Pasupata

Early Hindu sect that worshiped Shiva as the supreme deity.

Numerous subsects flourished in northern and northwestern India until at least the 12th century and spread to Java and Cambodia. Pasupata teachings were believed to have originated with Shiva himself, reincarnated as the teacher Lakulin. The sect's rise is dated roughly between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD. The ascetic practices adopted by the Pasupatas included smearing their bodies thrice-daily with ashes. Out of Pasupata doctrine developed two extreme schools, Kapalika and Kalamukha, as well as one moderate sect, Shaivism.

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▪ Hindu sect

      perhaps the earliest Hindu sect to worship the god Śiva (Shiva) (Shiva) as the supreme deity; it gave rise in turn to numerous subsects that flourished in Gujarāt and Rājasthān, at least until the 12th century, and also travelled to Java and Cambodia. The sect takes its name from Paśupati, an epithet of Śiva meaning Lord of Cattle, which was later extended to convey the meaning “Lord of Souls.”

      The Pāśupata sect is mentioned in the Indian epic the Mahābhārata. Śiva himself was believed to have been the first preceptor of the system. According to legends contained in later writings such as the Vāyu-Purāṇa and the Liṅga-Purāṇa, Śiva revealed that he would make an appearance on Earth during the age of Lord Vishnu's appearance as Vāsudeva-Krishna. Śiva indicated that he would enter a dead body and incarnate himself as Lakulin (or Nakulin or Lakulīśa, lakula meaning “club”). Inscriptions of the 10th and 13th centuries appear to corroborate the legend, as they refer to a teacher named Lakulin, who was believed by his followers to be an incarnation of Śiva. On analogy with the Vāsudeva cult, some historians place the rise of the Pāśupatas as early as the 2nd century BC, while others prefer the 2nd century AD as a date of origin.

      The ascetic practices adopted by the Pāśupatas included the thrice-daily smearing of their bodies with ashes, meditation, and chanting the symbolic syllable “om.” The school fell into disrepute when some of the mystical practices were distorted. Out of the Pāśupata doctrine developed two extreme schools, the Kālāmukhas and the Kāpālikas (Kapalika and Kalamukha), as well as one moderate sect, the Śaivas (also called the Siddhānta school (Shaiva-siddhanta)). The Pāśupatas and the extreme sects were called Atimārgika (schools away from the path) to maintain their distinction from the more rational and acceptable Śaivas, whose development led into modern Śaivism. See also Kāpālika and Kālāmukha (Kapalika and Kalamukha).

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