, as we have
seen above, is a form of Siva.
The proper worship of Siva consists in giving protection from
fear to all people, to do good to everybody, and to be of service to
mala-mdyd-dibhih pdsaih sa badhndti pasun patih,
sa eva mocakas tesdm bhaktyd samyag-updsitah.
iva-mahdpurdna. vii. 2. 2. 12 et seq.
z Mdyd is twofold : the prakrti and the suddhamdyd. From the latter spring
up the deities Brahma, Visnu and Rudra. The former is the prakrti of the
Samkhya into which all beings return, and for that reason prakrti is called linga,
whereas the classical ibamkhya restricts the term to the mahat and calls prakrti
the alinga. There mahat is called linga, as it points to some original cause behind
it and prakrti being the ultimate cause does not point to any other original cause
behind it. See ibid. vii. 2. 34. 7 et seq.
i2o Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
everybody. It is by satisfying all people that God becomes satisfied.
Any injury done to any living being is an injury done to one of the
forms of God itself.
We have seen above that the whole world is a personification of
God. This pantheistic doctrine should be distinguished from the
monism of the Vedanta as explained by Sankara and his followers.
In the Vedanta the reality is Brahman as sac-cid-dnanda, and every
thing else that we perceive is but an imposition on the reality of
Brahman. They are ultimately false and their falsehood is dis
covered when the person attains liberation. So the world appears,
but there may be a time when it may absolutely disappear before
a liberated person. Here, however, the material world as such in
all its various forms of the living and non-living is regarded as but
different real forms of God, which are controlled by God, and are
set in motion by God for the benefit of the souls, which latter again
are but forms of God.
In this connection the question is raised as to the way in which
God pervades the world as the male and the female powers. In
reply to such a question Upamanyu is supposed to have replied
that the energy or sakti called the great female Deity (mahddevi)
belongs to mahddeva, the Great Lord, and the whole world is a
manifestation of them both. Some things are of the nature of
consciousness and some things are of the nature of the unconscious.
Both of them can be pure or impure. When consciousness is
associated with the unconscious elements, it passes through the
cycles of birth and rebirth and is called impure. That which is
beyond such associations is pure. Siva and His sakti go together,
and the whole world is under their domination. As it is not
possible to distinguish the moon from the moonlight, so it is not
possible to distinguish the sakti from Siva. So the sakti or the
power of the faktimdn, the possessor of the power, the supreme
Lord, are mutually dependent. There cannot be sakti without
Siva, and there cannot be Siva without sakti. It is out of this sakti
that the whole world is created through the process of prakrti or
mdyd and the three gunas. Everywhere the operation of the sakti
is limited by the will of Siva and ultimately this goes back into
Siva. From the original sakti as inherent in Siva, there emanates
the active energy (kriydkhyd sakti). By the disturbance of the
original equilibrium there arises ndda, and from that arises bindu,
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyaviya-samhitd 121
and from bindu arises saddsiva, and from sadasiva arises Mahesvara,
and from him arises true knowledge (suddha-vidya), and this is
called the logos or the power of speech. This also manifests itself
in the form of the alphabetical sounds. From this manifestation of
mdyd comes kdla or time, niyati, hold and vidyd. From this mdyd
again come out the three gunas constituting the unmanifested
(avyaktd). From the avyakta there evolve the categories as
described in the Samkhya. In brief it may be said that as the body
is permeated by the inner controller, so the whole world is per
meated by Siva in His form as sakti. For this reason all the living
and the non-living are but manifestations of the sakti. It is the
supreme Lord that is associated with knowledge, activity and will,
and through them all the supreme Lord controls and pervades the
world. The order of the world and the world process is also
determined by His will.
That which is imaginatively perceived by the supreme Lord is
put into a fact by His will; so, just as the three gunas arise in Him
as the three manifested energies, so the whole world, which is
identified with Siva, is also the form of His energy, because it has
come into being through His energy 1 . This sakti of Siva is the
mdyd.
The Siva-mahdpurdna refers to the Saivdgamas as being
instructions given by Siva to Siva. It seems, therefore, that the
Saivdgamas were written long before the Siva-mahdpurdna, and it
is the substance of the Saivdgamas that is collected in the Siva-
mahdpurdna in the elucidation of the Pasupata view. The instruc
tions of the Saivdgamas are supposed to have been given as the
means for the attainment of the highest good through the mercy of
Siva, for the benefit of the devotees of Siva 2 .
Turning to the practical side of the attainment of direct or
intuitive knowledge, we find that Siva says that He is only properly
approached through sincere faith in Him (sraddha) and not by
evam sakti-samdyogdc chaktimdn ucyate sivah,
sakti-saktimaduttham tu sdktam saivam idamjagat.
iva-mahdpurdna vn. 2. 4. 36.
snkanthena sivenoktam sivdyai ca sivdgamah,
sivdsritdndm kdrunydc chreyasdm ekasddhanam.
Ibid. vn. 2. 7. 38 et seq.
It is difficult to say whether this is a reference to the Mahakarunika school of
^aiva thought, as referred to by ^ankara in the bhdsya in the penultimate topic of
the criticism of aivism. Brahma-sutra n. 2.
122 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
tapas, chanting, or various postures of the body (dsanas), or even
by instructional knowledge. Faith is the basis on which one should
stand and this faith can be attained by following the natural duties
of the four varnas or castes and the dsramas or the stages of life.
Faith is thus regarded not as a spontaneous emotion but as the
consequence of a long traditional practice of the duties assigned to
each caste and to each stage of life.
The Saiva dharma consists of knowledge, action, rigid conduct,
and yoga. The knowledge is the knowledge of the nature of souls,
the objects, and the supreme Lord. Action is the purification in
accordance with the instruction of the preceptor. Caryd or the
right conduct means the proper worship of Siva in accordance with
the caste rights as instructed by Siva. Yoga means the arresting of
all mental states, excluding the constant thinking of God. Know
ledge arises from vairdgya or disinclination towards worldly things,
and from knowledge comes yoga ; sense-control, called yama, and
niyama remove the sins and when a man is disinclined to worldly
objects he gradually turns to the path of yoga. In this connection,
universal charity, non-injury, truthfulness, abstention from steal
ing, and supreme faith, teaching, performing sacrifices and
meditation on one s identity with God are regarded as natural
accessories. For this reason those who wish to attain liberation
should keep themselves away from virtue and vice, merit and
demerit. Those who have attained the state in which the stone and
gold are of equal value, or have no value, need not worship God,
because they are liberated beings.
Purity of mind is a hundredfold better than purity of body,
because without the purity of the mind nobody can be pure. God
accepts only the internal states of man (bhdvd)\ that which is
performed without any sincere emotion is merely an imitation.
Devotion to God ought to be spontaneous, not practised for any
advantage. Even when a man is attached to God for the attainment
of some advantage, it may please God according to the depth of the
emotion which is displayed by him. We find that the external
expression of emotion as manifested in bodily movements, interest
in listening to the adoration of Siva, the choking of the voice, the
shedding of tears, and the constant meditation and dependence on
God, are regarded as the significant signs of a true devotee, what
ever may be his caste and status in society.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyaviya-samhitd 123
We have already seen that the practical way towards liberation
should be through the attainment of knowledge of the nature of
souls, the objects that bind them and the supreme Lord. This
knowledge should be supplemented by action in accordance with
the direction of the Teacher, who in Saiva cult is to be regarded as
the incarnation of Siva. This action called kriyd is to be supple
mented by the prescriptive duties allotted to the different castes and
stages of life in the scriptures, and the duty which consists of the
worship of God goes by the name of caryd. This has further to be
supplemented by a process of devotional meditation, with Siva as
the centre of attention, when all other mental states have been
inhibited. The scriptures dealing with these subjects are twofold,
one of Vedic origin, the other of independent origin. These latter
are of twenty-eight kinds (like the Agamas), called Kdmika, etc.,
which also go by the name of Siddhdnta 1 .
In vn. i. 32 certain esoteric and obscure physiological processes
are described by which one can bring oneself in contact with
immortality as inherent in Siva, the Mahadeva 2 .
In vn. 2. 37 the yoga is described as being of five kinds:
mantrayoga, sparsayoga, bhdvayoga, abhdvayoga and mahdyoga.
The mantrayoga is that in which by constant repetition of certain
mantras the mental states becomes steady. When this is associated
with breath control it is called sparsayoga. When this state is
further on the progressive scale and becomes dissociated from the
necessity of chanting the mantras, it is called the bhdvayoga. By
further advancement of this yoga process, the world appearance in
its various forms entirely disappears, and this is called the abhdva
yoga. At this stage the yogin is not concerned with the world. He
1 H. W. Schomerus in his aiva-siddhanta, p. 3, says that there are six and
sixteen schools of aivism, according to a commentary on Siva-jnana-bodha
which we shall refer to later on. These schools as referred to by Schomerus are:
I. Pasupata, Mavratavada(P), Kapalika, Varna, Bhairava and Aikyavada.
II. tJrdhvasaiva, Anadisaiva, Adisaiva, Mahasaiva, Bhedasaiva, Abheda-
saiva, Antarasaiva, Gunasaiva, Nirgunasaiva, Adhvansaiva, Yogasaiva,
Jnanasaiva, Anusaiva, Kriyasaiva, Nalupadasaiva ( ?) and uddhasaiva.
We do not know what were the contents of these different schools of 6aivism and
we cannot also identify any particular texts giving the views of any of these
schools of 3aivism. In our treatment we have noted different types of aivism,
and many of them go by the name of Pasupata- aivism, but whether this
Pasupata-^aivism was also divided into different schools having different names,
it is impossible for us to judge for want of definite materials, either published or
unpublished.
2 See verses 45-56 (vii. i. 32).
Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
thinks of himself as being of the nature of Siva, and of being one
with Him, and he is dissociated from all conditions. This is called
the state of mahdyoga. At this stage one becomes disinclined to all
worldly objects of attachment, whether as experiences by the senses
or as prescribed by the scriptures. Of course, this practice of yoga
includes the practices of yama and niyama as prescribed in the
Yoga-sutras, and also the practice of the different postures, the
breath-control (prdnayama), the holding back of the mind from
other objects (pratydhdra), the practice of concentration on
particular objects (dhdrand), and also meditation (dhydnd), and
becoming one with the object (samddhi). The processes of the
different kinds of yoga and their accessories are described in the
Saiva scriptures, and also in the Kdmika and the other Agamas.
So far as the Siva-mahdpurdna is concerned we do not find much
difference between the practices of the different accessories such
as yama, and niyama, dsana, etc., and those that are described in
the Yogasdstra of Patanjali. The only important difference is that,
while in Patanjali s yoga the mind has to be concentrated first on
the gross objects, then on the subtle entities or tanmdtras, then on
the ahankdra or egohood, and then on buddhi, here in the Saiva
yoga, the yogin has to meditate on the divine nature of Siva. In
the Yogasdstra also it is prescribed that one may meditate upon
Isvara, and it is through devotion to him that liberation may be
granted to any yogin. The treatment of a yogin in Yogosdstra may
take a twofold course: one meditation on Isvara, the other the
ascending scale of meditation on subtler and subtler categories, as
a result of which the mind becomes absolutely shorn of all
primitive tendencies and impressions, and becomes ultimately lost
in theprakrti itself, never to return again. The Yoga of Patanjali,
therefore, seems to be a double synthesis of associating the
Samkhya doctrine and Samkhya metaphysics with the pre-existent
system of yoga-practice which we find in Buddhism, and the
association of the theistic cult of Isvara, who hangs rather loosely
with the yoga system.
The Siva-mahdpurdna goes on with the description of prdna
yama, consisting ofipuraka, the filling of the body with air through
the nose; recaka, the expelling of the air out of the body; and
kumbhaka, the process of keeping the body still after inflating it.
By the processes of prdnayama one may leave the body at will.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhita 125
The advancement ofprdndydma is made gradually by lengthen
ing the respiratory and inhibitory time. In this way there are four
different classes of pranayama called kanyaka, madhyama, uttama,
and para. That which is associated with the emotional expression
of sweating, shivering, etc., is due to the expression of the sentiment
of bliss on account of which tears flow spontaneously and there is
sometimes incoherent speech, swooning. It should be noted that
such states do not occur nor are recommended in the yoga of
Patanjali. In this connection the discussion about pranayama is
introduced and we hear of the five vayus or bio-motor forces called
prdna, apana, samdna, udana, and vyana. The pranavayu consists
of five other types of vayu, namely naga, kurma, krkara, devadatta,
and dhananjaya which performs the different functions of the
pranavayu. The apdnavdyu is the bio-motor force by which all that
is taken in by way of food and drink is assimilated and drawn
down to the lower cavities. The vyana is the bio-motor force that
pervades the whole body and develops it. The uddna is that which
affects the vital glands and the body. The samdna is that which
provides the circulation through the body. When the functions and
the forces of these vayus are properly co-ordinated in accordance
with the will of the yogin, he is able to burn up all the defects and
maladies of the body and preserve his health in the proper manner,
his power of assimilation becomes greater and his exertions become
less. He becomes light in body, can move about quickly, and has
energy and excellence of voice. He suffers from no diseases and
has sufficient strength and vigour. He has power of retention,
memory, usefulness, steadiness, and contentedness. He can per
form asceticism and destroy his sins and perform sacrifice and
make gifts as people should.
Pratydhdra is effort of mind, by which the mind controls itself
in relation to the objects to which the senses may be attracted. One
who desires happiness should practise the virtue of disinclination
and also try to attain true knowledge. It is by controlling one s
senses that one can raise oneself up. When in this way the mind
can be steadily attached to some object we have the state of
dhdrand. This object to which the mind should be steadily attached
is nothing but Siva. In the proper state of dhdrand the mind
should not be dissociated even for a moment from its object, Siva.
It is from the steadiness of the mind that dhdrand can proceed. So
i26 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
by continuous practice of dhdrand the mind should be made
constant and steady. The word dhydna is derived from the root
dhyai denoting the thinking of Siva with an undisturbed mind.
Therefore this state is called dhydna. When a person is in the state
of dhydna, the object of his meditation is constantly repeated in the
same form without the association of any other idea. This constant
flow of the same sort of image or idea is called dhydna 1 . It is
remembered that one should perform tapa or chanting the name
or the mantras and pass into dhydna, and when dhydna is broken
one should go on with tapa and from that again to dhydna, and so
on until the yoga is firmly attained. Samddhi is regarded as the last
state of yoga in which the mind is illuminated with intuitive
wisdom (prajndlokd). It is a state which itself seems to be nothing
in essence and where the object alone shines like a limitless, wave-
less ocean 2 . After fixing the mind on the object of meditation, the
saint looks like a fire which is being extinguished, he does not hear
nor smell nor see nor touch anything, nor does his mind think. He
does not understand anything, he is like a piece of wood. So when
one s soul becomes lost in Siva one is said to be in the state of
samddhi. It is like a lamp that burns in a steady flame. From this
state of samddhi the saint never breaks off.
It must, however, be noted that in the course of the practice of
this yoga many obstacles come in, and they have to be conquered.
Some of these are indolence, troublesome diseases, carelessness,
doubt as to the proper object of meditation, inconstancy of mind,
absence of faith, illusory notions, pain, melancholia, attachment to
objects. Indolence refers both to bodily and mental laziness.
The diseases, of course, come through the disturbances of the
three dhdtus vdyu, pitta, and kapha. Carelessness (pramddd)
comes through the non-utilisation of the means of performing the
yoga. A doubtful inquiry as to what may be the true object of
meditation is called sthdna-samasyd. Absence of faith means the
1 dhyeydvasthita-cittasya sadrsah pratyayas ca yah,
pratyaydntara-nirmuktah pravdho dhydnam ucyate,
sarvam anyat parityajya siva eva sivankarah.
Siva-mahdpurdna vn. 2. 37. 52-3.
samddhind ca sarvatra prajndlokah pravartate,
yad-artha-mdtra-nirbhdsam stimitodadhi-vat-sthitam,
svarupa-sunyavad bhdnam samddhir abhidhiyate.
Ibid. vn. 2. 37. 6 1-2.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyavlya-samhitd 127
continuance of the yoga process without the proper emotion. All
sorrow comes through false knowledge. These sorrows are divided
into three classes, in accordance with the classical Samkhya
classification, as ddhydtmika, ddhibhautika, and ddhidaivika. Dis
appointment is the frustration of one s desires, and causes mental
troubles which are called daurmanasya. When the mind is drawn
to various objects of desire it is said to be in a state of flirtation.
When these obstacles are overcome then come other obstacles in
the way of the appearance of miraculous powers.
The word yoga* in the Pdsupata-yoga is used as a derivative
from the root yujir yoge, and not from yuj samddhauj as we find
the word used in Patanjali s Yoga. The true yoga can only arise by
the proper integrative knowledge of the meditation, the object of
meditation, and the purpose of meditation. In meditating on Siva
one should also meditate upon the energy of Siva, as the whole
world is pervaded by them both.
Among the miraculous powers which are regarded as obstacles
in the progressive path of yoga one counts pratibhd, which means
the power of knowing subtle things, things that are passed, and
things that are obscure from our eyes, and things that are to come
in future. In the Nydya-manjan Jayanta mentions the word
pratibhd in an entirely different sense. He means by pratibhd there
an inexplicable intuition as to what may occur in the future, for
example, "tomorrow my brother will come." It also includes the
power of understanding all kinds of sound without effort, all that
may be communicated by any animal in the world, and also the
power of having heavenly visions. So by these miraculous powers
one may taste heavenly delights and exquisite pleasures of touch
and smell of a higher order. So one may attain all kinds of
miraculous powers, and one has a full command of all things that
one may wish to have. It is unnecessary for us to dilate further on
the various types of miraculous powers which the yogin may
attain, and which may detract him from his onward path toward
attaining the mahdyoga or the highest yoga, that is, the union with
Siva.
But it is interesting to notice that the same chapter on the
Pdsupata-yoga introduces certain methods which are not to be
found in Patanjali s Yoga. Thus in vn. 2. 38, in a description of
a particular posture of yoga, one is advised to fix one s attention on
128 Saiva Philosophy in the Pur anas [CH.
the tip of the nose and not to look at one side or the other. One
sits down unmoved, like a piece of stone, and tries to think of Siva
and Sakti within oneself, as if they were installed in the seat of the
heart, and meditates on them. One may also concentrate on one s
navel, throat, palatal cavity and the spot between the eyebrows.
One should think of a lotus having two, six, ten, twelve or sixteen
petals, or a sort of quadrangle wherein one may place the Siva. The
lotus in the spot between the eyebrows consists of two petals which
are as bright as lightning. So in the case of other lotuses having
a number of petals the vowels are associated with each of the petals
from the bottom upwards. The consonants beginning with ka and
ending in ta may also be regarded as being associated with the
lotus, and should be meditated upon. In rather an obscure manner
the different consonants are supposed to be associated with the
different petals of the imaginary lotuses, and one should steadily
meditate upon Siva and Sakti as associated with the letters of the
petals.
In order to proceed on the path of yoga it may be necessary to
meditate upon some of the recognised images of Siva, such as the
different gross images of Siva mentioned in the Saiva scriptures.
Meditation should at first commence with an object, and later
on it becomes objectless. But the learned people always discard
the state of meditation in which there is no object, and it is said
that dhydna consists in the stretching out of an intellectual state 1 .
For this reason, in the state of dhydna it is the mere buddhi, or the
intellectual state that flows on, which may often be regarded as
having no object. So what is called an objectless (nirvisaya) dhydna
is only meditation on subtle entities. It is also often said that when
meditation is upon some particular form of Siva it is called
savisaya, and when this is in a formless state as an extension of the
knowledge of self, it is called nirvisaya, This savisaya dhydna is also
called sablja, and the nirvisaya dhydna is called nirblja. As a result
ofprdndydma and meditation, the mind becomes transparent, and
then thoughts of Siva continually recur. As we have said above,
dhydna means nothing more than the constant flow of an intellec
tual state (buddhi) of the form of Siva. It is this continuous flow of
tatra nirvisayam dhydnam ndstlty eva satdm matam,
buddher hi santatih kdcid dhydnam ity abhidhlyate.
Siva-mahdpurdna vn. 2. 39. 5.
xxxvn] Saiva Philosophy in the Vdyaviya-samhitd 129
an intellectual state that is regarded as an object of dhyana 1 . Both
happiness and liberation come from dhydna\ for this reason, one
should always try to practise dhyana. There is nothing greater than
dhyana 2 . Those who perform dhyana are dear to Siva, not those
who only perform the rituals.
buddhi-pravdha-rupasya dhydnasydsydvalambanam,
dhyeyam ity ucyate sadbhis tacca sdmbah svayam sivah.
Siva-mahdpurdna vn. 2. 39. 19.
ndsti dhydna-samam tirtham ndsti dhydnasamam tapah,
ndsti dhydnasamo yajnas tasmdd dhydnam samdcaret.
Ibid. vn. 2. 39. 28.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
SAIVA PHILOSOPHY IN SOME OF THE
IMPORTANT TEXTS
The Doctrine of the Pasupata-sutras.
SOME of the philosophical doctrines of the Pasupata system of
Saivism are discussed in the relevant sections. But the formal and
ritualistic sides of the system, which have often been referred to
elsewhere, as for example in the treatment of Saivism in the Sarva-
darsana-samgraha, need an authoritative explanation. This is found
in the Pdsupata-sutras with the bhasya of Kaundinya, published in
1940 by the Oriental Manuscripts Library of the University of
Travancore, Trivandrum. It is said that Siva incarnated Himself
as Nakullsa and so was the author of the Pdsupata-sutras. The
bhasya by Kaundinya is also an ancient one, as may be judged from
the style of the writing. The editor of the Pdsupata-sutras, A. Sastri,
thinks that Kaundinya may have lived between the fourth and
sixth centuries. The Pdsupata-sutras together with the bhasya of
Kaundinya do not give us any philosophy of Saivism. They deal
almost wholly with the rituals, or rather modes of life. It may be
quite possible that such ascetic forms of life existed from early
times, and that later the philosophy of Saivism was added. Though
these ascetic forms of life had but little connection with the Saiva
philosophy as propounded later, they have a general anthropo
logical and religious interest, as these forms of asceticism remain
connected with the life of those who believe in the Saiva philosophy.
In the Sarva-darsana-samgraha of Madhava the Pasupata system
is not identified with any form of philosophy, but with different
kinds of ascetic practices. When Sarikara refutes the Saiva system,
he does not specifically mention any philosophical doctrines of an
elaborate nature. He only brands the Saivas as those who believe
in God as the creator of the world (isvara-kdraniri). Of course, the
Naiyayika is also an isvara-kdranin and he is also a Saiva by faith.
The other doctrines of the Naiyayika are largely taken from the
Vaisesika, and Sankara in his joint criticism of Nyaya and Vaisesika
had referred to them. The Naiyayika thus shares his theistic
CH. xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 131
conviction with the Saivas. But while the Saivas of the Pasupata
school lay emphasis on ascetic rituals, the Naiyayika laid stress
on logical arguments. It will therefore not be out of place if we
treat the general outline of the Pasupata sect on its ascetic side,
though it may not be regarded as a contribution of philosophical
value.
Kaundinya, the commentator, in the beginning of his bhdsya,
offers adoration to Pasupati who had created the whole world,
beginning from the Brahman for the good of all. He says that the
five subjects of discussion in the Pasupata system are effect (kdryd),
cause (karana), meditation (yoga), behaviour (vidhi), and dissolution
of sorrow (duhkhdnta) 1 .
The teaching of the Pasupata system is for the total annihilation
of all kinds of sorrow and this teaching can only be communicated
to proper disciples. When the disciple follows the ascetic practices
recommended by the Lord, he attains liberation through His grace.
It has been noticed before that the Saiva is called Mahakarunika.
In our exposition of the Saiva thought we have examined carefully
the doctrine of grace or karund, and have also seen how this
doctrine of grace is associated with the doctrine of karma and the
theory of rebirth, in accordance with the justice implied in the
theory of karma. But here in the Pdsupata-sutra we are told that
liberation comes directly from the grace of Siva. The word pasu
means all conscious beings, excluding the saints and the all power
ful ones. Their animality or pasutva consists in the fact that they
are impotent and their impotence is their bondage. This bondage,
which means their complete dependence on the causal power, is
beginningless. The word pasu is connected with the word pdsa,
which means " cause and effect", and is technically also called kald.
All animals are thus bound by cause and effect, the sense images
and their objects, and become attached to them. The word pasu is
also derived from posy ati. Though the animals are all-pervasive and
are of the nature of pure consciousness, they can only perceive
1 The editor of the Pdsupata-sutras gives the following list of the succession
of teachers from Nakullsa: Nakulisa, Kausika, Gargya, Maitreya, Kaurusa,
fsana, Paragargya, Kapilanda, Manusyaka, Kusika, Atri, Pihgala, Puspaka,
Brhadarya, Agasti, Santana, Rasikara (Kaundinya), and Vidyaguru. The seven
teenth guru called Rasikara has been identified with Kaundinya by the editor.
This has been done on the supposition that Kaundinya occurs as the gotra name
in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad vi. 2 and 4.
9-2
132 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
their bodies; they do not understand the nature of cause and
effect and they cannot go beyond them. The Pasupati is so called
because He protects all beings. Kaundinya definitely says that the
liberation from sorrow cannot be attained by knowledge (jndnd),
disinclination (vairagyd), virtue (dharma) and giving up of one s
miraculous powers (attvarya-tyaga), but by grace (prasddd)
alone 1 .
The person who is regarded as fit for receiving the Saiva
discipline must be a Brahmin with keen senses. The instruction of
the teacher, leading to devotional practices and exciting desire for
becoming Siva, is given out of a spirit of charity to those who wish
to annihilate all sorrow.
The word yoga is used to denote the contact of the self with
isvara or God (dtmesvara-samyogo yogati). The contact thus means
that the person who was otherwise engaged leads himself to the
supreme object of isvara\ or it may also mean that the contact is
due to the dual approach of both God and the person, until they
meet. The yoga must have disinclination to worldly things as the
first condition.
Yoga cannot be attained by mere knowledge but one has to
take to a certain course of action called yoga-vidhi. Vidhi means
action. Thus we have the effect (kdryd) which is the dissolution of
pleasure and pain, the cause, the yoga and the vidhi, and these are
the five categories which form the subject-matter of discussion of
the Pdsupata-sdstra.
Describing the two kinds of perceptual knowledge Kaundinya
distinguishes between sense perception and self-perception. By
the senses one can perceive various kinds of sense objects, such as
sound, touch, colour, taste, smell and the objects to which they
belong. In reality, most perceptions occur through sense-object
contact, and are manifested in their totality in diverse aspects
through such a contact, and are regarded as valid (pramdna). Self-
perception means the totality of the relation that is produced by
citta and antahkarana, the mind and the thought. Inference
(anumdna) is naturally based upon perception. The relationship
between the thought, the mind, and the self expresses itself in
diverse forms and produces diverse impressions and memories.
1 tasmdt prasdddt sa duhkhdntah prdpyate. na tu jndna-vairdgya-dharma-
isvarya-tydga-mdtrdd ity arthah. Pdsupata-sutras (commentary, p. 6).
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-siitras 133
And these lead to other kinds of awareness, or those which can
be inferred from them.
Inference is of two kinds, drsta (perceived) and sdmdnyato drsta
(perceived through universals). The first again is of two kinds,
called purvavat and sesavat. Purvavat is that which is affiliated
with a previous experience. It has been seen to have six fingers,
and now we find it of six fingers; therefore it is the same as the
previous one. When an animal is recognised as a cow on the
evidence of its horns and the hanging neck, this is said to be an
inference of the type of sesavat. The sesavat inference is intended
to distinguish a class of things from others. As an example of
sdmdnyato drsta (perceived through universals), it is said that as the
location at different places of the same object cannot take place,
one can infer that the moon and the stars which change places are
travelling in the sky. Agama or testimony is the scriptural testimony
that is handed down to us from Mahesvara through His disciples.
The Pdsupata-sdstra only admits perception, inference, and testi
mony; all other kinds of pramdnas are regarded as falling within
them.
It is the individual perceiver to whom things are proved by
means of the pramdnas. The object of the pramdnas are the fivefold
categories, namely kdrya, kdrana, yoga, vidhi, and the dissolution
of sorrow. Awareness or thought product is called samvid,
samcintana, or sambodha. It is through these that knowledge is
revealed. The process of knowledge continues from the first
moment of inception to the completion of the knowledge.
Turning to the practices, it is said that one should collect ashes
and bake them, and then smear the body in the morning, midday,
and afternoon with these ashes. The real bathing is of course
through the attainment of virtue by which the soul is purified.
One should also lie down on the ashes and remain awake, for the
person who is afraid of the cycles of birth and rebirth cannot have
time to sleep. The ashes are to be used for bathing instead of
water, both for purification and for bearing the signs of a Saiva.
The ashes (bhasman) are therefore called linga, or sign of a
Pasupata ascetic. We must note here that the word linga, which is
often used in connection with the Saiva doctrine for a phallic sign,
is here regarded as a mere indicatory sign of a person s being a
Pasupata ascetic. The ashes which besmear the body are indicators
134 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
of the person being a Pasupata ascetic. The bhasman therefore is
regarded as linga. These ashes distinguish the Pasupata ascetic
from the adherents of other sects.
The Pasupata ascetic may live in the village, in the forest, or in
any place of pilgrimage, and there he may employ himself in
muttering the syllable ow, laughing, singing, dancing, and making
peculiar sounds through his mouth and lips.
In introducing moral virtues, great emphasis is laid on the
yamas consisting of non-injury, celibacy, truthfulness, and non-
stealing. Next to these are the niyamas consisting of non-irritabi
lity (akrodha), attendance on the teachers, purity, lightness of diet,
and carefulness (apramdda). Of these two yama and niyama, yama
is regarded as being most important. Non-injury in the fashion of
the Jainas is highly emphasised, and is regarded as the best of all
virtues. We have translated brahma-carya by celibacy, but in
reality it means all kinds of sense control, particularly the palate
and the sex organs; association with women is strongly deprecated.
Though verbal truth implying agreement of statements to facts is
appreciated, it is held that the final standard of truth is the
amount of good that is rendered to people by one s words. Even
a misstatement or a false statement, if beneficial to all beings,
should be regarded as preferable to a rigorous truthful statement.
It is interesting to note that the Pasupata system forbids all kinds
of commercial dealings and trades, as they may cause pain to
persons involved in mutual intercourse. Absence of anger (akrodhd)
has been enumerated above as a virtue. This includes both mental
apathy consisting of jealousy, enmity, vanity and desire for the evil
of others in one s own mind, as well as any action that may be
committed in accordance with them. The Pasupata ascetic has to
earn his living by mendicancy alone.
It has been said above that the Pasupata ascetic should be a
Brahmin. It is prohibited for him to address women or Sudras,
except under special circumstances. Under such exceptional cir
cumstances one should purify oneself by bathing in ashes and also
prdndydma, and the muttering of the raudrigdyatn .This prescription
of practising prdndydma, etc., in case one has to meet a woman or a
Sudra and to talk to them, is suggested for purifying the mind of the
ascetic, for otherwise on being forced to meet them the ascetic may
get angry in his mind, and that may cause injury to his own mind.
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 135
When the mind is purified, and one proceeds on the line of
yoga with the Mahesvara, the supreme Lord, one attains various
miraculous powers 1 .
The Mahesvara, regarded also as Brahman, is beginningless
and indestructible ; He is unborn and without any kind of attach
ment. When one knows the nature of the Lord, one should take
refuge in Him and follow the practices described by Him in His
scriptures.
The supreme Lord is regarded as producing and destroying all
things out of His nature as a playful being. The Lord is supreme
as he controls the movements and tendencies of all beings. His
eternity consists in his continual knowledge and action, by which
he pervades all. He is called Rudra because he is associated with
fear on the part of all 2 .
The supreme Lord, being in Himself, creates, maintains and
destroys the universe, that is, in Him the universe appears and
dissolves like the stars in the sky. God creates the world at His
will, as the world of effects exists in His own power and energy,
and remains also by virtue of His power.
In explaining the position further, it is said in the bhasya (n. 5)
that the category of Mahesvara is the all-pervasive one, and that
the twenty-five categories like purusa, pradhdna, etc., are per
meated by the supreme category. So also the category of the
purusa, being the category of the self, is the all-pervading one, and
the twenty-four categories of pradhdna, etc., are permeated by
purusa. So also in the field of the categories, the buddhi is all-
pervasive and the twenty-two other categories, beginning with
ahankara, are permeated by buddhi. So also the ahankdra is all-
pervasive and the eleven senses are permeated by it; so again the
eleven senses are the all-pervasive ones and the subtle five
tanmdtras are permeated by them. So also in the case of gross
matter, where the same processes may be assigned to akasa, vdyu,
tejas, etc.
The question is raised as regards the starting-point of difference
between the cause and the effect. The writer of the bhasya (n. 5)
says that it has to be understood on the analogy of a mixture of
1 See Pdsupata-sutras I. 21-37.
rutasya bhayasya drdvandt samyojandd rudrah.
Pdsupata-sutras n. 4 (commentary).
136 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
turmeric and water; in turmeric water you have on the one hand
the qualities of water, and on the other the qualities of turmeric.
So when the supreme Lord is considered as being associated with
the pleasures and pains that He gives to all beings, and the bodies
with which He associates them, we may have a conception of a
whole. So God can be associated with pleasures and pains that
belong to the prakrti, though He himself is absolutely unchange
able. The same analogy may explain the other categories of
pradhdna and prakrti. Being all-pervasive, the supreme Lord
naturally pervades both the causal and the efficient states. The
effect as identified in the cause is eternal; the cause, the Lord, is
eternal, and all creation takes place in and through Him. Arguing
in this way the world becomes eternal, for if the protector is
eternal, the things to be protected must also be eternal. The world
being eternal, the supreme Lord only connects the relevant parts
of it in a relevant order. The grace of God consists in bringing
about the proper association of the relevant parts.
God s will being all powerful and unlimited, He can create
changes in the world and in the destinies of men according to His
own pleasure. He does not necessarily depend upon the person or
his karma or action 1 . God s will may operate either as the evolu
tionary process or as an interference with the state of things by
inducing bondage or liberation. There is, however, a limit to the
exercise of God s will in that the liberated souls are not associated
with sorrow again. The limit of the effect world is that it is
produced, helped and dissolved or changed by the causal category,
the supreme Lord. This, therefore, is the sphere of cause
and effect. Those who want the cessation of all sorrows should
devote themselves to the worship of the Lord Siva and to no one
else.
It is advised that the Pas*upata ascetic should not be too much
delighted on the attainment of miraculous powers. He should go
on behaving like a Pasupata ascetic, smearing his body with ashes
and smiling and so on, both in places of pilgrimage and temples,
and also among people in general. These are called caryd. In this
caryd the joy of the ascetic should be manifested in its pure form
1 karma-kaminas ca mahesvaram apeksante, na tu bhagavdn isvarah karma
purusam va peksate. ato na karmapeksa Isvarah. Pdsupata-sutras n. 6 (com
mentary).
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 137
and not associated with any form of vanity which goes with the
attainment of miraculous powers.
The process of spiritual worship can only be done through the
surrendering of oneself in one s mind to the supreme Lord, and to
continue to do it until the goal is reached. When one gives oneself
up entirely to Siva alone, he does not return from the state of
liberation. This is the secret of self-surrender 1 .
The supreme Lord, called Vamadeva, jyestha, Rudra, is also
called Kala. It is within the scope of His function to associate the
different beings in different kinds of bodies and in different states
of existence, with different kinds of experiences, pleasurable and
painful, through the process of time. The individual beings are
called kdlya as they happen to be in God or Kala. The term
kald is given to the effects (kdlya) and their instruments (kdrana).
Thus, the five elements, earth, water, etc., are called kald as
kdrya or effect. So also are their properties. The eleven senses
together with ahankdra and buddhi are called kdrana. God Himself
is vikarana or without any senses, so there is nothing to obstruct
His powers of perception and action. It is God who associates all
things and beings with the different holds as kdlya and kdrana. The
supreme Lord is regarded as sakala and niskala, immanent and
transcendent, but even in His transcendental aspect He has in
Him all the powers by which He can extend His grace to all
beings.
In the third chapter it is said that the real Saiva ascetic may
dispense with all the external practices, so that no one will recognise
him as a Saiva ascetic, and will not give him a high place in society.
When the Saiva ascetic is thus ignored by the people among
whom he lives, this very degradation of him serves to remove his
sins. When the ascetic bears the insults showered upon him by
ignorant persons, he naturally attains fortitude. People may often
abuse him as a lunatic, an ignorant man, or a dullard, etc., and in
such circumstances he should get away from the public attention
and fix his mind on God. With such behaviour he is not only
purified but is spiritually ennobled. When a person thus moves
about like a poor lunatic, besmeared with ashes and dirt, with
1 aikdntikdtyantika-rudra-samlpa-prapter ekdntenaiva andvrtti-phalatvdd
asd-dhdrana-phalatvdc cdtma-praddnam atiddnam. Ibid. n. 15 (commentary).
138 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
beard and nails and hair uncut, and when he does not follow habits
of cleanliness, he is naturally regarded as an outcast. This leads
him further on the path towards disinclination, and the insults he
bears meekly make him advanced spiritually.
When a person is firm in yama and niyama practices, and
meekly suffers the indignities and abuses showered on him by
other people, he is well established in the path of asceticism.
Throughout the whole of the fourth chapter of the Pdsupata-
sutras the pdsupata-vrata is described as a course of conduct in
which the ascetic behaves or should behave as a lunatic, ignorant,
epileptic, dull, a man of bad character, and the like, so that abuses
may be heaped on him by the unknowing public. This will
enliven his disinclination to all worldly fame, honours, and the like,
and the fact the people had unknowingly abused him would raise
him in the path of virtue. When by such a course of action and by
yoga one attains the proximity of the great Lord, one never returns
again. India is supposed to have performed the pdsupata-vrata in
the earliest time.
In the fifth chapter the process of pdsupata-yoga is more
elaborately discussed. The supreme Lord is referred to by many
names, but they all refer to the same being, the supreme Lord,
and yoga means a steady union of the soul with Him. For this
purpose the person should be completely detached from all objects,
present, past and future, and be emotionally attached to Mahes-
vara 1 . The union of the self with Siva must be so intimate that no
physical sounds and disturbances should lead the person away. In
the first stages the attachment with Siva takes place by the with
drawal of the mind from other objects, and making it settle on the
Lord ; then the association becomes continuous.
The soul or the Atman is defined as the being that is respon
sible for all sense cognitions, all actions, and all attachments to
objects. The constant or continuous contact of the self with the
supreme Lord constitute its eternity. We can infer the existence of
the self from the experiences of pleasure, pain, desire, antipathy,
and consciousness. The self is regarded as unborn in the sense that
it is not born anew along with the chain of sensations and other
activities of the mind, or in other words it remains the same
1 evam mahesvare bhdvasthis tadasangitvam ity arthah. Pasupata-sutras v. i
(commentary).
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-siitras 139
through all its experiences. It is called maitra in the sense that it
can remain in a state of equanimity and in attachment with the
supreme Lord, when all its desires, antipathies, and efforts have
disappeared.
The detachment referred to above can only be attained by the
control of all the cognitive and conative senses, manas and buddhi
and ahankdra. The control of the senses really means that their
activities should be directed towards good acts, and they should
not be allowed to stray away into the commission of evil deeds 1 .
Kaundinya says that the definition of the goal as described by
Samkhya and Yoga is not true. That is not the way to liberation.
The teachings of Samkhya and Yoga are impure. To be liberated
means to be connected with Lord Siva, and not to be dissociated
from all things 2 .
The ascetic should live in some vacant room ; he should devote
himself to study and meditation, and make himself steady. He
should be in continuous meditation for at least six months ; and as
he advances on the path of yoga, he begins to attain many miracu
lous powers through the grace of the supreme Lord.
The Pasupata ascetic should live on mendicancy and should
bear all hardships like animals. The yogin who has realised his
goal, is not affected by any actions or sins. He is also unaffected
by any mental troubles or physical diseases.
To sum up the whole position, one may say that when one
becomes absolutely detached from all one s actions and sins, one
should continue to meditate by drawing one s mind from all other
objects and concentrating the mind on Siva or on some symbolic
name. We have already seen that yoga has been defined as the
continuous connection of the self with the Lord, and this is also
called sdyujya, that is, being with God. The supreme Lord has the
infinite power of knowledge and action by which He controls
everything, and this Lord should be meditated upon in His aspect
as formless (niskala). God should not be approached with the
association of any of the qualities attributed to Him. This is
expressed by the sutra v. 27, in which it is said that God is
1 tasmad akusalebhyo vydvartayitvd kdmatah kusale yojitdni (yadd), tadd
jitdni bhavanti. Pdsupata-sutras v. 7 (commentary).
2 ayam tu yukta eva. na mukta iti visuddham etad darsanam dra$tavyam.
Ibid, v. 8 (commentary).
140 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
unassociated with anything that can be expressed by speech. The
supreme Lord is therefore called vdg-visuddha. The ascetic should
often better stay in the cremation grounds where, not having any
association, he will have greater time to devote to meditation, and
attain merit or dharma which is identified with the greatness that
is achieved by yama and niyama. In this way the ascetic cuts
asunder all impurities. This cutting asunder of impurities means
nothing more than taking away the mind from all sense objects and
concentrating the mind on the Lord (yantrana-dhdranatmakas
chedo drastvyah). This cheda or dissociation means the separating
of the self from all other objects. By this means all the network of
causes that produce the defects are cut asunder. The defects are the
various sensations of sound, touch, etc., for from these we get in
our minds desire, anger, greed, fear, sleep, attachment, antipathy,
and delusion. Then again these defects manifest themselves in our
efforts to earn things, to preserve them, to be attached to them, and
to indulge in injuring others. As a result of this, one afflicts one
self and also others. When one is afflicted oneself, one suffers, and
if one afflicts others, then also on account of this vice one suffers.
All such suffering thus is associated with the self. The sense
objects are like the fruits of a poisoned tree which at the time of
taking may appear sweet, but in the end will produce much
suffering. The suffering of a man commences from the time of
his being born, and continues throughout life till the time of
death, so one should see that one may not have to be born
again. The pleasures of enjoying sense objects have to be main
tained with difficulty, and they produce attachment; when
they disappear they produce further sorrow. Moreover, it is
hardly possible to enjoy a sense object without injuring other
persons. Even in wearing ordinary apparel one has to kill
many insects. So one should refrain from enjoyment of all sense
objects and be satisfied with whatever one gets, vegetable or meat,
by begging.
The dissociation recommended above is to be done through
buddhi, the internal organ (antahkarand) which is conceived as
being put in motion through merit, meditation, commandments
and knowledge. The buddhi is also called citta. Citta means to
know and to give experience of p leasure and pain, to collect merit
and demerit and other impressions. So, as buddhi is called citta,
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 141
it is also called manas and the internal organ, antahkarana. The
mind has thus to be dissociated from all sense objects by the self,
and attached to Rudra or Siva. When this is done then all in
tention of merit and demerit disappears ; it slides away from the self
like the old coil of a snake, or falls down like a ripe fruit. The
self which is thus fixed in Siva becomes static (niskriyd) and is also
called niskala. The mind in this state is devoid of all good and bad
thoughts. When this yoga ideal is reached, the person becomes
omniscient, and he cannot any further be drawn to any kind of
illusory notions. So the liberated person, according to this saiva-
yoga, does not become a kevalin like the yogin following the
Patanjala discipline, but he becomes omniscient and has no
sorrows, and this happens by the grace of God. He becomes
absolutely liberated in the sense that he can arrest any future
aggression of evil or time, and he is not dependent on anybody. In
this way he attains or he shares the supreme power of the Lord.
Neither does he become subject to all the sufferings of being in the
mother s womb, or being born, and the like. He is free from the
sorrows due to ignorance, from which is produced egotism, which
leads one to forget that one is bound. So the liberated person
becomes free from all sorrows of birth and rebirth and all bodily
and mental sorrows as well.
The supreme Lord is also called Siva, because He is eternally
dissociated from all sorrows.
We thus see that there are five categories in this system. First,
there is the pati or the Lord which is the cause, which is called by
various names, Varna, Deva, Jyestha, Rudra, Kamin, Sahkara,
Kala, Kala-vikarana, Bala-vikarana, Aghora, Ghoratara, Sarva,
Sarva, Tatpurusa, Mahadeva, Omkara, Rsi, Vipra, Mahanlsa,
Isana, Isvara, Adhipati, Brahma, and Siva 1 . The Samkhya system
admits pradhdna as the cause, but in the Pasupata system God, as
distinguished from the pradhdna, is the cause.
The category of effect is the pasu, and pasu is described as
knowledge, the means of knowledge, and the living beings. They
are produced changed, or dissolved. By knowledge we understand
the scriptures, wisdom, merit, attainable objects, values, desires,
etc., leading up to the dissolution of all sorrows. The second
constituent of pasu called kald is of two kinds : as effect, such as
1 Pdsupata-sutras v. 47 (commentary).
142 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
earth, water, air, etc., and as the instrument of knowledge, such as
buddhi, egoism, manas, and internal organs, etc. The living beings,
the pasus, are of three types, the gods> men and animals. The
category of pradhdna, which is regarded as cause in Samkhya, is
regarded as effect in the Pdsupata-sdstra. Whatever is known or
visible (pasyand) is called pdsa, and is regarded as effect. So
purusa, which is regarded as cause elsewhere, is regarded as an
effect, a pasu, here. We have already discussed the categories of
yoga and vidhi leading to the dissolution of all sorrows.
A survey of the Pdsupata-sutras with Kaundinya s bhdsya leads
us to believe that it is in all probability the same type of LakulTsa-
Pasupata system as referred to by Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-
samgraha in the fourteenth century. It may also be the same
system of Pasupatas as referred to by Sankara in his bhdsya on the
second book of the second chapter of the Brahma-sutra. There is
no reference here to the doctrine of mdyd, nor to the doctrine of
monism as propounded by Sankara. Even at the time of emancipa
tion the liberated souls do not become one with Siva, the supreme
Lord, but the emancipation only means that by mental steadiness
the devotee is in perpetual contact with Siva, and this is what is
meant by the word sdyujya. We also hear that, though God is
omnipotent, He has no power over the liberated souls. Apparently
the world and the beings were created by God, but this Pasupata
system does not make any special effort to explain how this
world came into being. It is only in acknowledging Siva as the
instrumental cause of the world in this sense, that this Pasupata
system is very different from the Saiva system of Srlkantha and of
the Vdyaviya-samhitd, where the monistic bias is very predomi
nant. Here we have monotheism, but not monism or pantheism or
panentheism. It may also be pointed out that the Pasupata system
as represented in this work is a Brahmanical system. For it is only
Brahmins who could be initiated to the Pasupata doctrines, but at
the same time it seems to break off from Brahmanism in a variety
of ways. It does not recommend any of the Brahmanical rites, but
it initiates some new rites and new ways of living which are not so
common in the Brahmanical circle. It keeps some slender contact
with Brahmanism by introducing the meditation on the syllable
om. But as regards many of its other rituals it seems to be entirely
non-Vedic. It does not refer to any of the Dravidian works as its
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 143
source book, and yet it cannot be identified with the Pasupata
system of Srikantha or the Vdyavlya-samhitd.
It is also important to know that the Pasupata system of the
Pdsupata-sutras has but little connection with the idea of prakrti as
energy or otherwise, as we find in the Puranic Pasupata system.
None of the categories of Samkhya appear to be of any relevance
regarding the creation of the world. About Yoga also one must
always distinguish this Pdsupata-yoga and the Pdsupata-yogas
referred to in the Puranas or in the Yoga-sutra of Patanjali. The
word yoga is used in the sense of continuous contact and not the
suppression of all mental states (citta-vrtti-nirodha\ as we find in
the Pdtanjala-yoga. The emphasis here is on pratydhdra, that is,
withdrawing the mind from other objects and settling it down to
God. There is therefore here no scope for nirodha-samddhi, which
precedes kaivalya in Pdtanjala-yoga. It may not be impossible
that the Saiva influence had somehow impressed upon the Yoga-
sutra of Patanjali, which apparently drew much of its material
from Buddhism, and this becomes abundantly clear if we compare
the Vydsa-bhdsya on the Yoga-sutra with the Abhidharmakosa of
Vasubandhu. The Sdmkhya-sutra that we now possess was prob
ably later than the Yoga-sutra, and it therefore presumed that the
metaphysical speculations of Samkhya could be explained without
the assumption of any God for which there is no proof. The Yoga-
sutra did not try to establish Isvara or God which is also the name
for Siva, but only accepted it as one of its necessary postulates.
As a matter of fact, none of the systems of Indian philosophy tried
to establish God by any logical means except the Naiyayikas, and
according to tradition the Naiyayikas are regarded as Saivas.
In this connection, without any reference to some Agama works
to which we may have to refer later on, we can trace the develop
ment of the Pasupata system in the tenth, eleventh, and up to the
fourteenth centuries. It has been said before that the Isvara-
karanins, referred to by Sankara, may refer to the Naiyayikas, and
now I shall be referring to Ganakdrikd, a Pasupata work attributed
to Haradattacarya, on which Bhasarvajna wrote a commentary,
called the Ratnatikd. Bhasarvajna is well known as the author of
the Nydya-sdra, on which he wrote a commentary called Nydya-
bhusana. In this he tried to refute the views of Dinnaga, Dharma-
kirti, Prajna-karagupta, the author of Pramdna-vdrttikdlamkdra,
144 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
who lived about the middle of the tenth century and is quoted by
Ratnakarasanti of about A.D. 980. Bhasarvajna, therefore, seems to
have lived in the second half of the tenth century. The Ganakdrikd
consists of eight verses, and its purport is the same as that of the
Pdsupata-sutras. The Pdsupata-sutra that we have dealt with is the
same as that which is referred to as Pdsupata-sdstra, as the Sarva-
darsana-samgraha quotes the first sutra of the Pdsupata-sdstra 1 .
Gunaratna in his commentary on Haribhadra s Saddarsana-
samuccaya says that the Naiyayikas are also called Yaugas and they
walk about with long staffs and scanty loin-cloths, covering them
selves up with blankets. They have matted locks of hair, smear
their bodies with ashes, possess the holy thread, carry utensils for
water, and generally live in the forests or under trees. They live
largely on roots and fruits, and are always hospitable. Sometimes
they have wives, sometimes not. The latter are better than the
former. They perform the sacrificial duties of fire. In the higher
state they go about naked; they purify their teeth and food with
water, smear their bodies with ashes three times, and meditate upon
Siva. Their chief mantra is om namah sivdya. With this they address
their guru and their guru also replies in the same manner. In their
meetings they say that those men or women who follow the
practices of Saiva initiation for twelve years attain ultimately
salvation or Nirvana. Siva the omniscient being, the creator and
destroyer of the world, is regarded as a god. Siva has eighteen in
carnations (avatdrd), namely Nakullsa, Kausika, Gargya, Maitreya,
Kaurusa, Isana, Para-gargya, Kapilanda, Manusyaka, Kusika,
Atri, Pingala, Puspaka Brhadarya, Agasti, Santana, Raslkara, and
Vidyaguru. They adore the aforesaid saints.
They further say that the ultimate being that they worship is
not associated with any of the Puranic characteristics of Siva, such
as having matted locks, or the lunar digit in the hair, etc. Such a
supreme being is devoid of all such characteristics and passions.
Those who desire mundane happiness worship Siva with such
associated qualities, and as possessing attachment or passion. But
those who are really absolutely unattached, they worship Siva as
unattached. People attain just those kinds of fruits that they wish
to have, and the manner in which they wish to worship the deity.
1 Sarva-darsana-samgraha, Nakulisa-pdsupata-darsana: Tatredam ddi-
sutram, " athdtah pasupateh pdsupata-yoga-vidhim vydkhydsydmah" iti.
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 145
Gunaratna says that the Vaisesikas also follow the same kind
of external insignia and dress, because the Vaisesikas and the
Naiyayikas are very much similar in their philosophical attitudes.
Gunaratna further says that there are four types of Saivas Saivas,
Pasupatas, Mahavratadharas, and Kalamukhas, as well as other
subsidiary divisions. Thus there are some who are called Bharata
who do not admit the caste rules. He who has devotion to Siva can
be called a Bharata. In the Nyaya literature the Naiyayikas are
called Saivas, because they worship Siva, and the Vaisesikas are
called Pasupatas. So the Naiyayika philosophy goes by the name
of Saiva and Vaisesika by the name of Pasupata. Gunaratna says
that he gives this description just as he has seen it and had heard
of it. Their main dialectical works are Nydya-sutra, Vdtsydyana-
bhdsya, Udyotkara s Vdrttika, Vacaspati Misra s Tdtparya-tika,
and Udayana s Tdtparya-parisuddhi. Bhasarvajna s Nydya-sdra and
its commentary Nydya-bhusana and Jayanta s Nydya-kalikd and
Udayana s Nydya-kusumdnjaliare also mentioned as important works.
The statement of Gunaratna about the Saivas is further corro
borated by Rajasekhara s description of the Saiva view in his
Saddarsana-samuccaya. Rajasekhara further says that Aksapada,
to whom the Nydya-sutras are attributed, was the primary teacher
of the Nyaya sect of Pasupatas. They admit four pramdnas,
perception, inference, analogy, and testimony, and they admit
sixteen categories of discussion, namely, pramdna, prameya,
samsaya, prayojana, drstdnta, siddhdnta, avayava, tarka, nirnaya,
vdda, jalpa, vitandd, hetvdbhdsa, chala, jdti and nigrahasthdna.
These are just the subjects that are introduced in the first sutra of
Aksapada s Nydya-sutra. The ultimate object is the dissolution of
all sorrow preparatory to liberation. Their main logical work is
that by Jayanta and also by Udayana and Bhasarvajna.
Kaundinya s commentary on the Pdsupata-sutras seems to
belong to quite an early period, and it may not be inadmissible
to say that it was a writing of the early period of the Christian era.
But whether Kaundinya can be identified with Rasikara, is more
than we can say. Rasikara is mentioned in Sarva-darsana-
samgraha, and there is of course nothing to suggest that Kaundinya
could not have been the gotra name of Rasikara.
Apart from the Ratnatlkd on the Ganakdrikd, it seems that there
was also a bhdsya, but this bhdsya was not on Ganakdrikd, but it
146 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
was the bhdsya of Kaundinya on the Pdsupata-sutras which we have
already examined. In the Ganakarika, a reference is made to eight
categories of a fivefold nature and also one category of a tripartite
nature. Thus in speaking of strength or power (bala\ which must
be a source of the attainment of the other categories, we hear of
faith in the teacher, contentment (mateh prasddd), fortitude (that
is, power of bearing all kinds of sorrow), merit or dharma, and also
conscious carefulness (apramada).
The question of bala or strength may naturally come when one
has to conquer one s enemies. One may, therefore, ask the signi
ficance of the attainment of bala or strength in following a course
for the attainment of liberation. The answer to such an inquiry is
that strength is certainly required for destroying ignorance,
demerit, and the like. These are counted as destruction of ignorance
in all its dormant seats, destruction of demerit, dissolution of all
that leads to attachment, preservation from any possible failure,
and also the complete cessation of the qualities that lead to animal
existence as pasu through the meditation of God.
This strength may be exercised under different conditions and
circumstances. First, when one shows oneself as a member of the
Pasupata sect, smearing the body with ashes and lying on the ashes,
and so on; secondly, in the hidden stage, when one hides from
other people the fact of one s being a member of the Pasupata sect,
and when one behaves like an ordinary Brahmin. The third stage
is a stage when one conquers all one s sense propensities. Next is
the stage when all attractions cease. These include the other
behaviours of a Pasupata ascetic, such as dancing and acting like
a madman. The final stage is the stage of siddhi, the final
emancipation.
The fifth kdrikd refers to the process of initiation (dtksd), which
consists of the necessary ceremonial articles, the proper time, the
proper action, the phallic insignia of Siva, and the teachers.
The kdrikds then go on to enumerate the different kinds of
attainment (Idbha). Of these the foremost is knowledge. This
knowledge is to be attained methodically by the enumeration of the
categories of knowledge, and thereafter by a sufficient description
of them as we find in the Nydya-sutras. This will also include the
various kinds of pramdnas or proof, the differentiation between
substance and attitude, the definition of action leading up to the
xxxvm] Doctrine of the Pdsupata-sutras 147
final action of dissociation of all sorrows. In other philosophies the
dissociation of sorrows is merely a negative quality, but in this
system the dissolution of sorrow involves within it the possession
of miraculous powers. This attainment of miraculous powers is
called also jndna-sakti and kriyd-sakti. Jndna-sakti means jndna
as power. This kriyd-sakti consists of various kinds of powers of
movement. As this system does not hold the idea of evolution or
self-manifestation, the attainment of these powers is by association
with superior powers. This is quite in accordance with the Nyaya
theory regarding the origination of qualities. All the categories of
knowledge, merit, etc., are included as being within the range of
attainment. This also includes the inanimates and the animate
characters such as the elements, the five cognitive senses, the five
conative senses, and the manas.
God is called the Lord or pati, because He is always associated
with the highest powers; these powers do not come to Him as a
result of any action, but they abide in Him permanently. For this
reason He can by His will produce any action or effect which
stands before us as creation and it is for this reason that the creation
of the world is regarded as a sort of play by Him. This is what
distinguishes Him from all other animate beings, and this is His
greatness.
The whole course of vidhi or proper religious behaviour con
sists of those kinds of action which would ultimately purify the
individual and bring him close to God. In this connection tapas is
recommended for the destruction of sins and for the generation
of merit. Dharma, also consisting of various kinds of ritualistic
behaviour, is recommended for the attainment of knowledge.
The continuous meditation on God with emotion (nityata)
and the complete dissociation of the mind from all defects (sthiti)
are also advised. These ultimately lead to the final liberation
when the individuals become associated with great miraculous
powers liked Siva Himself. In other systems the liberated souls
have no miraculous powers; they have only all their sorrows
dissolved.
The above attainments should be made by residence with the
teacher, or where people live who follow the caste and the Asrama
rules, or in any vacant place which is cleaned up and which has a
covering on it, or in the cremation ground ; or finally the aspirant
148 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
with the cessation of his body may live in fixed association with the
supreme Lord.
We must now turn to the means by which the aspirant may
attain his desired end. The first is technically called vdsa. It means
many things; it means the capacity to understand the proper
meanings of words of texts, to remember them, to be able to
collate and complete that knowledge in association with knowledge
gained in other places, the ability to criticise the teachings of
opposite schools in favour of one s own school, to be able to grasp
the correct meaning of texts which have been differently inter
preted, to be able to carry one s own conviction to other people,
the ability to speak without contradiction and repetition and
without any kind of delusion, and thereby to satisfy the teacher. To
these must be added the proper courtesy and behaviour towards
the teacher. This latter is called carya, paricaryd, or kriyd. The
term carya is also used to denote various kinds of action, such as
smearing the body with ashes, and so on. According to the
Pasupata system the bathing of the body with ashes is equivalent
to proper sacrifice, that is, yajna. Other kinds of sacrifice are
regarded as bad sacrifices.
Bhasarvajna follows Kaundinya s bhdsya in describing carya as
being twofold or threefold. Thus the bathing of the body with
ashes, lying down, muttering mantras, etc., are called vrata, which
produces merit and removes demerit. All the other recommenda
tions found in Kaundinya s bhdsya as regards shivering, laughing,
making noises, etc., are also repeated here. In fact, the Gana-
kdrikd and the Ratnatlkd closely follow the teachings of Kaundinya
in his bhdsya, which is regarded as the most prominent work of the
Pasupata school.
One important point in this system deserves to be noticed.
God Himself is absolutely independent. The introduction of the
idea of karma and its fruit is not so indispensable, for the simple
reason that no karmas can produce any fruit without the will of
God. All karmas can be frustrated by God s will. So the introduc
tion of the karma theory, which is held in so high an esteem in other
systems of philosophy, is here regarded as superfluous. That this
was the idea of the Nakullsa-Pasupata philosophy from the time of
the Pdsupata-sutras and Kaundinya s bhdsya to the fourteenth
century when the Sarva-darsana-samgraha was written, is
xxxvm] Saiva Ideas of Manikka-vachakar 149
thoroughly borne out by texts. The action of all living beings
depends upon the will of God. God Himself having no purpose to
fulfil, does not want karma as an intermediary between His will and
His effect.
After considerable difficulty we obtained a copy of Mrgendrd-
gama from the Government Manuscript Library of Madras. It
appears that this Agama was one of the important texts of the
Pasupata sect. But the portions that we have recovered deal mainly
with various kinds of rituals and they have no philosophical interest.
The Saiva Ideas of Manikka-vachakar
in the Tiru-vachaka.
In the present work the writer has refrained from utilising
material from a Dravidian language such as Tamil, Telegu, and
Kanarese. This is due to more than one reason. The first is that the
writer has no knowledge of the Dravidian languages, and it is too
late for him to acquire it, as it might take a whole life time to do so.
The second is that this history in all its past volumes has only taken
note of material available in Sanskrit. Thirdly, so far as the present
author can judge, there is hardly anything of value from the
philosophical point of view in Dravidian literature which is
unobtainable through Sanskrit. A Tamil work could, however, be
taken in hand, if there were any trustworthy translation of it, and
if the work were of any great reputation. It is fortunate that
Manikka-vachakar s Tiru-vachaka^ which is held in very high
esteem, has a trustworthy translation by the Rev. G. U. Pope, who
devoted his life to the study of Tamil, and may be regarded as a
very competent scholar in that language. It appears that Tamil
was particularly rich in poetry, and we have many devotional songs
both in Tamil and in Kanarese, but I do not know of any systematic
philosophical work either in Tamil or in Kanarese which is not
presented in Sanskrit. The Tamil literature also abounds in
mythical and legendary accounts of many of the saints, which go
by the name of Puranas, such as Periya-purdna and Tiru-vdtavurdr-
purana, N amply dnddr-nampi-pur ana and Sekkilar-purdna.
Tiru-vachaka is a book of poems by Manikka-vachakar. It is
full of devotional sentiments and philosophical ideas, but it is not
150 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
a system of philosophy in the modern sense of the term. Pope
wishes to place Manikka-vachakar in about the seventh or eight
century, apparently without any evidence. R. W. Frazer, in his
article on Dravidians 1 , places him in the ninth century, also without
any evidence. Manikka-vachakar is supposed to have been born
near Madura. The meaning of his name is "he whose utterances
are rubies." He is supposed to have been a prodigy of intellect
and was a consummate scholar in the Brahmanical learning and the
Saivdgamas. These Agamas, as we have pointed out elsewhere,
are written in Sanskrit verses and also in Tamil. It appears, there
fore, that the background of Manikka-vachakar s thought was in
Sanskrit. The mythical story about Manikka-vachakar, available in
the Tiru-vilaiyddil and in the Vatavurar-purana as summarised by
Pope, need not detain us here. We find that he renounced the
position of a minister of the king and became a Saiva ascetic. His
mind was oppressed with the feeling of sadness for all people
around him, who were passing through the cycles of birth and
death, and had no passionate love for Siva which alone could save
them. This state of his mental agitation, and the confession of his
ignorance and youthful folly, are specially described in some of his
poems.
Later on Siva Himself meets him, and from that time forward
he becomes a disciple of Siva. Siva appears before him with His
three eyes, His body smeared with ashes, and holding a book in
His hand called Siva-jndna-bodha, the well-known work of
Meykandadeva. Pope himself admits that the Siva-jndna-bodha
could not have been written by the sixth century A.D., the supposed
date of Manikka-vachakar 2 .
In the course of his career he travelled from shrine to shrine
until he came to Chidambaram, where in a discussion he com
pletely discomfited the Buddhists, partly by logic and partly by
the demonstration of miraculous powers. He then returned to
other devotees and set up a lingam under a tree and worshipped it
day and night. It was from that time that he began his poetical
compositions which are full of the glory of Siva and His grace.
1 In Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.
2 Siva-jndna-bodha is supposed to have been written by Meykandadeva in or
about A.D. 1223. See article on Dravidians by Frazer in Encyclopaedia of Religion
and Ethics.
xxxvm] Saiva Ideas of Manikka-vachakar 151
A study of his poems reveals the gradual evolution of his mind
through various states of repentance, afflictions, sadness, and his
extreme devotedness and love for Siva. Pope, in commenting on
the poetry of Manikka-vachakar, says scarcely ever has the
longing of the human soul for purity and peace and divine
fellowship found worthier expression 1 ."
The fact of the omnipresence of God is often expressed in the
Saiva songs as the sport of Siva. The whole universe is bright with
his smile and alive with his joyous movements. This idea is so
much overstressed that Siva is often called a deceiver and a maniac,
and in the Pasupata system the Pasupata ascetics are advised to
behave like mad people, dancing about and even deceiving others
into thinking of them as bad people, and making all kinds of noise
and laughing in an irrelevant manner. It is also supposed that
Siva would often try the loyalty of his devotees in various forms of
manifestations, trying to represent Himself in an exceedingly
unfavourable light. The dancing of Siva is particularly symbolical
of his perpetual gracious actions throughout the universe and in
loving hearts. He reminds one of the pre- Aryan demon dancers in
the burning grounds.
We assume that the teaching of Manikka-vachakar is in con
sonance with the teaching of the Siva-jndna-bodha, which was
composed at a later date. Umapati has a commentary on the
Siva-jndna-bodha which has been translated by Hoisington in the
American Oriental Society Journal of 1895. In this book various
types of liberation are described. Distinguishing the Saiva view
from other views, one may find a number of variations in concep
tion in the different Saiva schools. Some of these variations have
already been noted in the different sections of Southern Saivism.
There are many who think that the innate corruptions of the soul
can be removed, and this may lead to a permanent release from all
bonds (pasa). The Saiva-siddhdnta, however, insists that even in
this liberated state the potentiality of corruption remains, though
it may not be operative. It remains there in the soul as a permanent
dark spot. So the personal identity and the imperfections cling
together in all finite beings, and they are never destroyed even in
liberation. Other sectarian Saivas, however, think that by the
grace of Siva the innate corruptions of the soul may be removed,
1 Pope s translation, p. xxxiv.
152 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
from which it necessarily follows that there may be permanent
release from all bonds. There are other Saivas who think that in
liberation the soul acquires miraculous powers, and that the
liberated persons are partakers of divine nature and attributes, and
are able to gain possession of, and exercise, miraculous powers
called siddhi. There are others who think that in emancipation the
soul becomes as insensible as a stone. This apathetic existence is
the refuge of the soul from the suffering and struggle of the cycle
of births and rebirths. We have already mentioned most of these
ideas of liberation in a more elaborate manner in the relevant
sections. But according to Manikka-vachakar the soul is finally set
free from the influence of threefold defilement through the grace
of Siva, and obtains divine wisdom, and so rises to live eternally in
the conscious, full enjoyment of Siva s presence and eternal bliss.
This is also the idea of the Siddhanta philosophy 1 .
A great pre-eminence is given to the idea of the operation of
divine grace (called and in Tamil) in the Saiva Siddhanta. The
grace is divine or mystic wisdom, to dissipate the impurities of the
anava-mala and to show the way of liberation. The souls are under
the sway of accumulated karma, and it is by the grace of the Lord
that the souls of men, in a state of bondage in the combined state,
are let loose and find their place in suitable bodies for gradually
working out and ultimately attaining liberation. Through all the
stages, grace is the dynamic force that gradually ennobles the
pilgrim towards his final destination. The grace of Siva through
the operation of His energy (sakti) affords light of understanding,
by which people perform their actions of life and accumulate their
karma and experience joys and sufferings. The material world is
unconscious and the souls have no knowledge of their own nature.
It is only by the grace of Siva that the individuals understand their
state and acquire the mystic knowledge by which they can save
themselves ; yet no one knows the grace of Siva and how it envelops
him, though he is endowed with all sense perceptions. From
beginningless time the individuals have been receiving the grace of
God, but they have seldom come under its influence, and are thus
devoid of the right approach to the way to deliverance.
The grace can be observed as operative when the proper guru
comes and advises the person to follow the right course. When the
1 Pope, loc. cit. p. xliv.
xxxvm] Saiva Ideas of Mdnikka-vdchakar 153
opposition of sins and merits is counter-balanced, Siva s emanci
pating grace begins to show its work. In order to be saved, one
should know the spiritual essence of karma and the twofold kinds of
karma, and the joys and sorrows which are associated with them,
and the Lord Who brings the deeds to maturity at the appointed
time so that the soul may experience their effects.
Just as a crystal reflects many colours under the sun s light and
yet retains its own transparent character, so the energy or wisdom
obtained as a grace of the Lord irradiates the soul and permeates
the world. Without the mystic wisdom obtained through the grace
of Siva, no one can obtain real knowledge. The soul is unintelligent
without Siva. All the actions of souls are performed with the
active guidance of Siva, and even the perception of the senses as
instruments of knowledge is owed to Siva s grace.
In the second stage we are taught how to apply knowledge for
the cleansing of the soul. Those who endure the delusive sufferings
of worldly experience would naturally seek relief in the grace of
God as soon as they became convinced of their impurities. To a
jaundiced person even sweet milk appears bitter, but if the tongue
is cleansed the bitterness is gone; so under the influence of the
original impurities all religious observances are distasteful, but
when these impurities are removed then the teachings of the guru
become operative.
What cannot be perceived by the senses, supreme bliss, is
known by the operation of grace in a spiritual manner. The grace
of God is spontaneously revealed to us. The supreme felicity is
thus a gift of grace which souls cannot obtain of themselves.
Only those who are introduced to this grace can combine with
Siva in bliss. There is a curious notion that the souls are feminine
and so is the sakti or energy, and Siva is the Lord with whom there
is a mystic unification. Siva is perfect bliss. If there is a mystic
union between the soul and the Lord, then they should become
one, leaving the duality between the soul and God unexplained ; it
has to be assumed, therefore, that they both become one and
remain divided. When the bonds are removed the devotee becomes
one with God in speechless rapture, and there is no scope for him
to say that he has obtained Siva. Those who obtain release, and
those who attain the state of samddhi, are never torn asunder from
the Lord. In that state all their physical actions are under the
154 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
complete control of the Lord. There thus comes a state when the
knower, the mystic knowledge, and the Siva appear no more as
distinct, but as absorbed in one another.
Though those who enter this state of samddhi gain omniscience
and other qualities, yet while they are on this earth they know
nothing whatever except the supreme Lord, the object of their
mystic knowledge. All their sense-organs are restrained and sink
deep into their source and do not show themselves. Within and
without the divine grace stands revealed. In this mystic enlighten
ment the phenomenal universe is only seen in God.
In the Vdtavurdr-purdnam as translated by Pope there is an
account of the controversy of Manikka-vachakar with the Buddhist
teachers in Chidambaram. The controversy does not manifest any
great knowledge of Buddhism on either side. The disputation hangs
round this or that minor point and lacks logical co-ordination, so
that it is unprofitable to follow it up. It is also extremely doubtful
if that controversy were in any way responsible for the loss of
prestige on the side of Buddhist thought, which must have been
due, from the ninth century onwards, to the rise of various South
Indian sects which quarrelled with each other, and also, mainly, to
political reasons.
Manikka-vachakar and Saiva Siddhanta.
We read in Sankara s commentary (n. 2. 27) that he mentions
the name Siddhdnta-sdstra written by Siva Himself, and he gives
us some specimen ideas of these which can be covered within two
concepts: (i) that the Siddhantas assume God to be the instru
mental cause, against the Vedanta view that God represents the
whole of reality and that there is nothing outside Him. He also
(2) refers to the Saiva doctrine which acknowledged three cate
gories, the pati, pasu, and pdsa. Among the Saivas he refers to the
Maha-karunikas, Kapalikas, etc. As I have often said, it is
extremely difficult to discover with any exactitude the sort of
Saivism that Sahkara designates by the name Siddhanta, as also to
define the characteristics of the systems that he wanted to refute.
We have now before us a system of Saivism which goes by the
name of Saiva Siddhanta and a whole lot of works regarded as the
works of the Saiva Siddhanta school. Much of it, particularly in
xxxvm] Mdnikka-vachakar and Saiva Siddhdnta 155
the way of commentaries, is written in Tamil : some of it is avail
able in Sanskrit. A sort of Saivism very similar to this is found
in the Vdyavlya section of the Siva-mahdpurdna. It is said in those
sections that the original doctrine of that philosophy was written
in the Agama works as composed by the successive incarnations cf
Siva. The same teachings are to be found also in Tamil Agamas,
which have the same authority and content. Pope says that the
Saiva Siddhanta system is the most elaborate, influential, and
undoubtedly the most intrinsically valuable of all the religions of
India. This seems to me to be a wild exaggeration. The fundamental
facts of Saivism are composed of Vedantic monism and Samkhya,
and sometimes the Nyaya doctrines have also been utilised. This
latter refers to the Pasupata school of Saivism, as has been noted
elsewhere. It is also doubtful if it is peculiarly South Indian and
Tamil, for we have similar doctrines in the Vdyavlya-samhitd and
also in a somewhat variant form in the Northern Saivism. There
are many statements by Pope which seem to have no factual value,
and if the present work had any polemical intention, it would be
necessary to criticise him more definitely.
Some people say that the oldest form of Saivism is the old pre
historic religion of South India, but I have not found any evidence
to show the exact nature of an existent pre-Aryan, Dravidian
religion which could be identified with what we now know as
Saivism. It is as yet very doubtful whether the pre-Aryan Dravi-
dians had any systematic form of philosophy or religion differing
from that of the kindred classes of other aborigines.
In our view the Pdsupata-sutra and bhdsya were referred to by
Sahkara and were probably the earliest basis of Saivism, as can be
gathered by literary evidences untrammelled by flying fancies. We
are ready to believe that there were ecstatic religious dances, rites
of demon- worship, and other loathsome ceremonials, and that
these, though originally practised for ancestor-worship and the
like, were gradually accepted by the earliest Pasupatas, whose
behaviour and conduct do not seem to affiliate them with the
Brahmanic social sphere, though holders of such Saiva doctrines
had to be Brahmins. Castelessness was not a part of the earlier
Pasupata Saivism. In a separate section we shall try to give an
estimate of the evolution of the concept of Siva from Vedic times.
The affirmation that one little Christian Church on the east coast
156 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
of India exerted its influence on the dominant Saiva and Vaisnava
faith in the country lacks evidence. We have found that as a rule
those who held the Sanskritic culture hardly ever read even Pali
texts of Buddhism, though Pali is so much akin to Sanskrit. On
this account we find that the reputed disputation of Manikka-
vachakar with the Buddhists is uninteresting, as it does not seem
that Manikka-vachakar or the Ceylonese knew much of each other s
faith. Pope s statement, that Kumarila Bhatta preached the doctrine
of a personal deity in the South, is absolutely wrong, because the
Mlmamsa view as expounded by Kumarila did not admit any God
or creator.
Manikka-vachakar, probably of the ninth century, was one of
the earliest saints of the school of thought that goes by the name
of Saiva Siddhanta. Probably about a century later there arose
Nanasambandhar and other devotees who developed the doctrine
further. Their legendary tales are contained in the Periya-purdna.
But it is peculiar that King Bhoja of Dhara, who wrote a Saiva work
of great distinction called Tattva-prakdsa, does not take any
notice of these Tamil writers. Similarly Madhava, also in the
fourteenth century, does not mention any of these Tamil writers.
We are told that thereafter came fourteen sages, called Santdna-
gurus (succession of teachers), who properly elaborated the system
of philosophy known as the Saiva Siddhanta. One of these was
Umapati, who lived in A.D. 1313. He was thus a contemporary of
Madhava, though Madhava makes no reference to him.
The thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries were periods of
great theistic enterprises in the hands of the Saivas and the
Srlvaisnavas. In interpreting Tiru-vachakam, Umapati says that
the real intention of all the Vedas is summed up in three mystic
words : pati, pasu y and pasa, the Lord, the flock, and the bond.
These are the three categories of the Saiva Siddhanta system. But
we have already pointed out that there were no special peculiarities
of the Saiva Siddhanta; it was referred to by Sankara in the eighth
century and it formed the cardinal doctrine of the Pasupata school
of Saivism, and also to the schools of Saivism as we find them in
the Vdyaviya section of the Siva-mahdpurdna. The pati, pasu and
pdsa are equally eternal, existing unchanged and undiminished
through the ages. This pati is none else but Siva, who is called by
various names, such as Rudra, pasundm-pati, Siva, etc. Umapati
xxxvm] Mdnikka-vdchakar and Saiva Siddhdnta 157
says that Siva is the supreme Being, is neither permanently mani
fested nor unmanifested ; He is without qualities or distinguishing
marks, free from all impurities, absolute and eternal, the source of
wisdom to innumerable souls, and not subject to any fluctuations.
He is immaterial and of the nature of pure bliss. He is difficult of
access to the perverse, but He is the final goal of those that truly
worship Him. Siva is thus described to be niskala, without parts,
perfect in Himself, but is capable of manifestation, and in order to
energise in souls the various constituents of that eternal aggre
gate of impurity which constitutes the bond, He assumes a sakala
nature, that is, one composed of pieces of spiritual bodies. He is
formless and has the form of wisdom. He creates, preserves, and
consigns all to the power of mdyd, but He is the ultimate refuge
who never leaves us. He dwells everywhere and pervades all things
as fire pervades all wood. He offers His boon only to those who
approach Him for it.
Turning to the groups of animate beings called pasu, it is
suggested that from beginningless time an infinite number of souls
must have obtained their release. Generally there are three kinds
of impurities darkness, deeds (karma) and delusion. When delu
sion is removed, darkness may still continue. The souls can
perceive objects through sense organs only when their functions
are supplemented by some innate divine faculty. All beings are
infested with original impurities. The threefold impurities which
constitute the bond are directly known by Siva.
Para-siva or the supreme Lord and Para-sakti are two in one.
Siva is pure intelligence (jndna) and Sakti is pure energy (kriyd).
Out of their union, evolves (i) icchd-sakti, which is a combination
of jndna and kriyd in equal proportion; (2) kriyd-sakti which is a
combination of jndna and kriyd with an excess of kriyd\ and (3)
jnana-sakti, which is a combination of jndna and kriyd with an
excess of jndna, also called arul-sakti. The arul-sakti is the jnana-
sakti active at the time of the liberation of the souls, while as
tirodhdna-sakti it is active at the time when the souls are fettered.
To sum up the position of the Saiva Siddhanta as far as we can
understand it from authoritative translations of Tamil works, and
also authoritative studies of Tamil literature like Pope and
Schomerus, we find that the souls which pervade the body are
themselves inanimate, and the intellectual apparatus by which
158 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
things are perceived are also unconscious. Conscious experience
can only originate by the energy of Siva. This energy, like a ray of
sun, is the original sakti or energy which is indistinguishable from
Siva. The Saiva Siddhanta school is in direct opposition to the
Carvaka school which denies the existence of any creator. The
Saiva Siddhanta school argues for the existence of a supreme
Being who evolves, sustains, and involves the phenomenal uni
verse. The whole universe, constituted of all beings, male and
female, and those which are without life, but which come into pheno
menal existence, subsists for a while and then subsides; but yet, as we
have said before, this does not clarify our knowledge regarding the
nature of the physical world and of the souls. It does not explain how
beings became associated from the beginning with impurities called
dnava-mala. Even at the attainment of release the souls could not
be united or become one with God. Other forms of Saivism have
attempted to follow slightly diverse lines to avoid these difficulties.
Though sakti is regarded as a part of Siva and this has led to
many mystical aspects of Tantra philosophy yet the relation of
the individual devotees to God is one of servitude and entire self-
surrender. It has none of the amorous sides of rapturous love that
we notice among the Vaisnava saints, the Arvars.
Tiru-vachakam may in some sense be regarded as a spiritual
biography of Manikka-vachakar which records his experiences at
different times of his life and explains. The work is full of his
religious experiences and enthusiasm, showing different states of
religious pathology. Thus he says:
What shall I do while twofold deeds fierce flame burns still out,
Nor doth the body melt, nor falsehood fall to dust?
In mind no union gained with the "Red fire s honey"
The Lord of Perun-turrai fair! 1
Shall I cry out, or wait, or dance or sing, or watch?
O Infinite, what shall I do ? The Siva who fills
With rapturous image, great Perun-turrai s Lord
Let all with me bending adore! 2
He filled with penury; set me free from births, my soul
With speechless fervours thrilled, blest Perun-turrai s Lord,
The Siva in grace exceeding made me His ; the balm
For all my pain, the deathless Bliss ! 3
1 Tiru-vachakam, p. 334. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. p. 336.
xxxvm] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 159
Glorious, exalted over all, the Infinite,
To me small slave, lowest of all, thou has assigned.
A place in bliss supreme, that none beside have gained or known !
Great Lord, what can I do for thee I 1
All ye His servants who ve become, put far away each idle sportive
thought ;
Such refuge at the fort where safety dwells ; hold fast unto the end
the sacred sign ;
Put off from you this body stained with sin ; in Siva s world He ll
surely give us place !
Bhujanga s self, whose form the ashes wears will grant you entrance
neath His flow ry feet! 2
Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja and
his commentators.
Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-samgraha of the fourteenth
century refers to a system of philosophy Saiva-darsana which
rejects the view that God of His own will arranges all experiences
for us, but that he does so on the basis of our own karma and that
this philosophy is based upon the Saivdgamas, supposed to have
been composed by Siva, Mahesvara. In examining the philosophy
of Srikantha and Appaya we have seen that they speak of twenty-
eight Agamas, which were all written by Siva or His incarnations,
and that, whether in Dravidian or in Sanskrit, they have the same
import. Though it will not be possible for us to get hold of all the
Agamas, we have quite a number of them in complete or incom
plete form. On the evidence of some of the Agamas themselves,
they were written in Sanskrit, Prakrt, and the local country
dialects 3 . We also find that, though written by Mahesvara, all the
Agamas do not seem to have the same import. This creates a good
deal of confusion in the interpretation of the Saivdgamas. Yet the
differences are not always so marked as to define the special
characteristics of the sub-schools of Saivism.
Bhoja, probably the well-known Bhoja of the eleventh century
who wrote Sarasvati-kanthdbharana and a commentary on the
Yoga-sutra, wrote also a work called Tattva-prakdsa which has
1 Ibid. p. 336. 2 Ibid. p. 329.
samskrtaih prdkrtair yas cdsisydnurupatah,
desa-bhdsadyupdyais ca bodhayet sa guruh smrtah.
Siva-jndna-siddhi (Mysore manuscript, no. 3726).
160 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
been referred to by Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-samgraha.
Madhava also refers to Aghora-sivacarya, whose commentary on
Tattva-prakdsa has not yet been published, but he omits Srikumara,
whose commentary on Tattva-prakdsa has been published in the
Trivendrum Series along with the Tattva-prakdsa. Aghora-
sivacarya seems to have written another commentary on the
Mrgendrdgama called the Mrgendrdgama-vrtti-dipikd. In writing
his commentary Aghora-sivacarya says that he was writing this
commentary, because other people had tried to interpret Tattva-
prakdsa with a monistic bias, as they were unacquainted with the
Siddhanta of the Agama-sastras. From the refutation of the
Mahesvara school by Sankara in n. 2. 37, we know that he regarded
the Mahesvaras as those that held God to be only the instrumental
agent of the world and the material cause of the world was quite out
side Him. According to the monistic Vedanta of Sankara, Brahman
was both the material and the instrumental cause of the world.
The world was in reality nothing but Brahman, though it appeared
as a manifold world through illusion, just as a rope may appear as
a snake through illusion. This is called the vivarta view as opposed
to the parindma view, according to which there is a material trans
formation leading to the production of the world. The parindma
view is held by the Samkhyists; the other view is that God is the
instrumental agent who shapes and fashions the world out of atoms
or a brute mdyd, the material force. The Naiyayikas hold that since
the world is an effect and a product of mechanical arrangement, it
must have an intelligent creator who is fully acquainted with the
delimitations and the potencies of the atomic materials. God thus
can be proved by inference, as any other agent can be proved by
the existence of the effect. This is also the viewpoint of some of the
Saivagamas such as the Mrgendra, Matahga-paramesvara, etc.
Srikumara, in interpreting Tattva-prakdsa^ seems to be in an
oscillating mood ; sometimes he seems to follow the Agama view of
God being the instrumental cause, and sometimes he tries to inter
pret on the Vedantic pattern of vivarta. Aghora-sivacarya takes a
more definite stand in favour of the Agama point of view and
regards God as the instrumental cause 1 . In our account of Saivism
1 vivddddhydsitam visvam visva-vit-kartr-purvakam, kdryatvdd dvayoh
siddham kdryam kumbhddikam yathd, iti srlman-mdtange pi, nimitta-kdranam tu
isa iti. ayam cesvara-vddo smdbhih mrgendra-vrtti-dlpikdydm vistarendpi darsita
iti. Aghora-sivacarya s commentary on Tattva-prakdsa (Adyar manuscript).
xxxvm] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 161
as explained in the Vdyaviya-samhita, we have seen how in the
hands of the Puranic interpreters Saivism had taken a rather
definite course towards absolute monism, and how the Samkhya
conception ofprakrti had been utilised as being the energy of God,
which is neither different from nor identical with Him. Such a
conception naturally leads to some kind of oscillation and this has
been noticed in the relevant places.
Madhava sums up the content of the Saivagamas as dealing
with three categories, pati, the Lord, pasu, the beings, and pdsa,
the bonds, and the four other categories ofvidyd, knowledge, kriya,
behaviour or conduct, yoga, concentration, and carya, religious
worship. Now the beings have no freedom and the bonds them
selves are inanimate ; the two are combined by the action of God.
Bhoja writes his book, Tattva-prakdsa y to explain the different
kinds of metaphysical and other categories (tattva) as accepted by
the Saiva philosophy. The most important category is Siva who is
regarded as being dt by which the Saivas understand combined
knowledge and action 1 . Such a conscious God has to be admitted
for explaining the superintendence and supervision of all inanimate
beings. This ultimate being is all by itself; it has no body and it
does not depend upon any thing; it is one and unique. It is also
all-pervading and eternal. The liberated individual souls also
become like it after liberation is granted to them, but God is
always the same and always liberated and He is never directed by
any supreme Lord. It is devoid of all passions. It is also devoid
of all impurities 2 .
Aghora-sivacarya follows the Saivagamas like the Mrgendra or
the Mdtanga-paramesvara in holding that the existence of God can
be inferred by arguments of the Naiyayika pattern. It is, therefore,
argued that God has created the world, maintains it, and will
destroy it; He blinds our vision and also liberates us. These five
actions are called anugraha, which we have often translated, in the
absence of a better word, as grace. In reality, it means God s
power that manifests itself in all worldly phenomena leading to
1 Aghora-sivacarya quoting Mrgendra in his commentary on Tattva-
prakasa says : caitanyam drk-kriyd-rupam iti cid eva ghanam deha-svarupam yasya
sa cidghanah. This cidghana is the attribute ascribed to iva in Tattva-prakasa.
2 moho madas ca rdgas ca visddah soka eva ca, vaicittam caiva harsas ca
saptaite sahajd maldh. Aghora-sivacarya s commentary (Adyar manuscript) on
Tattva-prakasa, kdrikd i.
1 62 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
bondage and liberation, everything depending upon the karma of
the individual. It is quite possible that in some schools of Saivism
this dynamism of God was interpreted as His magnificent grace,
and these people were called the Maha-karunikas. Anugraha, or
grace, thus extends to the process of creation. If it were ordinary
grace, then it could have been only when the world was already
there 1 . This anugraha activity includes creation, maintenance,
destruction, blinding the vision of the individuals, and finally
liberating them 2 . Srikumara explains the situation by holding that
the act of blinding and the act of enlightening through liberation
are not contradictory, as the latter applies only to those who have
self-control, sense-control, fortitude, and cessation from all enjoy
ment, and the former to those who have not got them 3 . God thus
is responsible for the enjoyable experiences and liberation of all
beings through His fivefold action. His consciousness (cit) is
integrally connected with His activity. Though God is of the
nature of consciousness and in that way similar to individual
souls, yet God can grant liberation to individual souls with powers
which the individual souls themselves do not possess. Though
God s consciousness is integrally associated with action, it is
indistinguishable from it. In other words God is pure thought-
activity.
The sakti or energy of Siva is one, though it may often be
diversely represented according to the diverse functions that it
performs. Srikumara points out that the original form of this
energy is pure bliss which is one with pure consciousness. For the
creation of the world God does not require any other instrument
than His own energy, just as our own selves can perform all opera
tions of the body by their own energy and do not require any
outside help. This energy must be distinguished from may a.
Taking mdya into consideration one may think of it as an eternal
energy, called bindu-mdyd which forms the material cause of the
world 4 .
1 anugrahas cdtropalakanam. Ibid.
2 Tattva-prakdsa, kdrikd 7.
3 Ibid. Commentary on Tattva-prakasa, kdrikd 7.
4 kdrya-bhede pi mdyddivan ndsydh parindma iti darsayati tasya jada-
dharmatvdt. adydm pradhdna-bhutdm samavetdm anena parigraha-saktisvarupam
bindu-mdydtmakam apy asya bdhya-sakti-dvayam asti. (Aghora-sivacarya s com
mentary, Adyar manuscript). Jsrikumara, however, thinks that Siva as
xxxvm] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 163
The monistic interpretation as found in Srlkumara s commen
tary is already anticipated as the Sivadvaita system in the Puranas,
more particularly in the Suta-samhitd 1 .
Siva arranges for the experiences and liberation of the indivi
dual souls in and through His energy alone. The fivefold action,
referred to above, is to be regarded as somehow distinguishing the
one energy in and through diverse functions.
The object of Tattva-prakdsa is to explain the Saiva philosophy
as found in the Saivdgamas, describing mainly the categories of
pati, pasu, and pdsa. The pad is the Lord and pasu is called anu,
and the five objects are the five pdsas or bonds. The anus are
dependent on God and they are regarded as belonging to different
classes of bondage. The fivefold objects are those which are due to
the mala and which belong to bindu-mdyd in different states of
evolution of purity and impurity. Srikumara points out that since
the souls are associated with mala from eternity, it comes under
the sway of the mayd, but since the souls are of the nature of Siva,
when this mala is burnt, they become one with Him. The fivefold
objects constituting the bondage are the mala, the karma, the
mayd, the world which is a product of mdyd, and the binding
power 2 .
It may be asked, if the energy belongs to God, how can it be
attributed to the objects of bondage? The reply is that in reality
the energy belongs to the Lord and the force of the pdsa or bondage
can only be regarded as force in a distant manner, in the sense that
the bondage or the power of bondage is felt in and through the
individual soul who receives it from the Lord 3 .
The pasus are those who are bound by the pdsa, the souls that
associated with the may a forms the instrumental and material cause of the world :
nimittopdddna-bhdvena avasthdndd iti brumah.
Such a view should make Saivism identical with the Advaitism of arikara.
Aghora-sivacarya wrote his commentary as a protest against this view, that it
does not represent the view of the Saivdgamas which regard God only as the
instrumental cause.
1 Sutasamhitd, Book iv, verse 28 et seq.
- malam karma ca mdyd ca mdyottham akhilam jagat, tirodhdnakdft saktir
artha-pancakam ucyate. Srlkumara s commentary, p. 32.
3 nanu katham ekaikasyd eva siva-sakteh pati-paddrthe ca pdsa-paddrthe ca
samgraha ucyate. satyam, paramdrthatah pati-paddrtha eva sakter antarbhdvah.
pdsatvam tu tasydm pdsa-dharmdnuvartanena upacdrdt. tad uktam srlman
Mrgendre tdsdm mdhesvarl saktih sarvdnugrdhikd sivd, dharmdnu vartandd eva
pdsa ity upacaryata, iti. Aghora-sivac5rya s commentary (Adyar manuscript).
164 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
go through the cycles of birth and rebirth. In this connection
Srikumara tries to establish the identity of the self on the basis of
self-consciousness and memory, and holds that these phenomena
could not be explained by the Buddhists who believed in momen
tary selves. These are three kinds; those which are associated with
mala and karma, those which are associated only with mala (these
two kinds are jointly called vijndna-kala) ; the third is called sakala.
It is associated with mala, mdyd and karma. The first, namely the
vijndna-kala, may again be twofold, as associated with the impuri
ties and as devoid of them. Those who are released from impurity
are employed by God with various angelic functions, and they are
called vidyesvara and mantresvara. Others, however, pass on to
new cycles of life, being associated with a composite body of eight
constituents which form the subtle body. These eight constituents
are the five sensibles, manas, buddhi, and ahankdra, and they all are
called by the name of puryastaka, the body consisting of the eight
constituents.
Those whose impurities (mala) get ripened may receive that
power of God through proper initiation by which the impurity is
removed, and they become one with God. The other beings, how
ever, are bound by God to undergo the series of experiences at the
end of which they may be emancipated.
The bonds orpdsa are of four kinds : first, the bond of mala and
the karma. The bond of mala is beginningless, and it stands as a
veil over our enlightenment and power of action. The karma also
flows on, depending on the mala from beginningless time. The
third is called mdyeya, which means the subtle and gross bodies
produced through mdyd, which is the fourth. Aghora-sivacarya
says that mdyeya means the contingent bonds of passion, etc.,
which are produced in consequence of karma. Even those who
have not the mdyeya impurity at the time of dissolution (pralaya)
remain by themselves but not liberated.
But what is mala! It is supposed to be one non-spiritual stuff,
which behaves with manifold functions. It is for this reason that
when the mala is removed in one person it may function in other
persons. This mala being like the veiling power of God, it continues
to operate on the other persons, though it may be removed in the
case of some other person. As the husk covers the seed, so the mala
covers the natural enlightenment and action of the individual ; and
xxxvm] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 165
as the husk is burnt by fire or heat, so this mala also may be
removed when the internal soul shines forth. This mala is respon
sible for our bodies. Just as the blackness of copper can be removed
by mercury, so the blackness of the soul is also removed by the
power of Siva.
Karma is beginningless and is of the nature of merit and
demerit (dharma and adharmd). Srikumara defines dharma and
adharma as that which is the special cause of happiness or unhappi-
ness, and he tries to refute other theories and views about dharma
and adharma. Maya is regarded as the substantive entity which is
the cause of the world. We have seen before that bondage comes
out of the products of mdyd (mdyeyd) ; so may a is the original cause
of bondage. It is not illusory, as the Vedantists say, but it is the
material cause of the world. We thus see that the power or energy
of God behaving as mala, mdyd, karma, and mdyeya, forms the
basic conception of bondage.
These are the first five pure categories arising out of Siva. The
category of Siva is regarded as the bindu, and it is the original and
primal cause of everything. It is as eternal as mdyd. The other four
categories spring from it, and for this reason it is regarded as mahd-
mdyd. These categories are the mythical superintending lords of
different worlds called vidyesvara, mantresvara, etc. So, from
bindu comes sakti, saddsiva, isvara, and vidyesvara. These cate
gories are regarded as pure categories. Again, in order to supply
experiences to individuals and their scope of action, five categories
are produced, namely, time (kdla), destiny (niyati), action (kala),
knowledge (vidya), and attachment (rdga). Again, from mdyd
comes the avyakta or the unmanifested, thegunas, and then buddhi,
and ahankdra, manas, the five conative senses and the five cogni
tive senses, and the gross matter, which make up twenty-three
categories from mdyd.
We thus see that these are in the first instance the five categories
of siva, sakti, saddsiva, Isvara, and mdyd. These are all of the
nature of pure consciousness (cidrupd), and being of such a nature,
there can be no impurity in them. We have next the seven cate
gories which are both pure and impure (cidacid-rupd), and these
are mdyd, kdla, niyati, kald, vidyd, rdga and purusa. Purusa,
though of the nature of pure consciousness, may appear as impure
on account of its impure association. Next to these categories we
1 66 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
have twenty-four categories of avyakta-guna-tattva, buddhi,
ahankdra, manas, the five cognitive senses, the five conative senses,
the five tanmatras, and five mahabhutas. Altogether these are the
thirty-six categories.
If we attend to this division of categories, we find that the so-
called impure categories are mostly the categories of Samkhya
philosophy. But while in the Samkhya, prakrti is equated with the
avyakta as the equilibrium of the three gunas, here in the Saiva
philosophy the avyakta is the unmanifested which comes from
mdyd and produces the gunas.
To recapitulate, we find that the system of thought presented
in the Tattva-prakdta, as based on the Saivagamas, is a curious
confusion of certain myths, together with certain doctrines of
Indian philosophy. One commentator, Srikumara, has tried to
read the monistic philosophy of Sankara into it, whereas the other
commentator, Aghora-sivacarya, has tried to read some sort of
duality into the system, though that duality is hardly consistent.
We know from Sankara s account of the philosophy of the Saiva
school that some Saivas called Mahesvaras tried to establish in
their works, the Siddhantas, the view that God is only the instru
mental cause (nimitta-kdrana) of the world, but not the material
cause (updddna-kdrana). In Sahkara s view God is both the
material and the instrumental cause of the world and of all beings.
Aghora-sivacarya s pretext for writing the commentary was that it
was interpreted by people having a monistic bias, and that it was
his business to show that, in accordance with the Saivdgamas, God
can only be the instrumental cause, as we find in the case of the
Naiyayikas. He starts with the premise that God is the sum total
of the power of consciousness and the power of energy, and he says
that the mdyd is the material cause of the world, from which are
produced various other material products which are similar to the
Samhkya categories. But he does not explain in what way God s
instrumentality affects the mdyd in the production of various
categories, pure and impure and pure-and-impure. He says that
even the energy of mdyd proceeds from God and appears in the
mdyd as if undivided from it. There is thus an original illusion
through which the process of the mdyd as bindu and ndda or the
desire of God for creation and the creation takes place. But he
does not any further explain the nature of the illusion and the
xxxvm] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 167
cause or the manners in which the illusion has been generated.
The original text of the Tattva-prakdsa is also quite unilluminating
regarding this vital matter. Aghora-sivacarya often refers to the
Mrgendrdgama for his support, but the Mrgendrdgama does not
follow the Samkhya course of evolution as does the Tattva-
prakdsa. There we hear of atoms constructed and arranged by
the will of God, which is more in line with the Nyaya point of
view.
Dealing with the nature of the soul, it is said that the souls are
anus in the sense that they have only a limited knowledge. The
souls are essentially of the nature of Siva or God, but yet they have
an innate impurity which in all probability is due to the influx of
mdyd into them. Nothing is definitely said regarding the nature
of this impurity and how the souls came by it. Srikumara explains
this impurity on the Vedantic lines as being of the nature of
avidya, etc. But Aghora-sivacarya does not say anything on this
point. It is said that when by the fruition of action the impurity
will ripen, God in the form of preceptor would give proper initia
tion, so that the impurity may be burnt out, and the souls so
cleansed or purified may attain the nature of Siva. Before such
attainment Siva may appoint some souls, which had had their
impurities cleansed, to certain mythical superintendence of the
worlds as vidyesvaras or mantresvaras. At the time of the cycles of
rebirth, the individual souls, which have to pass through it for
the ripening of their actions, do so in subtle bodies called the
puryastaka (consisting of the subtle matter, buddhi, ahankdra, and
manas).
Turning to the categories, we see that the so-called pdsa is also
in reality a derivative of the energy of Siva, and for this reason the
pdsa may be a blinding force, and may also be withdrawn at the
time of liberation. The category of Siva or siva-tattva, also called
bindu, makes itself the material for the creation of the fivefold pure
tattvas and the other impure categories up to gross matter, earth.
These fivefold pure categories are tiva-tattva, sakti-tattva,
saddsiva-tattva, isvara-tattva, and vidyd-tattva. The bodies of
these pure categories are derived from the pure mdyd, called the
mahdmdyd. Next to these we have the pure-and-impure categories
of kdla, niyati, kald, vidyd, and rdga, which are a sort of link
between the souls and the world, so that the souls may know and
1 68 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
work. Next from the mdyd comes avyakta, the guna-tattva, and
from the guna-tattva, the buddhi-tattva, from that, ahankdra,
from that manas, buddhi, the five conative and five cognitive senses,
the five tanmdtras and the five gross objects.
As we have hinted above, most of the Siddhanta schools of
thought are committed to the view that the material cause is
different from the instrumental cause. This material cause appears
in diverse forms as mdyd, prakrti or the atoms and their products,
and the instrumental cause is God, Siva. But somehow or other
most of these schools accept the view that Siva, consisting of
omniscience and omnipotence, is the source of all energy. If that
were so, all the energy of the mdyd and its products should belong
to Siva, and the acceptance of a material cause different from the
instrumental becomes an unnecessary contradiction. Various
Siddhanta schools have shifted their ground in various ways, as is
evident from our study of the systems, in order to get rid of
contradiction, but apparently without success. When the Naiyayika
says that the material cause, the relations, and the instrumental
cause are different, and that God as the instrumental cause
fashions this world, and is the moral governor of the world in
accordance with karma, there is no contradiction. God Himself is
like any other soul, only different from them in the fact that He
eternally possesses omniscience and omnipotence, has no body and
no organs. Everything is perceived by Him directly. Again, if one
takes the yoga point of view, one finds that Isvara is different from
prakrti or the material cause, and it is not His energy that permeates
through prakrti. He has an eternal will, so that the obstructions
in the way of the developing of energy of prakrti in diverse channels,
in accordance with karma, may be removed to justify the order of
evolution and all the laws of nature as we find them. The Isvara
or God is like any other purusa, only it had never the afflictions
with which the ordinary purusas are associated, and it has no karma
and no past impressions of karma. Such a view also saves the
system from contradiction, but it seems difficult to say anything
which can justify the position of the Siddhanta schools wavering
between theism and pantheism or monism. In the case of the
Sankara Vedanta, Brahman also is real and he alone is the material
and instrumental cause. The world appearance is only an appear
ance, and it has no reality apart from it. It is a sort of illusion
xxxvni] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 169
caused by mayd which again is neither existent nor non-existent as
it falls within the definition of illusion. The different forms of
Saiva school have to be spun out for the purpose of avoiding this
contradiction between religion and philosophy.
The category of Siva, from which spring the five pure cate
gories spoken of above (saddsiva, etc.), is called also the bindu, the
pure energy of knowledge and action beyond all change. It is
supposed that this pure siva or bindu or mahdmdyd is surcharged
with various powers at the time of creation and it is in and through
these powers that the mdyd and its products are activated into the
production of the universe which is the basis of the bondage of the
souls. This movement of the diverse energies for the production of
the universe is called anugraha or grace. By these energies both the
souls and the inanimate objects are brought into proper relation
and the work of creation goes on. So the creation is not directly
due to Siva but to His energy. The difficulty is further felt when it
is said that these energies are not different from God. The will and
effort of God are but the manifestations of His energy 1 .
The different moments of the oscillation of God s knowledge
and action are represented as the different categories of saddsiva,
tsvara, vidyd. But these moments are only intellectual descriptions
and not temporary events occurring in time and space. In reality
the category of Siva is identical all through. The different moments
are only imaginary. There is only the category of Siva, bristling
with diverse powers, from which diverse distinctions can be made
for intellectual appraisal 2 .
In the Samkhya system it was supposed that the prakrti, out of
its own inherent teleology, moves forward in the evolutionary
process for supplying to all souls the materials of their experiences,
and later on liberates them. In the Siddhanta systems the same
idea is expressed by the word anugraha or grace. Here energy is
to co-operate with grace for the production of experience and for
liberation. The fact that Siva is regarded as an unmoved and
immovable reality deprives the system of the charm of a personal
1 Thus 6rikumara says, quoting from the Matanga-paramesvara (p. 79):
tad uktam mdtange :
patyuh saktih para suksmd jdgrato dyotana-ksamd,
toy a prabhuh prabuddhdtmd svatantrah sa saddsivah.
tattvam vastuta ekam siva-samjnam citra-sakti-sata-khacitam,
sakti-vydprti-bheddt tasyaite kalpitd bheddh. Tattva-prakdsa n. 13.
170 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
God. The idea of anugraha or grace cannot be suitably applied to
an impersonal entity.
God s energies, which we call His will or effort, are the organs
or means (kdrana), and the may a is the material cause out of which
the world is fashioned; but this may a as such is so subtle that it
cannot be perceived. It is the one common stuff for all. This may a
produces delusion in us and makes us identify ourselves with those
which are different from us. This is the delusive function of mdyd.
The illusion is thus to be regarded as being of the anyathd-khydti
type, the illusion that one thinks one thing to be another, just as in
Yoga. All the karmas are supposed to abide in the mdyd in a subtle
form and regulate the cycles of birth and rebirth for the individual
souls. Mdyd is thus the substantial entity of everything else that
we may perceive.
We have already explained the central confusion as regards the
relation of the changeable mdyd and the unchanging God or Siva.
But after this the system takes an easy step towards theism, and
explains the transformations of mdyd by the will of God, through
His energies for supplying the data of experience for all individual
souls. Time is also a product of mdyd. In and through time the
other categories of niyati, etc., are produced. Niyati means the
ordering of all things. It stands for what we should call the natural
law, such as the existence of the oil in the seed, of the grain in the
husk, and all other natural contingencies. We have translated the
word niyati as destiny in other places, for want of a single better
word. Niyati comes from niyama or law that operates in time and
place. The so-called kald-tattva is that function of niyati and kdla
by which the impurity of the individual souls becomes contracted
within them so that they are free, to a very great extent, to act and
to know. Kola is thus that which manifests the agency (kartrtva-
vyanjikd). It is through kald that experiences can be associated
with individuals 1 . From the functioning of kald knowledge
proceeds, and through knowledge all experience of worldly objects
becomes possible.
In the Samkhya system the buddhi is supposed to be in contact
with objects and assume their forms. Such buddhi forms are
1 Thus ^rikumara quoting from Mdtanga, says (p. 121): yathdgni-tapta-
mrtpdtram jantund lingane ksamam, tathdnum kalayd viddham bhogah saknoti
vdsitum, bhoga-pdtrl kaldjneya tadddharas ca pudgalah.
xxxviii] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 171
illuminated by the presiding purusa. The Siddhanta system as
explained in Tattva-prakdsa differs from this view. It holds that
the purusa, being inactive, cannot produce illumination. Whatever
is perceived by the buddhi is grasped by the category of vidyd or
knowledge, because the vidyd is different from purusa and is a
product of mdyd as such. It can serve as an intermediate link
between the objects, the buddhi, and the self. Buddhi, being a
product of mdyd, cannot be self-illuminating, but the vidyd is
produced as a separate category for the production of knowledge.
This is a very curious theory, which differs from Samkhya, but is
philosophically ineffective as an epistemological explanation. Rdgd
means attachment in general, which is the general cause of all
individual efforts. It is not a quality of buddhi, but an entirely
different category. Even when there are no sense objects to which
one may be inclined there may be rdga which would lead a
person towards liberation 1 . The totality of kdla, niyati, hold, vidyd,
and rdga as associated with the pasu renders him a purusa, for
whom the material world is evolved as avyakta, guna, etc. Here
also the difference from the Samkhya system should be noted. In
Samkhya the state of equilibrium of the gunas forms the avyakta,
but here the gunas are derived from the avyakta, which is a separate
category.
The Saiva system admits three pramanas: perception, inference,
and testimony of scriptures. In perception it admits both the
determinate (savikalpa) and the indeterminate (nirvikalpd), which
have been explained in the first two volumes of this work. As
regards inference, the Saivas admit the inference of cause from
effect and of effect from cause, and the third kind of inference of
general agreement from presence and absence (sdmdnyato drsta).
The category of ahankdra, which proceeds from buddhi,
expresses itself in the feeling of life and self-consciousness. The
dtman, the basic entity, is untouched by these feelings. The
system believes in the tripartite partition of ahankdra, the
sdttvika, rdjasa, and tdmasa, after the pattern of the Samkhya, and
then we have virtually the same sorts of categories as the Samkhya,
the details of which we need not repeat.
1 Thus rlkumara says (p. 124): asya visaydvabhdsena vind purusa-pravrtti-
hetutvdd buddhi-dharma-vailaksanya-siddhih, mumuksor visaya-trsnasya tatsd-
dhane visaydvabhdsena vind pravrttir drstd.
172 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
The relation between the mdyd and the category of Siva is
called parigraha-sakti, by which the mechanism of the relation is
understood as being such that, simply by the very presence of
Siva, various transformations take place in the mdyd and lead it to
evolve as the world, or to be destroyed in time and again to be
created. The analogy is like that of the sun and the lotus flower.
The lotus flower blooms of itself in the presence of the sun, while
the sun remains entirely unchanged. In the same way, iron filings
move in the presence of a magnet. This phenomenon has been
variously interpreted in religious terms as the will of God, the
grace of God, and the bondage exerted by Him on all living beings.
It is in this sense again that the whole world may be regarded as
the manifestation of God s energy and will, and the theistic
position confirmed. On the other hand, since Siva is the only
ultimate category without which nothing could happen, the system
was interpreted on the lines of pure monism like that of Sahkara,
wherein it appeared to be a mere appearance of multiplicity,
whereas in reality Siva alone existed. This led to the interpretation
of the system of Sivadvaita that we find in the Snta-samhita,
Yajna-vaibhava chapter.
The sakti of God is one, though it may appear as infinite and
diverse in different contexts. It is this pure sakti which is identical
with pure will and power. The changes that take place in the mdyd
are interpreted as the extension of God s grace through creation for
the benefit of the individual souls. God in the aspect of pure
knowledge is called siva and as action is called sakti. When the two
are balanced, we have the category of sadd-siva. When there is a
predominance of action it is called mahesvara.
The theory of karma in this system is generally the same as in
most other systems. It generally agrees with a large part of the
Samkhya doctrine, but the five suddha-tattvas, such as sadd-siva,
etc., are not found elsewhere and are only of mythological interest.
The Siva-jndna-siddhiyar not only advocates the niyamas, such
as good behaviour, courteous reception, amity, good sense, blame
less austerity, charity, respect, reverence, truthfulness, chastity,
self-control, wisdom, etc., but also lays great stress on the necessity
of loving God and being devoted to Him.
xxxvm] Sripati Pandita s Ideas 173
Sripati Pandita s Ideas on the Vedanta Philosophy,
called also the Srikara-bhasya which is accepted as the
Fundamental Basis of Vira-saivism.
Sripati Pandita lived towards the latter half of the fourteenth
century and was one of the latest commentators on the Brahma-
sutra. Sripati Pandita says that he got the inspiration of writing
the commentary from a short treatise called the Agastyavrtti on
the Brahma-sutra which is now not available. He also adores
Revana, who is regarded by him as a great saint of the sect, and also
Marula who was supposed to have introduced the doctrine of six
centres (sat-sthala). He adores also Rama, who flourished in the
Dvapara-yuga, and who collected the main elements from the
Mlmamsa and the Upanisads for the foundation of the Saiva
philosophy as it is being traditionally carried on.
The Srlkara-bhdsya should be regarded as a definite classifica
tion of the views of the different Srutis and Smrtis, and for this our
chief admiration should go to Rama. But though this work keeps
itself clear of the dualistic and non-dualistic views of Vedantic
interpretation, it holds fast to a doctrine which may be designated
as Visisadvaita, and the Saivas, called Vlra-saivas, would find
support in the tenets of the doctrine herein propounded. It may
be remembered that Sripati came long after Ramanuja, and it was
easy for him to derive some of his ideas from Ramanuja.
Sankara, in his interpretation of the present sutra "Now then
the inquiry about Brahman," lays stress on the pre-condition
leading to the necessity of inquiring about Brahman, and Ramanuja
also discusses the same question, and thinks that the Purva-
mimamsa and the Vedanta form together one subject of study; but
Sripati here avoids the question, and thinks that the sutra is for
introducing an inquiry as to the ultimate nature of Brahman,
whether Brahman is being or non-being. According to him the
sutra is further interested in discovering the influence of Brahman
over individuals.
He took for granted the unity of the two disciplines of Purva-
mlmamsa and Vedanta as forming one science, but he fervently
opposes the view of the Carvakas that life is the product of material
combinations. He explains that the Carvakas* denial of Brahman is
174 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
based on the supposition that no one has come from the other
world to relate to us what happens after death. He also points out
that there are other schools within the Vaidika fold which do not
believe in the existence of God or His power over individual beings,
and that the power of karma, technically called apurva, can very
well explain the sufferings and enjoyments of human beings. So,
if one admits the body to be the same as the spirit, or if one thinks
that there is no necessity to admit God for the proper fruition of
one s deeds, the twofold reason for the study of Vedanta could be
explained away.
The doubt leading to an inquiry should therefore be located
somewhere else, in the nature of God, Siva, or in the nature of the
individual soul. The existence of the God Siva as being the only
reality has been declared in a number of Vedic texts. The self,
which shows itself in our ego-consciousness, is also known as a
different entity. As such, how can the point of doubt arise?
Moreover, we cannot know the nature of Brahman by discussion,
for the self being finite it is not possible to understand the nature of
the infinite Brahman by understanding the nature of such a soul.
Moreover, the Upanisads have declared that the Brahman is of
two kinds, consciousness and unconsciousness. So even when
there is the Brahman knowledge, the knowledge of the unconscious
Brahman should remain, and as such there would be no liberation.
Now the other point may arise, that the discussion is with
regard to the attainment of a certitude as to whether the Brahman
is identical with the self. There are many texts to that effect, but
yet the contradiction arises from our own self-consciousness mani
festing us as individual personalities. To this the ordinary reply is
that the individuality of our ego-consciousness will always lead us
to explain away the Upanisad texts which speak of their identity.
But the reply, on the other side, may be that the Brahman may,
through avidyd or nescience, create the appearance of our indivi
duality, such as " I am a man." For without such an all-pervading
illusion the question of liberation cannot arise. Moreover, the pure
Brahman and all the objects are as distinct from each other as light
from darkness, and yet such an illusion has to be accepted. For
otherwise the entire mundane behaviour would have to be stopped.
So there is hardly scope for making an inquiry as to the exact
nature of the Brahman, the souls and the world. For one has to
xxxvm] Sripati Pandita s Ideas 175
accept the ultimate reality of the transcendent Brahman which
cannot be described by words. Brahman is thus beyond all
discussion.
In a situation like this Srlpati first presses the question of the
existence of God as being proved by the Upanisadic and Sruti
texts, by perception and by inference. We know from experience
that often people cannot attain their ends, even if they are endowed
with talent, ability, riches and the like, while others may succeed,
even if they have nothing. According to Srlpati, this definitely
proves the existence of an omniscient God and His relationship
with human beings. In ordinary experience, when we see a
temple, we can imagine that there was a builder who built it. So
in the case of the world also, we can well imagine that this world
must have had a builder. The Carvaka argument, that the conglo
meration of matter produces things out of itself, is untenable,
because we have never seen any such conglomerations of matter
capable of producing life as we find it in birds and animals. In
the case of cow-dung, etc., some life may have been somehow
implanted in them so that beetles and other flies may be born from
them. It has also to be admitted that in accordance with one s
karma God awards punishments or rewards, and that the fruition
of deeds does not take place automatically, but in accordance with
the wishes of God.
In some of the Upanisadic texts it is said that there was nothing
in the beginning, but this nothingness should be regarded as a
subtle state of existence ; for otherwise all things cannot come out
of nothing. This non-being referred to in the Upanisads also does
not mean mere negation or the mere chimerical nothing, like a lotus
in the sky. Badarayana in his Brahma-sutra has also refuted this
idea of pure negation (n. i. 7). In fact, the Vedas and the Agamas
declare God Siva, with infinite powers, to be the cause of the
world, whether it be subtle or gross. The individuals, however, are
quite different from this Brahman, as they are always afflicted with
their sins and sufferings. When the Upanisads assert that Brahman
is one with jiva, the individual, naturally the inquiry (jijndsa)
comes, how is it possible that these two which are entirely different
from each other should be regarded as identical?
Srlpati thinks that the identity texts of the Upanisads,
declaring the identity of the individual and the Brahman, can well
176 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
be explained by supposition of the analogy of rivers flowing into
the ocean and becoming one with it. We need not assume that there is
an illusion as Sankara supposes, and that without such an illusion the
problem of emancipation cannot arise, because we have a direct and
immediate experience of ignorance when we say " we do not know. *
Sripati objects strongly to the view of Sankara that there is a
differenceless Brahman of the nature of pure consciousness, and
that such a Brahman appears in manifold forms. The Brahman is
of an entirely different nature from the individual souls. If such
a Brahman is admitted to have avidyd or nescience as a quality, it
would cease to be the Brahman. Moreover, no such avidyd could
be attributed to Brahman, which is often described in the Sruti
texts as pure and devoid of any thought or mind. If the avidyd is
supposed to belong to Brahman, then one must suppose that there
ought to be some other entity, by the action of which this factor of
avidyd could be removed for liberation. Brahman cannot itself find
it ; being encased by the avidyd at one moment and free at another,
it cannot then retain its absolute identity as one. It is also falla
cious to think of the world as being made up of illusory perceptions
like dreams, for there is a definite order and system in the world
which cannot be transgressed. Badarayana himself also refutes the
idea of a non-existence of an external world (n. 2. 27, 28). More
over, the differenceless Brahman can only be established by the
authority of the scriptural texts or by inference, but as these two
are included within our conceptual world of distinctions, they can
not lead us beyond them and establish a differenceless Brahman.
Moreover, if the truth of the Vedas be admitted, then there will be
duality, and if it is not admitted, then there is nothing to prove the
one reality of the Brahman. Moreover, there is nothing that can
establish the fact of world illusion. Avidyd itself cannot be
regarded as a sufficient testimony, for the Brahman is regarded as
self-illuminating. Moreover, the acceptance of such a Brahman
would amount to a denial of a personal God, which is supported
by so many scriptural texts including the Gitd.
Again, the Upanisad texts that speak of the world as being
made up of names and forms do not necessarily lead to the view
that the Brahman alone is true and that the world is false. For the
same purpose can be achieved by regarding Siva as the material
cause of the world, which does not mean that the world is false.
xxxvm] Srlpati Panditcts Ideas 177
The whole idea is that, in whatsoever form the world may appear,
it is in reality nothing but Siva 1 .
When Badarayana says that the world cannot be distinguished
as different from Brahman, it naturally means that the manifold
world, which has come out of Brahman, is one with Him. The world
cannot be regarded as the body of Brahman, and the scriptures
declare that in the beginning only pure being existed. If anything
else but Brahman is admitted, then the pure monism breaks. The
two being entirely opposed to each other, one cannot be admitted
as being a part of the other, and the two cannot be identified in any
manner. So the normal course would be to interpret the texts as
asserting both the duality and the non-duality of the Brahman.
Thus the Brahman is both different from the world and identical
with it.
Srlpati thinks that on the evidence of the Sruti texts a Brahmin
must take initiation in Saiva form and bear with him the Saiva
sign, the linga, as much as he should, being initiated into Vedic
rites. It is then that the person in question becomes entitled to the
study of the nature of Brahman, for which the Brahma-sutra has
been written 2 . The inquiry into the nature of Brahman necessarily
introduces to us all kinds of discussions regarding the nature of
Brahman.
Though Srlpati emphasises the necessity of carrying the linga
and of being initiated in the Saiva form, yet that alone cannot bring
salvation. Salvation can only come when we know the real nature
of Brahman. In introducing further discussions on the nature of
Brahman, Srlpati says that wherever the scriptural texts describe
Brahman as differenceless and qualityless, that always refers to the
period before the creation. It is Siva, the differenceless unity, that
expands His energy and creates the world and makes it appear as it
1 vdcdrambhanam vikdro ndmadheyam mrttikety eva satyam iti srutau
apavdda-darsandd adhydso grdhya iti cen na vdcdrambhana-srutindm sivopddd-
natvdt prapancasya tattdddtmya-bodhakatvam vidhlyate na ca mithydtvam.
rikara-bhdsya, p. 6.
2 Snkara-bhdsya, p. 8. Srlpati takes great pains to show on the evidence of
scriptural texts the indispensable necessity of carrying the insignia of iva, the
linga in a particular manner which is different from the methods of carrying the
linga not approved by the Vedas, pp. 8-15.
Srlpati points out that only the person, who is equipped with the four
accessories called the sddhana-sampad consisting of sama, dama, titiksd, uparati,
mumuksutva, etc., is fit to have the linga.
DV
178 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
is, though He always remains the ultimate substratum. The world
is thus not illusion but reality, and of the nature of Siva Himself.
This is the central idea which is most generally expanded, as we
shall see. Brahman thus appears in two forms : as pure conscious
ness and as the unconscious material world, and this view is
supported by the scriptural texts. Brahman is thus with form and
without form. It is the pure Brahman that appears as this or that
changing entity, as pleasure or pain, or as cause and effect. Such
an explanation would fit in with our experience, and would also be
perfectly reconcilable with the scriptural texts.
The suggestion of the opponents, that Isvara or God is an
illusory God, is also untenable, for no one is justified in trusting
an illusory object for showing devotion to him. Such a God would
seem to have the same status as any other object of illusion. More
over, how can an illusory God bestow benefits when He is adored
and worshipped by the devotee?
Srlpati then tries to refute the idea of the pure differenceless
Brahman, and summarises the arguments given by Ramanuja as
we have described them in the third volume of the present work ;
and we are thus introduced to the second sutra, which describes
Brahman as that from which the production of the world has come
about.
Srlpati, in commenting upon Brahma-sutra i. 1.2, says that the
pure consciousness as the identity of being and bliss is the cause of
the production and dissolution of the world, as well as its funda
mental substratum. The Brahman, who is formless, can create all
things without the help of any external instrument, just as the
formless wind can shake the forest or the self can create the dreams.
It is in the interest of the devotees that God takes all the forms in
which we find Him 1 . He also refers to some of the scriptural texts
of the bhedabheda type, which considers the relation between God
and the world as similar to the relation between the ocean and the
waves. Only a part of God may be regarded as being transformed
into the material world. In this way Siva is both the instrumental
and the material cause. A distinction has to be made between the
concept that there is no difference between the instrumental and
1 bhaktdnugrahartham ghrta-kdthinyavad-divya-mangala-vigraha-dharasya
mahesvarasya murtdmurta-prapanca-kalpane apy adosah. Snkara-bhdsya,
P -30.
xxxvm] Srlpati Panditcfs Ideas 179
the material cause, and the concept that the two are the same 1 .
There is no question of false imposition.
The individual souls are spoken of in the Upanisads as being as
eternal as God. The scriptural texts often describe the world as
being a part of God. It is only when the powers of God are in a
contractive form before the creation, that God can be spoken of as
being devoid of qualities 2 . There are many Upanisadic passages
which describe the state of God as being engaged in the work of
creation, and as the result thereof His powers seem to manifest. It
is true that in many texts mdyd is described as the material cause
of the world and God the instrumental. This is well explained if we
regard mdyd as a part of God. Just as a spider weaves out of itself
a whole web, so God creates out of Himself the whole world. For
this reason it should be admitted that the material world and the
pure consciousness have the same cause. In this connection
Srlpati takes great pains to refute the Sankarite doctrine that the
world is illusion or imposition. If we remember the arguments of
Madhva and his followers against the doctrine of illusion as
expounded in the fourth volume of the present work, the criticisms
of Srlpati would be included in them in one form or another. We
thus see that the views of Sahkara were challenged by Ramanuja,
Nimbarka and Madhva.
Srlpati says that the so-called falsity of the world cannot be
explained either as indescribable (anirvdcya) or as being liable to
contradiction, for then that would apply even to the Vedas. The
phrase "liable to contradiction" cannot be applied to the manifold
world, for it exists and fulfils all our needs and gives scope for our
actions. So far as we see, it is beginningless. It cannot therefore be
asserted that at any time in the future or in the present the world
will be discovered as false. It has often been said that falsehood
consists in the appearance of a thing without there being any
reality, just as a mirage is seen to be like water without being able
to serve the purpose of water. But the world not only appears, it
also serves all our purposes. All the passages in the Puranas and
other texts where the world is described as being mdyd are only
1 tasmdd abhinna-nimttopdddna-kdranatvam na tu eka-kdranatvam. Srikara-
bhdsya, p. 30.
Sakti-sankocatayd srsteh prdk
parmesvarasya nirgunatvat. Ibid. p. 3 1 .
180 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
delusive statements. So God alone is both the instrumental and
the substantial cause of the world, and the world as such is not false
as the Sankarites suppose.
In the same way, the supposition that Isvara or the jiva
represents a being which is nothing else but Brahman as reflected
through avidyd or mdyd is also untenable. The so-called reflecting
medium may be conditional or natural. Such a condition may be
the mdyd, avidyd or the antahkarana. The condition cannot be
gross, for in that case transmigration to the other world would not
be possible. The idea of reflection is also untenable, for the
Brahman has no colour and therefore it cannot be reflected and
made into Isvara. That which is formless cannot be reflected.
Again if Isvara orjtva is regarded as a reflection in mdyd or avidyd,
then the destruction of mdyd or avidyd would mean the destruction
of God and of the individual soul. In the same way Sripati tries
to refute the theory of avaccheda or limitations, which holds that
the pure consciousness as qualified or objectively limited by the
mind would constitute the individual soul; for in that case any
kind of limitation of consciousness such as we find in all material
objects would entitle them to the position of being treated as
individual souls.
The qualities of production and destruction, etc., belong to the
world and not to Brahman. How then can the production and
destruction of the world, of which God is the source, be described
as being a defining characteristic of Brahman ? The reply is that it
cannot be regarded as an essential defining characteristic (svarupa-
laksand), but only as indicative of Brahman as being the source of
the world, so that even if there is no world, that would not in any
way affect the reality of existence of God. This is what is meant by
saying that the present definition (i. i. 2), is not a svarupa-laksana,
but only tatastha-laksana. Siva alone is the creator of the world and
the world is maintained in Him and it is dissolved back into Him.
In commenting upon the Brahma-sutra I. i. 3, Srlpati follows
the traditional line, but holds that the Vedas were created by God,
Siva, and that all the texts of the Vedas are definitely intended for
the glorification of Siva. This is, of course, against the Mlmamsa
view that the Vedas are eternal and uncreated, but it agrees with
Sankara s interpretation that the Vedas were created by Isvara.
In Sankara s system Isvara is only a super-illusion formed by the
xxxvm] Srlpati Panditcfs Ideas 181
reflection of Brahman through mdyd. We have already noticed that
Srlpati regards this view as entirely erroneous. With him Isvara or
Mahesvara means the supreme God. Srlpati further says that the
nature of Brahman cannot be understood merely by discussion or
reasoning, but that He can be known only on the evidence and
testimony of the Vedas. He further says that the Puranas were
composed by Siva even before the Vedas, and that of all the
Puranas the Siva-mahdpurdna is the most authentic one. Other
Puranas which glorify Visnu or Narayana are of an inferior status.
In commenting on Brahma-sutra I. 1.4, Srlpati says that the
Mlmamsa contention is that the Upanisadic descriptions of the
nature of Brahman should not be interpreted as urging people to
some kind of meditation. They simply describe the nature of
Brahman. Knowledge of Brahman is their only end. In this inter
pretation Srlpati shares more or less the view of Sankara. He
further says that the nature of Brahman can only be known through
the Upanisads. No kind of inference or general agreement can
prove the fact that there is one God who is the creator of the world.
In all things made by human beings, such as temples, palaces, or
stone structures, many people co-operate to produce the things.
We cannot, therefore, argue from the fact that since certain things
have been made, there is one creator who is responsible for their
creations. This is a refutation of the Nyaya view or the view of
many of the Saivdgamas y that the existence of one God can be
proved by inference.
He further says that the force that manifests itself, and has
plurality or difference or oneness, is in Brahman. We cannot
distinguish the force or energy from that which possesses the
force. The Brahman thus may be regarded both as energy and as
the repository of all energies. There cannot be any energy without
there being a substance. So the Brahman works in a dual capacity
as substance and as energy 1 . It cannot be said that mere knowledge
cannot stir us to action; for when one hears of the good or bad
news of one s son or relation, one may be stirred to action. Thus,
even pure knowledge of Brahman may lead us to His meditation,
1 bheddbheddtmikd saktir brahma-nisthd sandtam, iti smrtau sakter vahni-
sakter iva brahmddhisthdnatvopadesdt. niradhisthdna-sakter abhdvdt ca sakti-
saktimator abheddc ca tatkartrtvam taddtmakatvam tasyaivopapan-natvdt.
nkara-bhd$ya, p. 45.
1 82 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
so the Mimamsa contention that the description of Brahman must
imply an imperative to action, and that the mere description of an
existing entity is of no practical value, is false.
Sripati makes fresh efforts to refute the Mimamsa contention
that the Vedas are not expected to give any instruction regarding
a merely existing thing, for that has no practical value. Sripati
says that a pure power of consciousness is hidden from us by
avidyd. This avidyd is also a power of the nature of Brahman, and
by the grace of Brahman this avidyd will vanish away into its
cause. So the apparent duality of avidyd is false, and the instruc
tion as regards the nature of Brahman has a real practical value in
inducing us to seek the grace of God by which alone the bondage
can be removed. The intuition of Brahman (brahma-sdksdtkdrd)
cannot be made merely by the study of the Upanisadic texts, but
with the grace of God and the grace of one s preceptor.
Sripati says that the nitya and the naimittika karma are
obligatory, only the kdmya karma, that is, those actions performed
for the attainment of a purpose, should be divested of any notion
of the fulfilment of desire. Only then, when one listens to the
Vedantic texts and surrenders oneself entirely to Siva, the heart
becomes pure and the nature of Siva is realised.
Sripati again returns to his charge against the doctrine of the
falsity of the world. He says that since the Upanisadic texts
declare that everything in the world is Brahman, the world is also
Brahman and cannot be false. The entire field of bondage as we
perceive it in the world before us would vanish when we know
that we are one with Siva. For in that case the appearance of the
world as diverse and as consisting of this or that would vanish, for
everything we perceive is Siva. Brahman is thus both the sub
stantial cause and the instrumental cause of the whole world, and
there is nothing false anywhere. The world cannot be a mere
illusion or mere nothing. It must have a substratum under it, and
if the illusion is regarded as different from the substratum, one
falls into the error of duality. If the so-called non-existence of the
world merely meant that it was chimerical like the lotus in the sky,
then anything could be regarded as the cause of the world under
lying it.
It may be held that the Sankarites do not think that the world
is absolutely false, but that its truth has only a pragmatic value
xxxvm] Srlpati Pandita s Ideas 183
(vyavahdrika-mdtra-satyatvam). To this, however, one may rele
vantly ask the nature of such a character, which is merely prag
matic, for in such a case the Brahman would be beyond the
pragmatic, and no one would ask a question about it or give a
reply, but would remain merely dumb. If there were no substance
behind the manifold appearances of the world, the world would be
a mere panorama of paintings without any basic canvas. It has
already been shown that the Upanisads cannot refer to a
differenceless Brahman. If any experience that can be contra
dicted is called pragmatic (vyavaharika), then it will apply even to
the ordinary illusions, such as the mirage which is called prdti-
bhdsika. If it is held that to be contradicted in a pragmatic
manner means that the contradiction comes only through the
knowledge of Brahman, then all cases of contradiction of a first
knowledge by a second knowledge would have to be regarded as
being not cases of contradiction at all. The only reply that the
Sahkarites can give is that in the case of a non-pragmatic know
ledge one has the intuition of the diflerenceless Brahman and along
with it there dawns the knowledge of the falsity of the world. But
such an answer would be unacceptable, because to know Brahman
as differenceless must necessarily imply the knowledge of that
from which it is different. The notion of difference is a constituent
of the notion of differencelessness.
Neither can the conception of the vyavahdrika be made on the
supposition that that which is not contradicted in three or four
successive moments could be regarded as uncontradicted, for that
supposition might apply to even an illusory perception. Brahman
is that which is not contradicted at all, and this non-contradiction
is not limited by time.
Again it is sometimes held that the world is false because it is
knowable (drsya), but if that were so, Brahman must be either
knowable or unknowable. In the first case it becomes false, in the
second case one cannot talk about it or ask questions. In this way
Srlpati continues his criticism against the Sankarite theory of the
falsity of the world, more or less on the same lines which were
followed by Vyasatirtha in his Nydyd-mrta. It is, therefore,
unprofitable to repeat these, as they have already been discussed
in the fourth volume of the present work. Srlpati also continues
his criticism against the view that Brahman is differenceless on the
184 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
same lines as was done by Ramanuja in the introductory portion
of his bhdsya on the Brahma-sutra, and these have been fairly
elaborately dealt with in the third volume of the present work.
To declare Brahman as differenceless and then to attempt to
describe its characteristics, saying, for example, that the world
comes into being from it and is ultimately dissolved in it, would be
meaningless. According to the opponents, all that which is
regarded as existent would be false, which under the supposition
would be inadmissible. If the world as such is false, then it is
meaningless to ascribe to it any pragmatic value.
The question may be raised, whether the Brahman is know
ledge or absence of knowledge. In the first case it will be difficult
for the opponent to describe the nature of the content of this
knowledge. The other question is, whether the opponent is pre
pared to regard the distinction between the false objects (the
appearance of the world) and the Brahman as real or not. If the
distinction is real, then the theory of monism fails. There is no way
of escape by affirming that both the ideas of difference and identity
are false, for there is no alternative. Moreover, if Brahman was of
the nature of knowledge, then we should be able to know the
content of such knowledge, and this would be contradictory to the
idea of Brahman as differenceless. There cannot be knowledge
without a content ; if there is a content, that content is as external
as Brahman Himself, which means that the manifold world of
appearance before us is as external as Brahman. There cannot be
any knowledge without a definite content. Moreover, if the world
appearance is regarded as having a pragmatic value, the real value
must be in that something which is the ground of the appearance
of the manifold world. In such a case that ground reality would be
a rival to the Brahman and would challenge His oneness. In this
way, Srlpati refutes the interpretation of Sahkara that the Brahman
is differenceless and that the world-appearance is false. He also
asserts that human beings are inferior to God s reality, and can
have a glimpse of Him through His grace and by adoring Him.
The central idea of the Vlra-saiva philosophy as propounded by
Sripati is that God is indistinguishable from His energies, just as
the sun cannot be distinguished from the rays of the sun. In the
original state, when there was no world, God alone existed, and all
the manifold world of matter and life existed in Him in a subtle
xxxvni] Srlpati Pandita s Ideas 185
form wholly indistinguishable from Him. Later on, when the idea
of creation moved Him, He separated the living beings and made
them different and associated them with different kinds of karma.
He also manifested the material world in all the variety of forms.
In most of the philosophies the material world has been a question
able reality. Thus, according to Sankara, the world-appearance is
false and has only a pragmatic value. In reality it does not exist,
but only appears to do so. According to Ramanuja the world is
inseparably connected with God and is entirely dependent upon
Him. According to Srikantha the world has been created by the
energy of God and in that sense it is an emanation from Him, but
Srlpati refers to certain texts of the Upanisads in which it is said
that the Brahman is both conscious and unconscious. Thus Srlpati
holds that everything we see in the world is real, and has Siva or
God as its substratum. It is only by His energy that He makes the
world appear in so many diverse forms. He denounces the idea of
any separation between the energy (sakti) and the possessor of it
(saktimdri). Thus, if the world is a manifestation of the energy of
God, that does not preclude it from being regarded as of the nature
of Siva Himself. Thus Srlpati says that liberation can only come
when God is worshipped in His twofold form, the physical and
the spiritual. This makes him introduce the idea of a compulsory
visible insignia of God, called the linga. Srlpati also advocates the
idea of gradation of liberation as held by Madhva and his followers.
It must, however, be noted that, though God transforms Him
self into the manifold world, He does not exhaust Himself in the
creation, but the greater part of Him is transcendent. Thus, in
some aspect God is immanent, forming the stuff of the world, and
in another aspect he is transcendent and far beyond the range of
this world. The so-called mdya is nothing but the energy of God,
and God Himself is an identity of pure consciousness and will, or
the energy of action and power.
Though, originally, all beings were associated with particular
kinds of karma, yet when they were born into the material world
and were expected to carry out their duties and actions, they were
made to enjoy and to suffer in accordance to their deeds. God is
neither partial nor cruel, but awards joy and suffering to man s
own karma in revolving cycles, though the original responsibility
of association with karma belongs to God. In this Srlpati thinks
1 86 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
that he has been able to bridge the gulf between the almighty
powers of God and the distribution of fruits of karma according to
individual deeds, thus justifying the accepted theory of karma and
reconciling it with the supreme powers of the Lord. He does not
seem to realise that this is no solution, as at the time of original
association the individuals were associated with various kinds of
karma, and were thus placed in a state of inequality.
Sripati s position is pantheistic and idealistically realistic. That
being so, the status of dream experiences cannot be mere illusion.
Sankara had argued that the experiences of life are as illusory as
the experiences of dreams. In reply to this Sripati tries to stress
the view that the dream-experiences also are not illusory but real.
It is true, indeed, that they cannot be originated by an individual
by his personal effort of will. But all the same, Sripati thinks that
they are created by God, and this is further substantiated by the
fact that the dreams are not wholly unrelated to actual objects of
life, for we know that they often indicate various types of lucky
and unlucky things in actual life. This shows that the dreams are
somehow interconnected with the actual life of our waking
experiences. Further, this fact demolishes the argument of
Sankara that the experiences of waking life are as illusory as the
experiences of dreams.
In speaking of dreamless sleep, Sripati says that in that state
our mind enters into the network of nerves inside the heart,
particularly staying in the puritat, being covered by the quality of
lamas, and this state is produced also by the will of God, so that
when the individual returns to waking life by the will of God, this
tamas quality is removed. This explains the state of susupti, which
is distinguished from the stage of final liberation, when an indivi
dual becomes attuned to God and becomes free of all associations
with the threefold gunas of Prakrti. He then finally enters into the
transcendent reality of Siva and does not return to any waking
consciousness. So it must be noted that, according to Sripati, both
the dream state and the dreamless state are produced by God.
Sripati s description of susupti is thus entirely different from that of
Sankara, according to whom the soul is in Brahma-consciousness
at the time of dreamless sleep.
Sripati supports his thesis that in dreamless sleep we, with all
our mental functions, pass into the network of nerves in the heart,
xxxvm] Sripati Pandita s Ideas 187
and do not become merged in Brahman, as Sankara might lead us
to suppose. For this reason, when we wake the next day, we have
revived in our memory the experiences of the life before the sleep.
This explains the continuity of our consciousness, punctuated by
dreamless sleep every night. Otherwise if we had at any time
merged into Brahman, it could not be possible for us to remember
all our duties and responsibilities, as if there were no dreamless
sleep and no break in our consciousness.
In discoursing on the nature of difference between swoon
(murccha) and death, Srlpati says that in the state of unconscious
ness in swoon, the mind becomes partially paralysed so far as its
different functions are concerned. But in death the mind is wholly
dissociated from the external world. It is well to remember the
definition of death as given in the Bhdgavata Purdna as being
absolute forgetfulness (mrtyur atyanta-vismrti).
According to the view of Sarikara, the Brahman is formless.
Such a view does not suit the position of Vlra-saivism as propounded
by Srlpati. So he raises the question as to whether the Siva, the
formless, is the same as the Siva with the form as found in many
Siva-UrtgaS) and in reply Srlpati emphasises the fact that Siva
exists in two states, as the formless and as being endowed with
form. It is the business of the devotee to realise that Siva is one
identical being in and through all His forms and His formless
aspect. It is in this way that the devotee merges himself into Siva,
as rivers merge into the sea. The individual or thejtva is not in any
sense illusory or a limitation of the infinite and formless nature into
an apparent entity as the Sahkarites would try to hold. The
individual is real and the Brahman is real in both the aspects of
form and formlessness. Through knowledge and devotion the
individual merges into God, as rivers merge into the sea, into the
reality which is both formless and endowed with manifold forms.
Vlra-saivism indeed is a kind of bheddbheda interpretation of
the Brahma-sutra. We have, in the other volumes of the present
work, dealt with the bheddbheda interpretation, as made by
Ramanuja and Bhaskara from different angles. In the bheddbheda
interpretation Ramanuja regards the world and the souls as
being organically dependent on God, who transcends the world
of our experience. According to Bhaskara, the reality is like the
ocean of which the world of experience is a part, just as the
1 88 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts [CH.
waves are parts of the ocean. They are neither absolutely one with
it nor different from it. The Vira-saivism is also a type of bheda-
bheda interpretation, and it regards the absolute reality of the
world of experience and the transcendent being, which is beyond
all experience. Sripati sometimes adduces the illustration of a
coiled snake which, in one state remains as a heap, and in another
state appears as a long thick cord. So the world is, from one point
of view different from God, and from another point of view one
with God. This example has also been utilised by Vallabha for
explaining the relationship between God and the world. The indi
vidual beings orjivas may, through knowledge and devotion, purge
themselves of all impurities, and with the grace of God ultimately
return to the transcendent being and become merged with it. So
things that appeared as different may ultimately show themselves
to be one with Brahman.
Sripati points out that by the due performance of caste duties
and the Vedic rites, the mind may become purified, so that the
person may be fit for performing yoga concentration on Siva, and
offer his deep devotion to Him, and may thus ultimately receive
the grace of God, which alone can bring salvation.
There has been a long discussion among the various com
mentators of the Brahma-sutra as to whether the Vedic duties,
caste-duties, and occasional duties form any necessary part of the
true knowledge that leads to liberation. There have been some who
had emphasised the necessity of the Vedic duties as being required
as an indispensable element of the rise of the true knowledge.
Others like Sahkara and his followers had totally denied the useful
ness of Vedic duties for the acquisition of true knowledge. Sripati
had all along stressed the importance of Vedic duties as an
important means for purifying the mind, for making it fit for the
highest knowledge attainable by devotion and thought. It may be
noted in this connection that the present practice of the Lihgayats
is wholly the concept of an extraneous social group and this anti-
caste attitude has been supported by some authors by misinter
pretation of some Vlra-saiva texts 1 . But in commenting on the first
topic of Brahma-sutra in. 4, Sripati emphasises the independent
claims of the knowledge of God and devotion to Him as leading
1 See Professor Sakhare s Linga-dharana-candrikd (Introduction, pp. 666 et
seq.) and also Vlra-saivananda-candrika (Vadakanda, ch. 24, pp. 442 et seq.}.
xxxvm] Sripati Pandita s Ideas 189
to liberation, though he does not disallow the idea that the Vedic
duties may have a contributory effect in cleansing the mind and
purifying it, when the person performs Vedic duties by surrender
ing all his fruits to God. Sripati, however, denounces the action
of any householder who leaves off his Vedic duties just out of his
personal whim.
In commenting on Brahma-sutra m. 4. 2, Sripati quotes many
scriptural texts to show that the Vedic duties are compulsory even
in the last stage of life, so that in no stage of life should these
duties be regarded as optional. In this connection he also intro
duces incidentally the necessity of linga-dharana. Though the
Vedic duties are generally regarded as accessories for the attain
ment of right knowledge, they are not obligatory for the house
holder, who may perform the obligatory and occasional duties and
yet attain a vision of God by his meditation and devotion.
The essential virtues, such as sama (inner control), dama
(external control), titiksd (endurance), uparati (cessation from all
worldly pleasures), mumuksutva (strong desire for liberation), etc.,
are indispensable for all, and as such the householders who have
these qualities may expect to proceed forward for the vision of
God. All injunctions and obligations are to be suspended for the
preservation of life in times of danger. The Upanisads stress the
necessity of the various virtues including concentration of mind
leading to Brahma-vidyd. Sripati points out that every person has
a right to pursue these virtues and attain Brahma-vidyd. This is
done in the very best way by accepting the creed of Pasupata Yoga.
The duties of a Siva-yogin consist of his knowledge, disinclina
tion, the possession of inner and outer control of passions, and
cessation from egotism, pride, attachment and enmity to all
persons. He should engage himself in listening to Vedantic texts,
in meditation, in thinking and all that goes with it in the yoga
process, like dhydna, dhdrand, and also in deep devotion to Siva.
But though he may be so elevated in his mind, he will not show or
demonstrate any of these great qualities. He will behave like a
child. Those that have become entirely one with Siva need not
waste time in listening to Vedantic texts. That is only prescribed
for those who are not very advanced. When a man is so advanced
that he need not perform the Varndsrama duties or enter into
samddhi, he is called jivan-mukta in such a state; it depends upon
190 Saiva Philosophy in some Important Texts
the will of such a man whether he should enter into the jivan-
mukta state with or without his body. When a person s mind is
pure, he may obtain an intuitive knowledge of Siva by devotion.
A truly wise man may be liberated in the present life. Unlike the
system of Sankara, Sripati introduces the necessity of bhakti along
with knowledge. He holds that with the rise of knowledge, all old
bonds of karma are dissolved and no further karma would be
attached to him.
INDEX 1
abhavayoga, 123
Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu, 143
abhimana, 35
acetana, 94
acit, 25
adharma, 27, 32, 165
Adhipati, 141
Agasti, 6, 13 in., 144
Agastya, 47-8, 53 <7mf w.
Agastya-sutra, 53
Agastyavrtti, 173
Aghora, 141
Aghora-sivacarya, 10, 17, 21 n., 38, 39,
160-1, 164-6
Aghora-sivacarya s commentary on
Tattva-prakasa, 14^., 160, 161 and
n., i62n., 1637*.
Agnivesa, 6
aham, 67
ahankdra, 29, 90, 99, 124, 135, 137,
139, 164-6, 1 68; distinguished from
buddhi, 34, 171
ajnana, 32, 104, 113
Aksaka, 46
Aksapada, 6, 9, 70 n., 145
alinga, ngn.
Allama-prabhu, 50, 53, 54, 55-6,
Analogy, 145
Anandagiri, 2, 3, gn., 14, 15, 42, 50
Ancestor-worship, 155
Anga-sthala, 61, 63
Ahgira, 6
Animal life, injury to all forms of
decried, 54
arilsvara, 26
antahkarana, 140-1, 180
anu, 163, 167
anubhava, 63
Anubhava-sutra of Mayi-deva, 60,
61-4
anugraha, 161-2, 169-70
anyathd-khyati, 170
apdnavdyu, 125
aparoksa, 118
Appar, 19
Appaya Dlksita, 10, 17, 51, 65-95,
105, 159
Appearance and reality, 71, 104-5;
bheddbheda theory of reality, 49, 59;
gross and subtle nature of the world,
79, 168-9, 184-8; Sarikara s views
on, 83-4
apramdda, 146
apurva, 94, 174
artha-kriyd-kdritd doctrine of the
Buddhists, 34, 35-6
ami, 152
Arul-nanti Sivacarya, 19, 20
arul-sakti, 157
Asceticism, 125, 130-1, 133-4, 136,
137-8, 140, 150
Ashes smeared on the body, 4, 8, 51,
133-4, 136, 137, 144, 146, 148, 150
Asrama rules, 147
astamurti, 119
Atharva-veda, 2
Atoms, 36-7, in, 1 60, 167, 1 68
atha, 73
Atri, 6, 7, 13, 131/7., 144
avaccheda, 180
avidyd, 49, 54, 104, 118, 174, 176,
1 80, 182
avyakta, 109, 113, 121, 166, 168, 171
dear a, gn.
dcdra-linga, 63
deary as, 6, 10
dgama, 96
Agamas, 4, 5, 17-18, 46, 50-1, 69, 87,
91, 98, 123, 155, 175; original lan
guage of, 15-16, 96, 1 06, 150, 159;
listed, i6n.; philosophical achieve
ment of Agama literature, 20-3,
29-41; date of, 40, 96; two types,
_ 71-2
Agama-sastras, 160
dgantuka, 27
dkdsa, 37, 81-2, 103, 119, 135
1 The words are arranged in the order of the English alphabet. Sanskrit and
Pali technical terms and words are in small italics ; names of books are in italics
with a capital. English words and other names are in roman with a capital.
Letters with diacritical marks come after ordinary ones.
192
Index
dmndya, 5
dnanda, 63, 67-8, 80-1, 82, 99-100
dnava-mala, n, 152, 158
Apastamba-sutra, i2w.
Arvars, 158
Asuri, 6, 70 n.
Atman, 62, 64, no, 114, 138
dtman, 26, in, 171
Atma-samarpana of Visuddha Muni,
6n.
Badarayana, 65, 66, 70, 175-7
bala, 100, 146
Bala-vikarana, 141
Basava, 10, 12, 42-7, 52, 53, 55, 59-60
Basava-purdna, 12, 42-4, 53, 59, 60
Basava-rdjtya, 52, 54
Bhairava, 2
Bhairavas, 50-1
Bhaktas, 9-10
bhakti, 13, 54-5, 62-4, 102, 105, 107,
190
Bhandarkar, Sir R. G., 2, 3 n., 5 andn.,
43 andn., 51
Bharatas, 9-10, 145
Bhatta-narayana Kan^ha, 2 in.
Bhavabhuti, 2, 3
Bhavisyottara-purdna, 1 1
Bhdgavata Purdna, 187
Bhdmati of Vacaspati Misra, 15, 50,
69-70, 97
Bhargava, 6
Bhasarvajna, 9, 11-12, 14, 143-4, J 45>
148
Bhaskara, 65, 68, 187
bhdva, 122
bhdvalinga, 62
bhdvayoga, 123
6AuZ, 119
bheddbheda, 49, 59, 68, 178, 187-8
Bhlma-natha Prabhu, 61
bhoga, 30
bhogdnga, 63
Bhoja of Dhara, King, 10, 14 am/ .,
17, 23, 39, 156, 159
Bhrgu, 6
bhutas, 36, 99
fowdtt, 28, 29-30, 38-9, 64, 120-1, 165,
1 66, 167, 169
bindu-mdyd, 162, 163
Bio-motor forces, 125
Bliss, 63, 67-8, 80-1, 82, 93, 99, i53~4
Blood-rites, 3
Bodhdyana-vrtti, 68
Bondage, 22, 25, 27, 33, 40, 55, ?o,
152, 162; as a veil of impurity that
covers our wisdom, 88-9, 116-17,
118-19, J 64; limited knowledge
described as bondage, 100; de
structible by true knowledge, 108-9;
as dependence on the causal power,
131, 136, 163-4, J 72; four kinds of
bondage, 164-5; removed by the
grace of God, 182
Boppa-natha, 61
Brahma, 107, no-n, 1197?., 141
brahma-carya, 134
Brahman, 24-5, 64, 67, 135 ; devoid of
form or differentiation, 48, 49, yet
said to be the souls of beings, 49,
175-6; identity of the self with
Brahman the highest goal in life,
56-7, 174-5; qualityless and dif-
ferenceless, 68, 94, 176, 177-8,
183-4; knowledge of Brahman li
berates from all bondage eternally,
73 ; qualification for inquiry into the
nature of Brahman, 73-7, 177; the
nature of Brahman Himself, 77-85,
181-2; changeless, 92; the soul a
part of Brahman, 93, 94-5, 118; as
the unity of sat, cit and dnanda,
99-100, 120; the material and in
strumental cause, 1 60, 1 68, 178-9,
1 80, 182; denied by Carvakas,
173-4; fallacious to attribute ne
science as a quality of Brahman,
176; the manifold world is one with
Brahman, 177; reflected through
avidyd or may a, 180, 181 ; as energy
and the repository of all energies,
181-2; whether Brahman is know
ledge or absence of knowledge, 184,
conscious or unconscious, 185, form
or formlessness, 187
brahman, 75-6
Brahmanism, 43, 142
Brahma-sutra, 65, 66, 70, 72, 80, 112,
i?5, 177, 187-8; Appaya Diksita s
bhdsya, 51, 65-95; Ramanuja s
bhdsya, 2, 3, 50, 51 n., 68, Son., 184;
Sahkara s bhdsya, i, 14-15, 50, 66,
69, 71, Son., 96, 97-8, 121 n., 142,
154, 1 60, 173; Srikantha s bhdsya,
10, n, i8n., 65-95, 98; ^ripati
Pandita s bhdsya, 10, 53., 60,
I 73~9j Vijnana Bhiksu s bhdsya,
66,69
Index
Brahma-vidyd, 189
Breath control, 123, 124-5
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, i3iw.
Brhadarya, 6, jon. y 13 in., 144
Brhaspati, 6
Buccayyaradhya, 46
buddhi, 91, 92, 124, 128, 135, 137, 139,
164, 165, 1 66; the self reflected
through buddhi, 31-2; distinguished
from ahankdra, 34, 171 ; the stuff of
buddhi is material, 35; not a valid
element of true knowledge, 37; as
ordinary knowledge, 58; three gunas
from, 99, 101, 119; also called citta,
140; cannot be self-illuminating,
170-1
buddhi-tattva, 168
Buddhism, 22, 34, 35-6, 40, 124, 143,
J 54 J 56; doctrine of momentary
selves, 164
Buddhists, 3, 150
caitanyam drk-kriyd-rupam, 21
Caitanya school, 102
cakras, 55-6
Cannabasava, 53, 54, 59
cara-linga, 62
Carefulness, 146
Carelessness, 126
Carvaka system, 31, 158, 173-5
caryd, 22, 122, 123, 136, 148, 161
Caste-division, 13, 43, 45, 92
Caste duties, 122, 147, 188
Caturveda-tdtparya-samgraha, 1 1
Celibacy, 134
Chant, 122, 126
cheda, 140
cicchakti, n, 33, 35, 76, 82, 90, 92, 100
cidacid-rupa, 165
ciddkdsa, 81
cidrupa, 165
cit, 67-8, 99-100, 161, 162
citta, 101, 140, 143
Commandment of God, 116, 119
Conscience, 101
Consciousness, 21-2, 26-7, 48, 92,
99-100, 179; energy of conscious
ness is eternal, 32-3 ; ego-conscious
ness of one individual not confused
with another, 34, 35; pure con
sciousness the valid part in know
ledge, 37, 57, 58, 62; egohood of
iva as pure consciousness , 67,
103-4; energy controlled by Brah
man, 76, 81-2; a personal quality of
Brahman, 80-1 ; subtle and gross
consciousness, 83, 90; in association
with unconscious elements, 120;
God s consciousness integrally asso
ciated with action, 162; five cate
gories of the nature of pure
consciousness, 165 ; theory that pure
consciousness, when limited by
mind, constitutes the soul, 180;
continuity of consciousness after
dreamless sleep, 187
Contentment, 146
Contradiction, 183
Creation: God as the agent of, i, 15,
23, 24-5, 68, 70, 103, 147, 160, 180,
1 85 ; energy of consciousness as the
instrument of, 81-2, 90, 99, 162;
purpose of God in creation, 85-90,
135-6; as emanation from the state
of avyakta, 113 ; limited by the will
of iva, 120; by anugraha, 161-2,
169; view of the falsehood of the
world, 179-80, 182-3
Cruelty, 85, 86
Cycle of births and rebirths, 49, 73,
85-7, 92-3, 95, 108, no, 115, 117,
118, 120, 133, 164, 170
Daksina, 51
Dalai, Mr, 7, 11
dama, 189
daurmanasya, 127
Death as absolute forgetfulness, 187
Destiny, 23, 29, 33, 88, 90, 101, 109,
121, 165, 167, I7O
Destruction, 85, 86, 98, 107; as the
reversal of creation, 113, 135, 161,
1 80
Desikaradhya, 46
Deva, 141
Devala, 6, 70 n,
Devotion, 13, 54-5, 62-4, 102, 103,
104, 107-8, 119, 188-9; must be
spontaneous, not for some advan
tage, 122
dharma, 27, 32, 73-5, 132, 140, 146,
147, 165
Dharmakirti, 143
dhdrand, 124, 125-6, 189
dhydna, 124, 126, 128-9, l %9
Dihnaga, 143
Disease, 126
dlksd, 146
194
Index
Doubt, 37, 78
Dravidian language, 16, 18, 47, 66, 72,
96, 98, 106, 142, 149, 159
Dream-experiences, 186-7
drk, 21, 33
drsta, 133
duhkhdnta, i, 131
Durvasa, 53/1.
Ekorama, 10, 46, 52
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics
(ed. Hastings), 3, 8w., 15077.
Energy, 62; as material power, 75-6;
as consciousness, 76, 82, 90, 99-100;
the ultimate energy, 81-2; in itself
changeless, 92; relationship with
God, 112-13, 161-2, 165, 166, 169,
184-5; flows in the direction from
which obstruction has been re
moved, 116; an emanation from
iaiva, 120, 127, 152, 158, 162-3;
Brahman as energy and the re
pository of all energies, 181-2
Faith, 1 2 1-2, 146
Falsehood, 179-80, 182-3
Frazer, R. W., 3, 8., 150 and n.
Free will, 88-90, 94
Ganakdrikd of Haradatta, 7, u, i2n.,
14, H3-4, 145-6, 148
Garga, 6
Gautama, 6, 9, 75
Gargya, 6, 13 in., 144
Ghoratara, 141
Gttd, 73, 176
God, 6n. ; the instrumental cause of
the world, i, 15, 23, 24-5, 28, 39,
4> 5> ?o-i, 72, 76, 90-1, in, 154,
160, 163 n., 166, 168, 178-80; the
material cause of the world, i, 15,
40, 68, 72, 76, 82-3, 90-1, 1 66, 1 68,
178-80; the grace of God, 4, 13, 79,
86-7, 89, 94, 108, 113, 115-16, 131,
136, 152-3, 161-2, 182, 188; mono
theistic views of, 12-13, 142; His
existence known by inference, 22,
23, 25-6, 79-80, 84, 90, 160, 161-2,
175, 181 ; all change effected by, 25 ;
all experience manifested by, 27;
bestows the fruits of karma, 31,
86-8, 148-9, 175, 185-6; tran
scendent, yet a material cause, 48-9,
68-9 ; sixfold powers of, 60 ; oneness
or identity with, 63, 64; reality of
the world lies in the nature of God,
71, 113, 179-80, 182-3; though
diversified, is regarded as one, 76,
78; His purpose in creation, 85-6;
operates for the benefit of all beings,
86-7 ; determinism of God and the
free will of persons, 88-90, 94;
individual souls co-existent with
Him, 92-3, 167; the cause of main
tenance and destruction of all things,
the cause of all causes, 107, 135-6,
i ft 1-2, 1 80; His energy the essence
of time, 112-13, tne instrument of
creation, 162, 165, 166-7, 169, 172;
the will of God, 113, 115-16, 117-
18, 119, 121, 135, 148-9, 170, 172,
1 86; transcendental reality of God
beyond all logic, 114; He inflicts
punishment because He is not in
different to vice and sin, 114; whole
world a personification of God, 120;
He pervades the world as the male
and female powers, 120-1 ; asso
ciates different persons with dif
ferent experiences, 137; immanent
and transcendent, 137, 139, 185;
has no power over liberated souls,
142; highest powers abide in Him
eternally, 147; omnipresent, 151;
always the same and always li
berated, 161; as knowledge com
bined with action, 161, 169, 172,
185; responsible for blinding and
enlightening, 161-2; eternally pos
sesses omniscience and omnipo
tence, 1 68; His existence denied,
173-4, but the denial untenable,
178; indistinguishable from His
energies, 184-5; the creator of
dreams, 186
Goga, 53, 54
Goodness the commandment of God,
114-15
Goraksa, 55-6, 60
goraksa, 58
Goraksa-nath, 57
Grace of God : reveals the world as we
ought to experience it, 4, 89, 94, 131,
136; an inner force which follows
the course of creation, 13, 162;
manifested in natural laws, 79;
extended uniformly to all persons,
86-7; extension of God s grace in
Index
Grace of God (cant.)
devotion, 108, in will, 113, 115-16;
mystic wisdom obtained through
the grace of God, 152-3, 182, 188
grdhaka, 33
grahya, 33
Gunaratna, 6w., 9 andn., ion., 13, 15,
17, 144-5
gunas, 28, 35, 36, 99, 109, 112, 115-16,
120-1, 165, 166, 171, 186
guna-tattva, 168
guru-linga, 63
Happiness, 165
Haradatta, n, izn., 143
Haribhadra Suri, 9 and n., 10 and n.,
13, H4
Harihara-tdratamya, 1 1
Harsanatha, inscription in temple of,
5
Hatfia-yoga, 59
Hayavadana Rao, 10 andn., n
Hindu faith, 43
Hoisington s translation of Umapati s
commentary on Siva-jndna-bodha,
icchd-sakti, 62, 63, 100, 157
Indolence, 126
Inference, 9, n, 13, 28, 145; of the
existence of God, 22, 23, 25-6,
79-80, 84, 90, 160, 161-2, 175, 181;
based on perception, 132-3; of two
kinds, 133; of the existence of self,
l 3%-9> f cause from effect, effect
from cause, and presence from
absence, 171
Intuition, 33, 62, 73, 127; intuitive
wisdom, 126; intuitive knowledge
of ^iva, 189-90
ista-linga, 62
Isana, 6, 131 n., 141, 144
liana, 82, 119
Isvara, 79, 98-9, 124, 132, 141, 143,
168, 178, 180-1
Isvara, 165
Isvara-karanins, i, 98, 143
Isvarakrina, 115
isvara-tattva, 167
jada-sakti, 75
Jagaddhara, 2
Jaigisavya, 6
Jaimini, 73
Jainism, 22, 40, 118, 134
Jayanta, 9, 127, 145
jiva, 27, 58, 61, 62, 93, 1 80; not
identical with Brahman, 24; can
know the world and iaiva, 25-6;
a part of Brahman, 49, 104, 175;
may ultimately return to the tran
scendent being, 187-8
jlvan-mukti, n, 189-90
jndna, 73-4, 80, 100, 105, 132, 157
jndna-karma-samuccaya-vdda, 74
Jndna-ratndvali, i^n.
jndna-sakti, 147, 157
Jnana-sambandha, 19
Jyestha, 141
jyestha, 137
Kaildsa-samhitd of the ciiva-mahd-
purdna, 99-102
Kala-vikarana, 141
kald, 23, 28, 29, 33, 37, 64, 100, 137,
141, 165, 167, 170-1
kald-tattva, 170
Kalpa-sutras, 92
Kanarese language, i6n., 18, 149
Kapila, 6, 70 n.
Kapilanda, 6, 13 in., 144
karma, 23, 28, 40, 108, 131, 157, 162,
163, 164, 170, 190; compromise
between theory of grace and theory
of karma, 13; experience mani
fested in accordance with karma, 27,
109, no, 152-3; fruits of karma
bestowed by God, 31, 50, 85-9,
94-5, 148-9, 1 68, 185-6; path of
karma distinguished from the path
of knowledge, 73-5 ; theory of
karma in Siddhanta system, 172
karund, 4, 131
Kaunada language, 47
Kaundinya, 4, 5-6, I3~i4> !?> 130-2,
139, 142, 145-6, 148
Kaurusa, 6, 13 in., 144
Kausika, 6, 131 n., 144
Kala, 137, 141
kdla, 33, 90, 99, 101, 109, 112, 121,
165, 167, 171
Kalamukhas, 2-3, 9 and n., 50, 51,
7on., 91, 97, 145
Kalidasa, 46
Kdlottardgama, i^n.
kdlya, 137
Kdmikdgama, 18 andn., 21, 46, 48, 50,
61, 72, 91, 124
13-2
196
Index
Kamin, 141
homy a karma, 182
Kanada, 6, 7ow.
Kanadas, 15
Kanphata Yogis, 58
Kapalesvara, temple of, near Nasik,
2-3
Kapalikas, i, 2-3, gn., 50, 70, 72, 91,
97, 154
Kdpdlika-vrata, 2
kdrana, i, 15, 131, 133, 137, 170
Kdravana-mdhdtmya, 7, 13, 14
kdrikd, 115, 146
Karunika-siddhantins, i, 2, 4, 50, 70
fcarya, i, 131, 132, 133
Kdrikd, u
Kdsikd-vrtti, i2n.
Kasmir form of isaivism, 98, 101-2
Kayarohana (Karavana), Bhrgu-
ksetra, 7
kdya-siddhi, 59
Kena Upanisad, 119
kevalin, 141
Knowledge, 35, 48, 55, 63, 75, 165,
170-1, 174, 181 ; identical in essence
with activity, 30-1 ; wrong know
ledge, 32, 100; in the stage of
ahankdra, 34; as pure conscious
ness, 37, 57, 58, 93; special quality
of knowledge possessed by the soul,
92-3; an aspect of iva, 100-1,
I 53~4 devotion identified with
knowledge, 102, 103, 105; sorrow
removed through knowledge, 108,
117; mediate and immediate know
ledge, 118; leads to yoga, 122, 125;
revealed through awareness, 133;
Pasupata view of, 141-2, 146-7;
pragmatic and non-pragmatic know
ledge, 182-3; whether Brahman is
of the nature of knowledge, 184;
acquisition of knowledge assisted by
performance of Vedic duties, 1 88-9 ;
intuitive knowledge of Siva, 189-90
Koluttunga I, Chola king, 45
kriyd, 33, 123, 148, 157, 161
kriyd-sakti, 62, 100, 147, 157
kriydkhyd sakti, 120
ksara, 109
kula, 58
Kumara, 6
Kumarila Bhatta, 156
kundalinl, 59
Kuni, 6
Kuresa, 45
Kusika, 6, 13, 131 n., 144
Kurma-purdna, 6n., 66, 72, 73
Lakulisa, 5, 6 and n., 7
lakullsa, 7
Lakulas, 50-1
Lakullsa-pasupatas, i, 51, 72, 142
Ldkulisa-pdsupata-darsana, 7
Liberation, 22, 67, 69, 70, 73, 76-7,
142, 145, 162, 171, 174, 186;
although attainable by personal
action, such action is due to the
grace of God, 78-9, 88-9, 105, 115;
and the enjoyment of pure bliss, 82,
86-7; soul becomes omniscient in
liberation, 93, 141, 161, and one
with Brahman, 94; four types of
liberation, 102-3; attained through
true knowledge, 105, 115, 118,
189-90, through meditation, 108,
147, through suffering, 117, through
the will of God, 119, 136, through
non-attachment to virtue and vice,
122, through yogic processes, 122-8,
152, through the grace of God,
131-2, 152-3, through strength or
power (bald), 146, through the dis
persal of the non-spiritual, 164-5,
through the worship of God in the
physical and spiritual form, 185;
assisted by performance of Vedic
duties, 188-9
linga, 42, 52, 61-2, ngn., 133-4, 177
and n., 185
linga-dhdrana, 38, 42, 44, 46, 53,
189
Linga-dhdrana-candrikd of Nandikes-
vara, 52, i88w.
linga-sthala, 61-2
Lihgayats, 42
Logos, 121
Lokaksl, 6
Madhva, 65, 179, 185
mahat, ngn.
Mahdbhdrata, 5, 7, 67, 91, 97
mahdbhutas, 166
Mahadeva, 141
mahddeva, 120
Mahadevi, 53
mahddevi, 120
Maha-guru Kalesvara, 61
Maha-karunikas, i2in., 154, 162
Index
197
Mahalaksmi, 4
mahdmdyd, 165, 167, 169
Mahanlsa, 141
Mahapurna, 45
mahdtma-linga, 62
Mahavrata, 2
Mahavratadharas, 2, 9 and n., 145
Mahavratadharins, 51
Mahavratins, 3
mahdyoga, 123, 124, 127
Mahesvara, i, 7, 17, 58, 70, 71, 97,
121, 133, 138, 159, 181; beginning-
less and indestructible, 135
mahesvara, 62, 63, 64, 90, 172
Mahesvaras, i, 14, 70, 91, 160, 166
maitra, 139
Maitreya, 6, 13 in., 144
Makutdgama, i6n., 52
raa/a, 22-3, 24-7, 31, 32-3, 95, ,
109, 116-17, !63, 164-5
Male and female principle, 99-100,
101, 120
Mallikdrjuna-linga, 52
manas, 34, 35, 55, 90, 92-3, 99, no,
i39 i47 164, 165, 166, 168
mantrayoga, 123
mantresvara, 164, 165, 167
Manu, 53n.
Manusyaka, 6, 131 n., 144
Marula, 47, 173
Marula-siddha, 52, 53 n.
mateh prasdda, 146
Matsyendra-natha, 57
Macaya, 53
Madhava, i, 4, 5, 10, 12, 14 and n.,
17, 42, 50-1, 97, 142, 156, i59-6i
Madhavacarya, 10
mdhesvarl sakti, 22
Mdlatl-mddhava of BhavabhQti, 2
Manikka-vachakar, 19, 41, 149-59
Manikyaradhya, 46
Mdtanga-paramesvara, i6w., 160, 161,
Mdtanga-paramesvara-tantra, 28-9
mdyd, 23, 25, 27, 28, 31, 49, 54, 55,
56, 62, 87, 99, 103, 112, 157; as the
energy of God, 29, 109, 185; a ma
terial cause, 80, 82-4, 1 1 8-2 1, 160,
162, 164-72, 179-80; always asso
ciated with ^iva, 82-3; pure and
impure mdyd, 90-1 ; as delusion,
107
mdyeya, 164-5
Mayi-deva, 60, 61
Meditation, 122-9, 139, 142, 147, 189
Memory, 37, 164
Meykanda, u
Meykandadeva, 10-11, 19, 20, 24-7,
150 and n.
Mimamsa doctrines, 156, 173, 180-2
Mlmdmsd-sutra of Jaimini, 73
Miraculous powers attained by yogic
processes, 56-7, 127, 135, 139, 147
moha-sdstra, 72
Mohenjo-daro, 7
Moral responsibility, 85-95
Movement, 35,^147; in creation, 62;
an aspect of Siva, 100, 117
Mrgendrdgama, 14^., i6w., 18, 21
andn., 27, 38, 39, 72, 149, 160, 161,
167
Mrgendra-vrtti-dlpikd of Aghora-siva-
carya, 21 w., 26, 160
Mudda-deva, 48
Mukha-lingesvara, 46
Muktayi, 54
mumuksutva, 189
Muni, Visuddha, 6n.
Mysore Oriental Research Institute, 38
naimittika karma, 182
naisthiki, 63
Naiyayikas, i, 9-10, 15, 50, 70, 93,
130-1, 143-5, Jfro, 161, 166, 168
Nakulisa, 5, 6-7, 130, 13 in., 144
Nakullsa-pasupatas, i, 5, 14, 15, 17,
148
Nakullsa-pasupata-darsana, 5, 144^.
Namah-sivaya-desika, 19
Nampiyandar, 19
Nampiydnddr-nampi-purdna, 149
Nandikesvara, 52
Nandiperuman, 18
ndda, 64, 1 20, 1 66
Naka-raja Prabhu, 61
ndndgama-vidhdyine, 69, 70
Nanasambandhar, 156
Narayana, 4, 181
Nescience, 104-5, IO 7> 11 3> IJ 8, 174,
176
Nimbarka, 10, 179
nirvikalpa, 171
nirvisaya, 128
niskala, 38-9, 137, 139, 141, 157
nitya, 182
niyama, 134, 138, 140, 172
niyati, 23, 29, 33, 88, 90, 101, 109, 121,
165, 167, 170
198
Index
Non-attachment, 29, 54, 55, 144;
causes disappearance of vices, 56;
leads to union with the supreme
Lord, 138-9; of the self to all other
objects, 140-1
Non-being, 175-6, 182
Non-injury, 134
Nyaya doctrines, 13, in, 130, 155,
167, 181
Nydya-bhusana of Bhasarvajna, 143,
145
Nydya-kalikd of Jayanta, 145
Nyaya-kusumdnjali of Udayana, 145
Nydya-manjan of Jayanta, 127
Nyaya-mrta of Vyasatlrtha, 183
Nydya-sdra of Bhasarvajna, 143, 145
Nydya-sutra of Aksapada, 9, 145, 146
om, 70, 134, 142
om namah sivdya, 144
Omkara, 141
Pantheism, 168, 186
Paficaratra school, 118 and n.
Pancasikha, 6, jon.
Pancdrtha bhdsya of Kaundinya, 4, 5,
6, 13-14
Pancdrtha-ldkuldmndya, 5, 7
Pancdrtha-vidyd, 5
Panditaradhya, 47, 52
Paragargya, 6, 13 in., 144
Parafijoti, n
para-prakrti, 81
pardsakti, 100
Parasara, 6, 70 n.
paricaryd, 148
parigraha-sakti, 172
parindma, 92, 160
parindmakrama-niyama, 4
paroksa, 118
pasu, 28, 70, 82, 108, 113, 146, 154,
161, 163, 171; denned as pure con
sciousness covered with impurities,
26; that which experiences and
reacts, 29; inanimate, in; con
nected with pdsa to mean cause
and effect , 131, 141-2
pasundm-pati, 156
Pasupati, 14
pasupati, 7, 82
Pasupati-pdsa-vicdra-prakarana, 26
and n.
Patanjali, 6., 14, 49, 55, 124, 125, 143
patiy 141, 147, 154, 156, 161 163
Pauskardgama of Umapati, 147?., 19,
39w.; summary of general argu
ment, 29-37
pdsa, 25, 26, 33, 70, 82, 113, 154, 161,
163; threefold, 27; destructible,
1 08; inanimate, in; connected
with pasu to mean cause and
effect , 131, 141-2; may be a
blinding force, 167
Pasupatas, i, 6., 9, 10, 12-13, 15, 42,
50-1, 70 and n., 97, 145, 155; as
cetics, 130-1,133-4, 137-41,146, 151
Pasupata-aivism, 10, 38, 70, 123^. ;
five categories, i, 131, 141; iden
tified with ascetic practices, 130-1,
*33~4> i37-4i> 146, 148; view of
perceptual knowledge, 132-3, of
moral virtues, 134, of the supreme
Lord, 135 ; difference between cause
and effect, 135-6, 141-2; contact
with Brahmanism, 142; nature of
Pdsupata-yoga, 143 ; development of
the Pasupata system, 143-6; cate
gories of religious behaviour, 146-9
Pdsupata-sutra, 4, 5-6, 7, 14, 155;
Kaundinya s bhdsya on, 5, 13, 14,
17, 130-2, 135, 139, 142, 145-6,
148, 155; philosophical and doc
trinal content, 130-49
Pdsupata-sdstra, 6n., 10, 142, 144
pdsupata-vrata, 138
pdsupata-yoga, 138-9, 189
Pdsupata-yoga, 91, 143
Perception, 145, 171, 175; and in
ference as the only two pramdnas, 9 ;
sense-perception, 34-6, 92; defined
in the Pauskardgama, 37
Periya-purdna, 19, 149, 156
Phallic symbols, 8, 15, 20, 40, 45, 133,
146
Pillai, N., 19, 20
Pihgalaksa, 6, 13172., 144
Pope, G. U., 16, 20, 149-52, 154, 155,
156, 157
Prabhu-linga-ltld, 53 andn., 54 andn.,
55., 56 andn., 60
pradhdna, 29, 107, 109, 135-6, 141-2
prajnd, 63
Prajna-karagupta, 143-4
prajndloka, 126
prakrti, 24, 29, 30, 35, 92, 93, 143;
endowed with form and also form
less, 36; as a material cause, 40, 80,
82, 98-9, 1 68; co-existent with God,
Index
199
prakrti (cont.)
69, 161; gross and subtle prakrti,
79; difference between prakrti and
Brahman, 84, 90, 107; manifests
itself in the form of pleasure, pain
and numbness, 109-13, 136, 166;
moves for the fulfilment of the pur
pose of the purusas, 115-17, 119
pramdna, 9, 133, 145, 146
Pramdna-vdrttikdlamkdra of Prajna-
karagupta, 143
prasdda, 132, 146
Prasdda-ghana-linga, 62
pratibhd, 127
pratibhdsika, 183
pratyabhijnd-darsana, 1-2
Pratyabhijna system, 14, 15, 17, 18
pratydhdra, 124, 125, 143
Prakrt dialect, 15, 18, 159
prdna, 77
prdna-linga, 62, 64
prdndydma, 124-5, 128, 134
prdrabha-karma, 94
prema, 105
Puranas, 53, 68, 69, 91, 143, 149, 179,
181; Saiva philosophy in, 96-129;
Sivadvaita system in, 163
purusa, 29, 30, 31, 69, 99, 100-1, 103,
107, 109, in, 115, 119, 135, 142,
165, 168, 171
puryastaka, 164, 167
Puspaka, 6, 13 in., 144
Purva-mlmamsa, 173
Purva-mimdmsd-sutra of Jaimini, 73,
_74
purvavat, 133
Ratnakarasanti, 144
Ratnatlkd of Bhasarvajfia, 12 and n.,
14, 143, 145, 148
Ramandtha-linga, 52
Raudra, 51
raudrl, 119
rdga, 28-9, 90, 101, 109, 165, 167, 171
Rajaraja III, Chola king, n
rdjasa, 171
Rajasekhara, 6n., 8-9, 13, 17, 145
Rama, 173
Ramakanda s Commentary on Kdlot-
tard, 1471.
Ramanuja, 4, 10, 45, 65, 7on., 80, 83,
85, 93, 97, 173, 178-9, 185, 187; his
bhdsya on the Brahma-sutra, 2, 3,
50, sin., 68 Son., 184
Rama-siddha, 53n., 55
Raslkara, 5, 6, 13 in., 144, 145
Rdslkara-bhdsya of Kaundinya, 5, 13,
14, 17
Reality and appearance, 71, 104-5;
bheddbheda theory of reality, 49, 59;
gross and subtle nature of the world,
79, 168-9, 184-8; Sahkara s views
on, 83-4
Religious persecution, 45
Renukacarya, 47, 48, 53, 54
Renuka-siddha, 47, 53
Revana, 47, 173
Revanarya, 12, 44
Revana-siddha, 52, 53 and n.
Rsabha, 6
Rsi, 141
W, Si, 58
Rudra, 2, 5, 107, nqn., 135, 137, 141,
156
Rudra-samhitd of the Siva-maha-
purdna, 98-9, 102
Ruru, 6
sac-cid-dnanda-rupdya, 67, 100, 103,
1 20
Sacrifices, sacrificial duties, 73-5, 125,
148
saddsiva, 29, 90, 99, 121, 165, 169, 172
saddsiva-tattva, 167
sahaja, 27, 28
sakala, 137, 157
Sakhare, Professor, 52, i88w.
samddhi, 124, 126, 153-4, J 89
samdna, 125
sama-rasa, 59
samsdra, 115, 117
Sanaka, 6
Sanandana, 6
Sanatana, 6
Sangamesvara, 61
Sanskrit, 15-16, 18-19, 47, 66, 96,
106, 149, 150, 155, 156, 159
Santana, 6, 13 in., 144
Sarasvati-kanthdbharana of Bhoja, 159
Sarva, 141
Sarva-darsana-samgraha of Madhava,
4, 5, 1 1, 14 and n., 17, 20-1, 42, 50,
72, 130, 142, 144 and n., 145, 148,
159-60
sat, 67-8, 80, 99-100
Saumya, 51
Saurabheydgama, 147*.
savikalpa, 171
2OO
Index
savifaya, 128
sddhana-sampad, ijjn.
sdmdnyato drsta, 133, 171
sdmarasya, 58
Samkhya doctrines, 34, 35, 40, 50, 70,
93, 99, i9> in, H3, U5, H9
andn., 124, 139, 143, 155, 161, 165,
170-1
Sdmkhya-sutra, 115, 143
Sdmkhya-yoga, 13
Samkhyists, 160
sdttvika, 171
sdyujya, 139, 142
Schomerus, H. W., 16, 17, 18 andn.,
ign., i23., 157
Sekkilar, 19
Sekkilar-purdna, 149
Self, 27, 29; not identical with Brah
man, 24-5, in, 174, 176; reflected
through buddhi, 31-2; necessity of
realising the unity of self with iiva,
54, 138; body and the self com
pletely separate, 56-7, no; exist
ence of self known by inference,
138-9; separation of self from all
other objects, 140-1 ; identity of
self established through self-con
sciousness and memory, 164
Self-perception, 131-2
Self-realisation, 62, 118
Self-shiningness of God, 25
Self-surrender to iva, 137, 158,
182
Sense perception, 34-6, no; dis
tinguished from self-perception,
132-3; unable to comprehend su
preme bliss, 153
Siddha-natha, 48
Siddha-ramesvara, 47-8, 53
Siddha-siddhdnta-paddhati, 5 7-60
Siddhdnta-dipikd, 19
Siddhantas, I, 50, 52, 58
Siddhdnta-sdstra, 1 54
Siddhdnta-sikhdmani, 12, 44-50, 54
and n. ; eclectic nature of its thought,
50
Siddhesa-linga, 52
siddhi, 146, 152
Sleep, 186-7
Somanatha, 14, 52
Somas, 50
Somesa-linga, 52
Sorrow, suffering, 22, 93, in, 133;
related to the mercy of ^iva, 79; as
a part of creation, 85, 86, 94; caused
by ignorance, 108, 127, 141; as a
punishment of God, 114, 116,
185-6; caused by impurities in the
soul, 117, 1 1 8, by the senses, 140;
dissociation of, 146-7
Soul, 22-3, 28-9, 86, 163; not iden
tical with Brahman, 24-5, 84-5;
devoid of action, 26; an eternal
entity, 31-2, 85, 161, 179; identified
with Brahman in Siddhdnta-sikhd
mani, 49; practises worship of the
supreme Lord, 71; directly con
trolled by Brahman, 83 ; co-existent
with God, 92-3; omniscient in
liberation, 93; a universal entity,
no; moved into activity by the
motivity of God, 111-12; held in
bondage by the existence of im
purities, 116-17, n8, 151, 153, 157,
167; potentially corruptible even
after liberation, 151-2; no know
ledge of its own nature, 152; unin
telligent without iva, 153; mystic
union of the soul with the Lord,
153-4; veiled by the non-spiritual
mala, 164-5; categories which link
souls and the world, 167-8; as pure
consciousness limited by mind, 180;
and sleep, 186-7
spanda, 100, 101
spar say oga, 123
Speech, 121, 125, 140, 148
sthala, 44, 60, 61-2
Sthala-mdhdtmya, 3
sthdna-samasyd, 126
Strength (bald), 100, 146
Sundara, 19
Suprabheddgama, i6n., 52
Suradantacarya, 26
sumsargika, 27
Suta-samhitd, 18 andn., 21, 44, 50-1,
163, 172
Svdyambhuvdgama, i6n., 18, 26, 52
Saiva-darsana, i, 159
Saivdgamas, i, 4, 10, 14-15, 18-19,
21-2, 61, 66-7, 68, 69, 71-2, 92,
121, 150, 159-61, 163 and n., 166,
181
aivas, i, 52, 145 ; distinguishing signs
and robes, 2, 14-15; orgiastic prac
tices, 2, 3 ; practice of smearing the
body with ashes, 4, 8, 51, 133-4,
136, 137, 144, 146, 148; teachers of
Index
201
the Pasupata school, 6, 7, 8-9, 17,
131 and n. t 144; as ascetics, 8, 125,
130-1, 133-4, 136, 137-8, 144
Saiva-siddhanta, 19-20, 97-8, 168-9;
historical development, 154-6;
three categories, 156-8; doctrine of
grace (anugraha), 161-2, 169-70
Saiva-siddhanta, 19 and w. 151
Saivism: Agamic Saivism, 17-18;
philosophical content of Agama
literature, 20-3, 29-41 ; doctrine of
creation and experience, 24-7 ; cate
gories of Matahga-parameivara-
tantra, 28-9; schools of, 51-2, 97,
123 and n., 145; antiquity of, 66-7,
155; view of the pure egohood of
Siva, 67-8; relation between the
universe and God, 68-71 ; some
schools partly opposed to Vedic
discipline, 72 ; view of the qualifica
tions for inquiry into the nature of
Brahman, 73-7, of the nature of
Brahman Himself, 77-85 ; view of
the determinism of God and moral
responsibility of man, 85-95 > philo
sophical content of the Puranas,
96-129; destruction of early Saiva
literature, 106; doctrine of the Pdsu-
pata-siitras, 130-49; philosophical
ideas in the Tiru-vachakam, 149-54;
Saiva Siddhanta, 154-9; doctrines
of Bhoja and his commentators,
159-72
Sakti, consort of Siva, 51, 100, 120-1,
128, 157
sakti, 28, 29, 31, 48, 90, 165, 185; as
intuitive knowledge and action, 33;
the will of God, 39; a material
cause, 40, 84 ; Siva identical with his
sakti, 58, 120-1, 152, 158, 162; as
energy in creation, 62, 172; change
less, 92; existing in all time, 99-100;
notion that sakti is feminine, 153
saktimdn, 185
sakti-tattva, 167
sama, 189
Sankara, 17, 24, 31, 42, 51, 54, 59, 65,
70, 73-4, 77, 79-8o, 83, 93, 105,
106, 118, 131, 141, 154, 155, 166,
168, 172, 176, 180-1, 184-8, 190;
his bhdsya on the Brahma-sutra,
i, 14-15, 50, 66, 69, 71, Son., 96,
97-8, 121 n., 142, 154, 160, 173
Sankaracarya, 16
Sankara-vijaya of Anandagiri, gn.,
14-15, SO
Sankarites, 12, 49, 50, 179, 182-3, 187
sarana-sthala, 63
Sarva, 82, 141
Salihotra, 6, 70 n.
Sankara Veddnta, 57
sdntyatlta, 30, 62
sdrvi, 119
Sastri, Anantakrina, 5, 130
Sastri, K. M. Subrahmanya, 21 n.
Sastri, Professor Shesagiri, n
sesavat, 133
Siva, 6, 36, 44, 50, 51, 94, 128-9;
a merciful Lord, 4-5, 79; incarna
tions of, 7, 12, 57-8, 66, 123, 130,
144, 155; devoid of all impurities,
21, 112, 118, 157, 167; instrumental
agent of creation, 21-2, 50, 68, 72,
98, in, 142, i62., 175, 178; re
mains unmoved in creation, 29-30,
39, 80-1, 103-4, 169, 172; known
by inference, 25-6, 80; remover of
impurities, 27, 151-2; sole agent of
all actions, 30-1; called niskala,
38-9, 141 ; unity of all with Siva,
54-7, 58; the ultimate category, 61,
103, 165; attainment of union with
Siva, 63, 1 08, 116-17, 127, 138,
153-4, 163, 189-90; as pure being ,
pure consciousness* and pure
bliss , 67, 82, 103; omniscient, 81,
144, 1 68; material cause of the uni
verse, 82-3, 175, 176-7, 178, 180;
denoted by the term sakti, 91, 158,
162; the author of Saiva scriptures,
96, 97, 154, 159, 181; true know
ledge equated with devotion to Siva,
102, 104; energy of Siva, 112-13,
162-3, J 69, 177-8; service to others
his essential nature, 113, 114; the
whole world a manifestation of Siva,
119, 157, 185; indivisible from his
sakti, 120-1 ; approached only
through sincere faith, 121-2; self-
surrender to Siva, 137, 158, 182;
eternally dissociated from all sor
rows, 141 ; appears before Manikka-
vachakar, 150; joyous and dancing,
151; the soul unintelligent without
Siva, 152; perfect in Himself, 157;
as knowledge combined with action,
1 6 1, 169, 172; as form and formless
ness, 187
2O2
Index
siva, derivation of, 4, 69
iva-dharmottara, 15 and n.
Siva-jndna-bodha of Meykandadeva,
10, 19 andn., 123*1., i$oandn., 151;
summary of general argument, 24-7
Siva-jndna-siddhi, 24, 40, 1597*., 172
Siva-linga, 63, 187
iaiva-linga-bhupati, n
iva-mahdpurdna, 2, 4, 5., 6, 7, 18,
51, 67 and n., 70, 72, 73, 91 ; philo
sophical content, 96-129; most
authentic purdna, 181
Siva-rahasya-dipikd, 1 1
Siva-sidddnta-nirnaya, 48
Siva-siddhdnta-tantra, 61 and n.
Siva-sutra, 100
siva-tattva, 91, 100, 167
&va-worship, spread of, up to 8th
century, 8 ; outcaste worship, 3 ;
vow of service to isiva, 9-10; image
of 3iva worshipped as iva Himself,
114; the proper worship of ^iva,
119-20; external expression of emo
tion in worship, 122; brings cessa
tion of sorrow, 136
^iva-yoglsvara, 48
ivadvaita system, 99-102, 163, 172
3nkantha, 10, n, 18 andn., 65-95, 97,
98, 101, 105, 142-3, 159, 185
nkara-bhdsyaofrlpatiPandita, ion.,
53., 60; philosophical content,
173-90
r!kumara, 10, 17, 160, 162 andn., 163
andn., 164, 165, 166, 1697*., ijon.,
ijin.
^rlpati Pandita, 10, 11-12, 42, 43, 44,
53 andn., 60, 173-90
Srlsaila, Kapalika centre in, 3
ruti texts, 173, 176, 177
sruti, ii
suddhddhva, 39
suddha-vidyd, 90
^uka, 6
susupti, 1 86
^udra Kapalikas, 2, 72, 134
veta, 66-7, 69, 70 and n.
vetaketu, 6
3vetasvatara Upanisad, 7, 112
Saddarsana-samuccaya of Haribhadra
Suri, 9 andn., ion., 13, 144
Saddarsana-samuccaya of Rajasekhara,
6n., 8 andn., gn., 13, 145
sat-sthala, 15, 38, 42, 44, 49, 52, 53,
54-7, 59-6o, 61, 173
taijas, 63
tamas, 186
Tamil, 15, 16, 19 and n., 20, 66, 149,
150, 155
Tamil-veda of Nampiyandar, 1 9
tanmdtra, 34, 36-7, 91, 99, 109, 119,
124, 166, 168
tapas, 122, 126, 147
Tatpurusa, 141
tat tvam asi, 56
Tattva-prakdsa of King Bhoja of
Dhara, 10, 14 and n., 17, 23, 38,
39, 156; philosophical content, 159-
72
tdmasa, 171
Tantric forms of worship, 3, 8, 158
Tdtparya-parisuddhi of Udayana,
145
Tdtparya-ttkd of Vacaspati Misra,
145
Telegu language, i6w., 149
Teleology, 115, 169
Testimony, 145, 171
Thou art that , 56
Time, 33, 90, 99, 101, 109, 112-13,
121, 165, 170
tirodhdna-sakti, 157
Tirumular, 19
Tiru-vdchaka of Manikka-vachakar,
19, 20, 41; philosophical content,
149-54
Tiru-vdtavur or -purdna, 149
Tiru-vilaiyddil, 1 50
titiksd, 189
tydgdnga, 63
uddna, 125
Udayana, 9, 145
Udbhataradhya, 537*.
Udyotkara, 145
Ujjain, Kapalika centre in, 3
Uliika, 70 n.
Umapati, 19, 20, 151, 156
Upamanyu, 53^., 61, 98, 120
Upanisads, 14, 46, 53, 98, no, 173,
189; view of the soul in, 24, 85;
Sahkara s interpretation, 59, 105;
thought expounded in Vedanta
teachings, 65, 67-71; texts on the
nature of Brahman, 74, 75, 77,
80-1, 83, 92, 105, 112, 174-6,
181, 182-3, J 85; on the creation,
179
uparati, 189
Index
203
vacanas of Basava, 12, 53
vairdgya, 122
Vaisesika, 130
Vaisesikas, i, 9-10, 93, 145
Vaisesika-sutra, 9
Vaisnavism, 13, 43, 97, 156
Vaisnavas, 4, 12, 64, 103
Valiabha, 65, 84, 188
Vardha-purdna, 72, 73, 91
Varndsrama dharma, 98, 189
Vasubandhu, 143
Vasistha, 6
Vatsa, 70 n.
Vacaspati Misra, i, 2, 4, 14, 15, 17, 42,
50, 51, 69-70, 97, 98, 115, 117, 145
vdg-visuddha, 140
Varna, 51, 141
Vamadeva, 6, 47, 53 n., 137
Vdrttika of Udyotkara, 145
vdsa, 148
Vdtavurar-purana, 150, 154
Vdtsydyana-bhdsya, 145
Vdtuldgama, i8n., 38, 48, 61
Vdtula-tantra, 38-41, 42, 61
Vdyavlya-samhitd of the Siva-mahd-
purdna, 4, 5, 6., 10, 17, 18, 7ow.,
72, 91, 96-7, 142-3, 155, 156, 161;
philosophical content, 106-29
vayu, 55-6, 135
Vdyu-purana, 6n., 7
Vedanta, 14, 22, 44, 50, 1 1 1, 165 ; view
of the soul, 49, 118; primarily
means the teaching of the Upani-
sads, 65, 67; leads to liberation, 104;
view of Brahman as reality, 120,
154, 1 60, 1 68; iarlpati Pandita s
ideas on, 173-90
Veddnta-kalpataruparimala of Appaya
Dlksita, 51
Vedas, 9., 28, 71-2, 74, no, 156, 179,
182; testimony of the existence of
Brahman, 84, 90-2, 181; declare
God to be the cause of the world,
175; created by God, 180
Vedic duties, 73-5, 76-7, 88-9, 188-9
Vedic worship, 21, 188
Vemanaradhya, 537*.
Vibration, 100, 119
vidhiy i, 6, 131, 132, 133, 142, 147
vidyd, 33, 62, 90, 101, 109, 121, 161,
165, 167, 171
Vidyaguru, 6, 13 in., 144
vidyd-tattva, 167
vidyesvara, 164, 165, 167
Vijjala, 42-3, 45
Vijnana Bhiksu, 66, 69
vijndna-kala, 164
Vijndndmrta-bhdsya, 66, 69
vikarana, 137
Vipra, 141
visayas, 119
Visistddvaita-vdda of Raman uj a, 68,
85 , 173
Visnu, 107, 119/1., 181
visva, 63
Visvaradhya, 52
Visvarupa, 5
Visvesa-linga, 52
Visvesvara-guru, 46
vivarta, 160
Vira-bhadra, 46, 47
Vira-mallesvararadhya, 46
Viranaradhya, 46
Vira-saivdgama, 46, 51, 52, 54
Vlra-saiva-guru-parampard, 46-7, 52
Vira-saiva-siddhdnta, 60
Vira-saivas, 15, 43-5, 97
Vlra-saiva Tantra, 48
Vira-saivism, 10, 17, 18, 38; doubtful
if Basava was really the founder, 12 ;
the tradition of foundation by Ba
sava, 42-4; history and literature,
42-8, 50-2, 6 1 ; origin of the name,
44-5 ; view of the nature of Brah
man, 48-9; doctrine of karma, 50,
of sthala, 53-60, 62-4; the nkara-
bhdsya as the fundamental basis of,
173-90
Vlresaradhya, 46
vrata, 148
Vratyas, 2
Vrsabha, 46
vrtti, 92
vyakta, 91
Vydkhydna-kdrikd of Suradantacarya,
26
vydna, 125
Vyasa, 97, 115, 143
Vyasatirtha, 183
Will, 100-1, 1 86; free will, 88-90,
94; of God, 113, 115-16, 117-18,
119, 121, 135-6, 148-9, 170, 172,
1 86
yajna, 148
yama, 6n., 134, 138, 140
Yaugas, 9, 15, 144
204 Index
yoga, i, 131, 133, 161; arresting of yoga-mata, 8
physical processes by, 55-6; state of yoganga, 63
yoga attained by meditating on Yogasdstra of Patanjali, 6w., 49-50, 55,
iva, 108, 122-8, 188; the word 124, 127, 143
yoga denotes contact of the self Yoga-sutras, 115, 117, 124, 143, 159
with God, 132, 138, 143; miracu- Yogic processes, 56-7, 122-8, 135,
lous powers attained through, 139 139
DASGUPTA, S,N
B
131
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