Matsyendra is known to the Tibetans as Jowo Dzamling Karmo (“White Lord of the World”), one of the four exalted brothers, who are said by some to have lived in the seventh century. He is specifically associated with the Kaula sect of the Siddha movement, within which he may have founded the Yoginî-Kaula branch. This Tantric sect derives its name from its primary doctrinal tenet, the kula. This kula is the ultimate Reality in its dynamic or feminine aspect, as Shakti, specifically kundalint-shakti. The literal meaning of kula is “flock” or “multitude” but also, more significantly, “family” and “home.” Thus, the term evokes both the sense of differentiation and protectedness, which is pertinent in regard to the serpent power, since the kundalint is both the source of the multitudinous universe and the ultimate security for the yogin who knows the kula secret. In this school, Shiva is often referred to as akula—the principle that transcends differentiation. The related concept of kaula stands for the condition of enlightenment or liberation, gained through the union of Shiva and Shakti. The word, however, also refers to the practitioner of this esoteric path. Some lists of teachers name Matsyendra and Mina as separate individuals, which is possible but not highly likely. Other sources equate him with Luipa, whom the Tibetans, however, regard as a distinct adept. Lore about Luipa—the Tibetan name means something like “fish gut eater”—can be found throughout Northern India. The stories portray him as a yogin fond of eating the innards of fish. In Bengali, a lui is a small fish-catching device made of cane. Some authorities derive the name from lohi-pâda, meaning someone hailing from Lohit (the Assamese name for the Brahmaputra River, which is reddish in color). Luipa is thought to have coauthored a book with the Buddhist adept-scholar Dîpamkara Shrijnâna (=Atîsha), who was born in 980 C.E.
In the Tibetan hagiography of the eighty-four mahâ-siddhas, the following story is told of Mina Nâtha (who probably is identical with Matsyendra). The fisherman spent most of his time in his small boat in the Bay of Bengal. One day, he hooked a huge fish that pulled so hard on his fishing line that he was thrown overboard. Like Jonah in the biblical story, Mina ended up in the fish’s enormous stomach, protected by his good karma.
It so happened that at that time Lord Shiva was instructing his divine spouse Umâ in secret teachings he had thus far been keeping to himself. She had created a special environment at the bottom of the ocean where no one could overhear the discourse. Many fish were drawn to the luminous undersea structure, including the leviathan that had gulped down Mina. So it came to pass that the fisherman was able to listen to Shiva’s secret instructions without being noticed. At one point, the Goddess fell asleep. When Shiva asked, “Are you listening?” a prompt “Yes!” came from the belly of the fish. Using his third eye, Shiva gazed straight through the mountain of flesh into the fish’s stomach, where he saw Mina. He was thrilled at the discovery, saying, “Now I see who my real disciple is.” Turning to his sleepy spouse, he said: “I will initiate him rather than you.”
Mina gratefully took the initiation and then for the next twelve years—all the while remaining in the fish’s belly—dedicated himself exclusively to the esoteric practices given to him by the great God himself. At the end of this period, another fisherman caught the monster and hacked it open, with Mina emerging as a fully realized master.
Mina’s, or Matsyendra’s, chief disciple was Gorak- sha. Legend has it that a peasant woman once implored Shiva to grant her a son. Touched by her fervent prayers, the great God gave her magical ash to eat, which would ensure her pregnancy. In her ignorance, the woman discarded the priceless gift on a dung heap. Twelve years later, Matsyendra happened to overhear a conversation between Shiva and his divine spouse Pârvatî. Wishing to see the child granted to the peasant woman, Matsyendra went to visit her. She sheepishly confessed what had happened to Shiva’s graceful gift. Unperturbed, the sid- dha asked her to search the dung heap again, and—lo and behold! —she found a twelve-year-old boy who she named Goraksha (“Cow Protector”).
Matsyendra adopted Goraksha as his disciple, and soon the student’s fame exceeded that of his teacher. In some stories, Goraksha is portrayed as using his considerable magical powers for the benefit of his guru. Thus, according to one legend, Matsyendra went to visit Ceylon, where he fell in love with the queen. She invited him to stay with her in the palace, and before long Matsyendra was thoroughly ensnared in courtly life. When Goraksha heard about his teacher’s fate, he at once went to rescue him. Goraksha assumed a female form so that he could enter the king’s harem and confront him. Thanks to his disciple’s timely intervention, Matsyendra came to his senses and returned to India, accompanied by his two sons Parasnath and Nimnath (two Hindi names).
Later, another story relates, Goraksha killed Matsyendra’s sons, only to restore them to life. All these legends have, of course, deep symbolic significance. For instance, the murder of the two boys can be interpreted as the yogic act of withdrawing the life force (pram) from the idâ- and the pingalâ-nâdî, the currents to the left and right of the axial current (sushumnâ- nâdî), and gathering it in the esoteric energy center at the base of the spine, from where the awakened kundal- ini ascends to the crown center.
Goraksha, who lived in the late tenth and early eleventh century C.E., is remembered as a miracle worker second to none. He was obviously a realized adept and a charismatic personality of considerable social influence. Yet, according to most traditional accounts, he hailed from a lower, if not the lowest, social class. They are also agreed that he embraced the ascetic life at an early age and practiced lifelong celibacy. He was apparently a very handsome and charismatic individual who traveled widely throughout India. Kabîr, who had few good words for the yogins of his day, praised Goraksha, Bhartrihari, and Gopicandra as masters who had found union with the Divine. He also acknowledged his indebtedness to them for their teachings about the six psychospiritual centers (cakra) of the body and the Yoga of sound (shabda-yoga).
The invention of Hatha-Yoga is often attributed to Goraksha alone, though many of the tenets and practices of this school were in existence long before his time.9 Goraksha is also said to have founded the Kânphata (“Split-ear”) order of the Nâthas, which gets its curious name from one of the distinguishing marks of its members, namely their split earlobes into which large rings (called mudrâ or darshana) are inserted. Some members claim that this custom affects an important current (nadt) of life force at the ear that facilitates the acquisition of certain magical powers.
The Kânphata order, whose members are also called jogîs, is scattered throughout India and includes hermits and monastic groups, as well as a small number of married men and women. The 1901 census of India reported 45,463 Nâthas, almost half of whom were women. They generally have a low social status, and, as George Weston Briggs reported, they
make charms for themselves, and some sell them to others; they pronounce spells and practice palmistry and juggling, tell fortunes, and interpret dreams; they sell a woolen amulet to protect children from the evil eye; and they pretend [?] to cure disease, muttering texts over the sick and practising medicine and exorcism, and vending drugs.10
The picture painted by Briggs and others suggests that the order founded by Goraksha is in a state of decline, and many of its members are both despised and feared for their actual or putative magical powers and ever ready curses. But there are also those who continue to instruct the villagers in spiritual and worldly matters and who, like those in the lineage of Bhartri Nâtha, entertain and edify through their music and songs. While it is true that the danger of narcissism lurks in all body-centered paths, it is also true that self-transcending love is not absent from any genuine spiritual approach, including Hatha-Yoga.
Other Masters of Nâthism
After Goraksha, the most prominent adepts of Nâthism are Jâlandhari (disciple of Matsyendra), Bhartrihari (disciple of Jâlandhari), Gopîcandra (disciple of Jâlandhari or Kanhu), and Caurangi (whose stepmother abandoned him in the forest after cutting off his hands a
nd feet, and who became a disciple of Matsyendra), as well as Carpâta (or Carpati) and Gahini (both of whom were disciples of Goraksha).
Before renouncing the world, Jâlandhari ruled over the thriving city of Hastinâpura in North-Western India. In the east, in Bengal, he is also known as Hâdipâ, which indicates his occupation as a lowly menial laborer. Legend has it that because he, the great siddha, coveted Shiva’s spouse herself, she cursed him to live out his life as a hâdi in service to the beautiful queen Maynâmati of Comilla (in what is now Bangladesh). He is remembered as a great miracle worker, who is said to have been able to bring back the dead—a feat he performed on his most famous disciple, King Gopîcandra (see below).
Bhartrihari was the king of Ujjain, and, according to some legends, the brother of Queen Maynâmati, the mother of Gopicandra. He was initiated by Jalandhari and also is considered to have been a disciple of Goraksha. After his abdication, his brother Vikramaditya (Candragupta II) ascended the throne and ruled from 1079 to 1126 C.E. One of the subsects of the Kânphatas is named after Bhartrihari, whose renunciation, prompted by his beloved wife Pingalâ’s death, is still celebrated in popular songs, especially in Western India.
Another of Goraksha’s twelve main disciples was Baba Ratan Haji, a Muslim, who still has followers in Kabul and may have authored the Kafir-Bodha (which is also ascribed to Goraksha). He appears to have died at the end of the twelfth century, however, which would rule out a direct contact with Goraksha, unless we assume that the latter was extremely long lived.
Caurangi, who was the son of King Devapala of the Pala dynasty of Bengal, is credited with the authorship of the Prâna-Sankali (composed in medieval Hindi). The Tibetan hagiography of the eighty-four great adepts relates the story of his stepmother’s amorous advances toward him, which he rejected. Feeling humiliated, she plotted revenge. One day she inflicted scratches over her entire body and blamed Caurangi for them. King Devapala, who had no reason to disbelieve his new wife, ordered the executioners to abandon the prince in the forest after cutting off his arms and legs. Before Caurangi could bleed to death, Mina Nâtha appeared before him. He initiated the dying prince into Yoga and promised that, after successful completion of the practices he had given him, his limbs would grow back.
One night, after twelve long years, a caravan laden with gold and precious stones camped nearby. Caurangi called out to them from the dark. Fearfully, they identified themselves as merchants carrying simple charcoal. “So be it,” he replied. On sunrise, they discovered to their horror that all their chests and sacks were filled with charcoal. The merchants remembered the disembodied voice of the previous night and looked for Caurangi. They were shocked to find his limbless body propped up against a tree. But they also sensed that he was a man of great power, and so they confessed their little lie and asked for his help. Caurangi explained that he probably had nothing to do with the incident, but if his words were responsible for their fiasco then the charcoal should be transformed back into gold and precious stones that instant. When they checked their chests and sacks, the merchants were overjoyed to discover that their property had been restored to its right form. Caurangi, however, was as surprised as they were. He remembered Mina Nâtha’s promise, and then purely through visualization he grew his missing limbs back that same day.
Carpâta, or Carpati, had King Sahila Varma of Chamba as his disciple, who flourished in the early tenth century C.E. Carpâta is credited with the authorship of a work entitled Carpâta-Shataka (or Carpâta-Pad- dhati), which shows a strong Jaina influence. According to some scholars, however, he was an alchemist who had followed Buddhism but later became a disciple of Goraksha. It is clear from this work and other teachings of Nâthism that this movement unfolded at the confluence of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. There also is a Carpâta-Panjarika-Stotra, wrongly attributed to Shan-kara, which appears to be modeled on the Shataka.11 Tibetan sources, who list Carpati among the eighty-four great adepts, know him as Carbaripa. He is said to have had the peculiar ability of turning people into Buddha sculptures made from stone. Legend has it that the sculptures come back to life in order to manhandle faltering practitioners until their clarity and motivation are restored.
Gahini (Marathi: Gaini), of Maharashtra, is said to have been a disciple of Goraksha. His date of birth is traditionally given as 1175 C.E., which is too late for Goraksha. Goraksha could, however, have been his parama-guru, or teacher’s teacher. Gahini Nâtha initiated Nivritti (see below).
Gopicandra, erstwhile king of East Bengal (now Bangladesh), is the subject of numerous popular legends and ballads that are still recited in Northern India today. Some scholars associate him with Pattikanagara in Tripurâ (Chittagong district on the Bay of Bengal) rather than with the Pala dynasty of Bengal. It appears his family may have leased a portion of Bengal. He married the two daughters of King Harishcandra, who may have ruled over Savar in the Dacca district, Bengal.
According to one account, Gopicandra was born as a direct result of Shiva’s grace, for there was no son written in his royal mother’s destiny. Queen Maynâmati, wife of King Manikcandra, was told that her newborn son was a disciple of the adept Jalandhari and would have to be returned to that teacher after Gopicandra had ruled over his kingdom for twelve years. She was also told that if Gopicandra were to submit to his guru at that point in time, he would acquire immortality. If, however, he were to reject his teacher and fail to renounce the world, his fate would be to die instantly.
Gopicandra was brought up in luxury, free from worldly cares, and became a successful ruler. In the twelfth year of Gopîcandra’s reign, Jâlandhari (disguised as a low-caste sweeper bearing the name Hâdi) arrived at the palace gardens and demanded what was rightfully his. The queen mother, who was a disciple of Jâlandhari, broke the news to Gopîcandra. After questioning her closely, he arrived at a decision. He went straight to Jâlandhari/Hâdi and, to everyone’s horror, threw the adept into a deep well. He blocked the well with a huge rock, and then had seven hundred cartloads of horse manure dumped on top of the rock.
As prophesied by Jâlandhari many years earlier, Gopîcandra instantly found himself in the throes of death. Suddenly Jâlandhari, who had been quite unperturbed by his disciple’s cruel treatment, materialized in front of him. His superior power quickly restored Gopîcandra’s departing psyche to the body. Although he was glad to be alive, the king only reluctantly accepted the life of a renouncer. In fact, Jâlandhari had to intervene many more times in his disciple’s life, because Gopîcandra was strongly attached to his eleven hundred wives, his sixteen hundred slave girls, and their children, as well as the luxurious life, power, and glory of a regent. He is probably the most insubordinate disciple on record in the history of Yoga and suffered greatly in the course of his discipleship. But he also won the supreme prize of liberation in this life because of his guru’s grace, his good karma, and not least his persistence.
In addition to the above masters, the Hatha-Yoga- Pradîpikâ (1.5-9) mentions Shâbara, nanda Bhairava, Mîna (as distinct from Matsyendra), Virûpâksha, Bileshaya, Manthâna Bhairava Yogin, Siddhi, Buddha, Kanthadi, Korantaka, Surânanda, Siddhipâda, Kânerin, Pûjyapâda, Nitya Nâtha, Niranjana, Kapâlin, Bindu Nâtha, Kâka- candîshvara, Allâma Prabhudeva, Ghodâcolin, Tintini, Bhânukin, Nâradeva, Khânda, Kâpâlika. We know next to nothing about many of these personages, but numerous legends are told about the most important of these adepts.
If nanda Bhairava is the same as the Bhairava nanda mentioned in King Shekhara’s Karpura- Manjari, we can place him in the early tenth century.
Virûpaksha may be the same as the adept Virûpa whom Tibetan sources regard as one of the eighty-four mahâ-siddhas. He was born in Bengal during the reign of King Devapala and entered the Buddhist monastic university of Somapuri at a young age. When after twelve years of dedicated practice no spiritual breakthrough occurred, he discarded his rosary in utter frustration. That evening, his chosen deity, Goddess Vajra Varahi, appeared to him with the gift of a new
rosary. His motivation greatly strengthened by this extraordinary event, he spent another twelve years pursuing his particular meditation practice and gained the longed-for realization. Shortly after his enlightenment, Virûpa was discovered in his cell feasting on pigeon meat and wine. He was defrocked and asked to leave the monastery. Outside the monastery gates, he happily walked across the lake, stepping light- footedly from lotus leaf to lotus leaf until he reached the other shore.
Dumbfounded and remorseful, the monks begged him to return, which he did. When asked why he killed the pigeons for a meal, he explained that it had all been an illusion, like everything else. He snapped his fingers, and the pigeons came back to life. After this demonstration he left the monastery for good to roam the countryside at his leisure.
Kanthadi may be the same siddha whom the Chalukya king Mulraj I (941-996 C.E.) found living on the banks of the Sârasvatî River.
Pujyapada may be the great philosopher-physician who was a Jaina by birth and lived in Karnataka perhaps around 600 C.E. His original name was Devanandi, and he wrote a medical work entitled Kalyana-Karaka. It is not clear whether he is the same as the Pujyapada to whom several medical works, including the Samâdhi- Shataka, in the Telugu script are attributed.
Nitya Nâtha was the name of a great fifteenth-cen- tury adept who authored the Rasa-Ratna-Akara (written Rasaratnakara), which is a thousand pages long and purports to be a digest of all earlier Ayurvedic works. He is also sometimes credited with the authorship of the Kaksha-Puta-Samhitâ (a manual of sorcery) and the Siddha-Siddhânta-Paddhati.
Kapalin could be identical with Kapalapa mentioned in the hagiography of the eighty-four mahâ-sid- dhas. He is said to have been a laborer in Rajapuri, where an epidemic claimed the life of his beloved wife and five children. He was initiated into the Buddhist tradition by Krishnâcârya, who converted the decapitated head of Kapalapa’s wife into a skull bowl and carved ritual ornaments from the bones of the five children. He instructed the grieving man to meditate on the emptiness of the skull bowl. After nine years, Kapalapa met with success and in due course became a renowned teacher with six hundred disciples.
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