Pashupati
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Pashupati (Sanskrit: Paśupati), "Lord of cattle", is an epithet of the Hindu deity Shiva.[1] In Vedic times it was used as an epithet of Rudra.[2]
The name has also been interpreted as meaning "lord of creatures" more generally.[citation needed]
The Rigveda has the related pashupa "protector of cattle" as a name of Pushan.
The name has also been applied to a figure, probably a deity, depicted as sitting among animals, on a seal discovered in the context of the Indus Valley Civilization. Parallels have also been drawn with the Celtic Cernunnos.
The Pashupatinath Temple is the most important Hindu shrine for all Hindus in Nepal and also for many in India and rest of the world.
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[edit] "Pashupati seal"
A seal discovered during excavation of the Mohenjo-daro archaeological site in the Indus Valley has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "yogi" or "proto-Shiva" figure.[3] This "Pashupati" (Lord of Animals, Sanskrit paśupati)[4][5] seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.[6][7][8] Some observers describe the figure as sitting in a traditional cross-legged yoga pose with its hands resting on its knees. The discoverer of the seal, Sir John Marshall, and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined.
Archaeologist Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, current Co-director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project in Pakistan and Indologist Heinrich Zimmer agree that the 'Pashupati' figure shows a figure in a yoga posture.[9][10][11]
Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative", saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a yoga posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.[12][13] Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying:
...there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as pasupati because of his association with cattle; but asceticism and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than kine. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the Harappan figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a bull cult, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance.[14]
Archaeologist Gregory Possehl also disagrees with the Proto-Shiva theory,[15] but contends that "the posture of the deity...is a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga."[16] Possehl also states that this view:
...is supported by several other yogi images in the corpus of Mature Harappan materials....These diverse images suggest that the Indus pose of ritual discipline was used in more than one way and that their buffalo god did not have exclusive access to it. Taken as a whole, it appears that the pose may have been used by deities and humans alike....This presents an interesting possibility: Some of the Harrapans were devoted to ritual discipline and concentration, and this was one of the preoccupations of at least one of their gods."[17]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ For use of the name Paśupati (Devanagari पशुपति) in the Shiva Sahasranama, and translation as "Lord of cattle", see: Sharma, p. 291.
- ^ For translation as "Lord of Animals" and use as an epithet of Rudra, see: Kramrisch, p. 479.
- ^ Flood (1996), pp. 28-29.
- ^ Marshall, Sir John, Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization, London 1931
- ^ For translation of paśupati as "Lord of Animals" see: Michaels, p. 312.
- ^ For a drawing of the seal see Figure 1 in: Flood (1996), p. 29.
- ^ Singh, S.P., Rgvedic Base of the Pasupati Seal of Mohenjo-Daro, Puratattva 19: 19-26. 1989
- ^ Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- ^ Kenoyer describes the figure as "seated in yogic position" with "the heels...pressed together under the groin." Around the Indus in 90 Slides by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
- ^ Around the Indus in 90 Slides copyright information
- ^ Zimmer describes the figure as "seated like a yogi." Zimmer, p. 168.
- ^ Flood (1996), pp. 28-29.
- ^ Flood (2003), pp. 204-205.
- ^ Keay, p. 14.
- ^ Possehl, p. 143.
- ^ Possehl, p. 144.
- ^ Possehl, p. 144.
[edit] References
- Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
- Flood, Gavin (Editor) (2003). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 1-4051-3251-5.
- Kramrisch, Stella (1981). The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01930-4.
- Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08953-1.
- Possehl, Gregory (2003). The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective. AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0759101722.
- Sharma, Ram Karan (1996). Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of Śiva. With Introduction and Śivasahasranāmākoṣa (A Dictionary of Names).. Delhi: Nag Publishers. ISBN 81-7081-350-6. This work compares eight versions of the Śivasahasranāmāstotra. The Preface and Introduction (in English) by Ram Karan Sharma provide an analysis of how the eight versions compare with one another. The text of the eight versions is given in Sanskrit.
- Zimmer, Heinrich (1972). Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691017785.
