Lakulisha

Lakulisha (Sanskrit: Lakulīśa, Devnagari: लकुलीश) (Etymology: लगुड (staff) or लकुट (mace) + ईश (lord) = meaning, the lord with a staff or mace or club or stick) was a prominent Shaivite revivalist, reformist and preceptor of the doctrine of the Pashupatas, one of the oldest sects of Shaivism.

According to some scholars, Lakulisha is the founder of the Pashupata sect. While, another section argues that the Pashupata doctrine was already in existence before Lakulisha, and he was only its first formal preceptor. It is believed that he was born in a Brahmin family and lived in Kayavatara or Kayavarohan (present day Karvan), located in Vadodara district of Gujarat state in western India.

According to a tradition stated in the Linga Purana, Lakulisha is considered as the 28th and the last avatar of Shiva and the propounder of Yoga system. According to the same tradition, Lakulisha had four disciples, viz., Kaurushya, Garga, Mitra and Kushika. According to another tradition mentioned in the Avanti Khanda of the Skanda Purana, Lakulisha and his four disciples while passing Mahakalavana, installed a linga at that place, which was then known as Kayavarohaneshvara. The Kurma Purana (Chap. 53), the Vayu Purana (Chap. 23), and the Linga Purana (Chap. 24) predicted that Shiva (Maheshvara) would appear in the form of a wandering monk called 'Lakulin' or 'Nakulisha', and that he would have four disciples named, Kushika, Garga, Mitra, and Kanrushya, who would re-establish the cult of Pashupati and would therefore be called Pashupata(s). Lakulisha was the fruition of these divine predictions. According to Vayu Purana V. 1.23.202-214, Lakulisha was a contemporary of Vyasa and Krishna, and was the 28th incarnation of Rudra (Shiva).

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