Difference between revisions of "Kapalika and Kalamukha" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | The '''Kāpālikas''' and '''Kālāmukhas''' were small [[ | + | The '''Kāpālikas''' and '''Kālāmukhas''' were small [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] sects scattered throughout Southern India between the fifth and thirteenth centuries AD. Together, the groups are notorious for their allegedly extreme practices, including meat-eating, intoxication, ritual orgies, and in some cases cannibalism. Each of these religions placed sexuality in proximity to the sacred, and have been connected to [[Tantra]] because of this, although evidence suggests that only the Kapalikas seem to have explicitly prescribed to tantric thought and practice. |
| + | |||
| + | Little conclusive evidence has been gathered pertaining to either sect, since no actual texts produced by the groups are still extant. What information does exist about the Kapalikas and Kalamukhas has been gleaned from the philosophical and dramatic works of a variety of medieval [[Hinduism|Hindu]] authors, in which members of the sects sometimes appear. Because of their geographical commonality and comparable obscurity, these groups have often been connected in scholarship. However, epigraphical data reveals that the Kalamukhas were organized in monastic orders and seem to have actually adhered to many societal and religious strictures, unlike the Kapalikas. | ||
==Kapalikas== | ==Kapalikas== | ||
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===Origins=== | ===Origins=== | ||
| − | + | The Kapalikas ("skull-bearers") most likely originated in South India or the Deccan, regions normally replete with followers of Shiva, in the fifth or sixth century AD when the corpus of tantric literature was just beginning to develop.<ref>Lorenzen, 53.</ref> The Kapalikas were distributed throughout most of the Deccan plateau as early as the eighth century, most commonly found in Kanci, Mysore, western and central Maharashtra, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Later sources record their presence in Gujarat, Bundelkhand, and the Vindhya Hills.<ref>Lorenzen, 52.</ref> The Kapalikas seem to have died out by the fourteenth century, having perhaps been absorbed by other tantric orders, though some old wives tails claim that Kapalikas still inhabit the jungles of northern Bengal and parts of Assam.<ref>Lorenzen, 52-53.</ref> | |
| − | A mythological origin | + | A mythological origin for the Kapalikas is given in the ''Goraksa-siddhanta-samgraha'', which tells of an occassion upon which the 24 [[avatar]]s of Vishnu became intoxicated with wine. [[Varaha]] and [[Narasimha]], among other powerful avatars began destroying the earth, frightening its inhabitants; [[Krishna]], meanwhile, was filled with adulterous emotions, while [[Parasurama]] destroyed a number of Kshatriyas. Shiva became angered by the actions of the gods and assumed the form of 24 Kapalikas in order to battle the avatars. Each Kapalika cut off the head of one avatar, stripped it of its flesh and carried the skull around with them from that point on. With their pride of the avatars dispelled, their heads were returned. This myth probably speaks to the prevalent tension between Tantric schools and the Brahmanic orthodoxy.<ref>Lorenzen, 38.</ref> |
===Sources=== | ===Sources=== | ||
Revision as of 19:49, 1 August 2007
The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas were small Shaivite sects scattered throughout Southern India between the fifth and thirteenth centuries AD. Together, the groups are notorious for their allegedly extreme practices, including meat-eating, intoxication, ritual orgies, and in some cases cannibalism. Each of these religions placed sexuality in proximity to the sacred, and have been connected to Tantra because of this, although evidence suggests that only the Kapalikas seem to have explicitly prescribed to tantric thought and practice.
Little conclusive evidence has been gathered pertaining to either sect, since no actual texts produced by the groups are still extant. What information does exist about the Kapalikas and Kalamukhas has been gleaned from the philosophical and dramatic works of a variety of medieval Hindu authors, in which members of the sects sometimes appear. Because of their geographical commonality and comparable obscurity, these groups have often been connected in scholarship. However, epigraphical data reveals that the Kalamukhas were organized in monastic orders and seem to have actually adhered to many societal and religious strictures, unlike the Kapalikas.
Kapalikas
Origins
The Kapalikas ("skull-bearers") most likely originated in South India or the Deccan, regions normally replete with followers of Shiva, in the fifth or sixth century AD when the corpus of tantric literature was just beginning to develop.[1] The Kapalikas were distributed throughout most of the Deccan plateau as early as the eighth century, most commonly found in Kanci, Mysore, western and central Maharashtra, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Later sources record their presence in Gujarat, Bundelkhand, and the Vindhya Hills.[2] The Kapalikas seem to have died out by the fourteenth century, having perhaps been absorbed by other tantric orders, though some old wives tails claim that Kapalikas still inhabit the jungles of northern Bengal and parts of Assam.[3]
A mythological origin for the Kapalikas is given in the Goraksa-siddhanta-samgraha, which tells of an occassion upon which the 24 avatars of Vishnu became intoxicated with wine. Varaha and Narasimha, among other powerful avatars began destroying the earth, frightening its inhabitants; Krishna, meanwhile, was filled with adulterous emotions, while Parasurama destroyed a number of Kshatriyas. Shiva became angered by the actions of the gods and assumed the form of 24 Kapalikas in order to battle the avatars. Each Kapalika cut off the head of one avatar, stripped it of its flesh and carried the skull around with them from that point on. With their pride of the avatars dispelled, their heads were returned. This myth probably speaks to the prevalent tension between Tantric schools and the Brahmanic orthodoxy.[4]
Sources
The Kapalikas left no texts of their own, and so the major source of information about them comes from philosophical and dramatic writings produced by others which include Kapalika characters. Most stories containing references to Kapalikas describes them as peripatetic ascetics, sometimes accompanied by a single female disciple. [5] The typical Kapalika is described as carrying a skull bowl and sometimes a trident, body smeared with the ashes gleaned from funeral pyres. Often they appear as comical villains, maverick ascetics, or less severely as philosophical opponents of the author. One of the foremost sources of information on the Kapalikas appears in biographies of Shankara, the famous Advaitan philosopher, most importantly the Samkara-vijaya. Here, Shankara's encounters with various Kapalikas allow for the elaboration of his own teachings, which exist in contrast to the supposedly hedonistic values of the skull-bearers. In one such meeting, Ugra Bhairava, an apparent Kapalika, explains to Shankara that he is on a quest to sacrifice the head of a sage or a king in order to please Shiva. [6] Ugra Bhairava also alludes to the benefits of self-sacrifice. This willingness to kill sage struck Shankara as a threat to monism.
The foremost dramatic writings which include Kapalikas as important characters are the Mattavilasa by Pallava king Mahendravarman, the Malati-Madhava by Bhavabhuti, the Candakausika by Ksemisvara and the Prabodhacandrodaya by Krsnamisra, among others. Each of these writers express disgust with the hedonism and sadism of the Kapalikas. The Kapalika lifestyle also finds its way into poetry, most notably a number of Bengali songs (caryapadas) composed by a Buddhist saint Kanhapada of the Sahajayana school, who identifies himself as a Kapali, perhaps in the symbolic sense. [7]
- Thou art the Dombi and I am the Kapali without aversions...for thee have I put on a garland of bones. The Dombi destroys the lake and eats up the lotus stalk. I shall kill thee, and take thy life.
In particularly obscene song he describes the apparent rape and murder of a dombi (or a woman of low caste), which is in reality a description of an internal yogic process and an external tantric ritual under the guise of this ribald poem. Here the obtuse language culminating in the murder of the woman at the end of the song refers to the mastery of such bodily fetters as breath, semen and thought. Here the Kapalin is used as the symbol of the perfect Yogin because by symbolically transcending murder, he has realized the identity of opposites such as good and evil.
Major Beliefs
The Kapalikas were centred around bhakti, or devotion to a personal god, which is usually identified by this group as Bhairava, Shiva in his terrifying form. Bhairava was considered by Kapalikas to be the creator, preserver and destroyer of the world, and king of the gods. This deity was propitiated by human or animal sacrifice, an act not uncommon in ancient India, and a speciality of the Kapalikas according to their critics. Human sacrifices were to be morally pure, serving as a repository for the accumulated transgressions of the sacrificers. The god is honoured with liquor and offerings of human heads. This type of sacrifice not appeased the blood-thirsty Bhairava. Self-sacrifice was also held at a premium for the Kapalikas, who allegedly inflicted mutilations and other physical penances upon their bodies, including self-immolation. The aim of the Kapalika rituals was to come into a mystical identification with Shiva. This allowed the practicitioner magical powers on the worldly plane and liberation from reincarnation on the soteriological plane. Heaven for the Kapalika was described as an existence in never-ending sexual bliss.
The Kapalikas have been related to an extremely austere penance known as the Mahavrata or "Great vow". This ritual is essentially penance which is to be performed for forgiveness of the murder of a brahmin. It involves ritual reviling, obscene dialouge and sexual intercourse. Rules for this penance involve: 1) building and living in a forest hut, 2) bathing three times a day, 3) collecting alms by wandering from village to village to beg, 4) sleeping on grass, and 5) carrying the skull of the slain person, all for a term of 12 years. Commentators vary as to the use of this skull, a trademark of the Kapalika order, suggesting it should be used for the collection of alms, or alternatively as a drinking vessel. Sometimes, the skull is carried on a staff. [8] Some prescriptions suggest that the Mahavratin must wear the skin of a dog or donkey. This form of penance bears a striking resemblance to the lifestyle of the Kapalika, who are described as having lived in forests, wearing animal skins and carrying skulls. It has been suggested that the Kapalikas adopted this vow because it represents the penance for the most heinous of all crimes, which juxtaposes thier status as the holiest ascetics with their criminal tendencies [9] Further, Kapalikas innocent of the crime would accumulate much religious merit and subsequently magical power from their great penance.
Additionally, the Mahavrata models the penance Siva was forced to perform for beheading Brahma, the creator god. The Kapalikas hold this incarnation of Shiva, known as Shiva-Kapalin (or Kapalesvara), in high regard, and by performing the Mahavrata, Kapalikas recapitulate the penitential actions of the diety. The begging skull, for example, was often identified by Kapalikas as the skull of Brahma. By repeating Shiva's performance of the Mahavrata, the ascetics beleived they could gain some of Shiva's divine attributes, including eight magical powers or siddhis. The Kapalikas also identified with Shiva by reenacting various other aspects of his mythology in communion rituals, where the worshipper became united with the god through food, intoxication, and sexual intercourse. This includes the consumption of wine and human flesh. Ritual sex was carried out with the goal that the male and female human participants identify themselves with Shiva and his consort Parvati (or Shakti) respectively. In the bliss of this union, the pair experience a measure of the bliss experienced by god and goddess, that is, the perpetually orgasmic bliss of moksha.
Kalamukhas
The Kalamukhas were most prominent in the Karnataka region between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries AD. [10] However, some Kalamukha inscriptions have been found dating back as early as the eighth century in this region. [11] Kalamukha, or "Black face" may refer to the act of marking the forehead with a black streak. Like the Kapalika, the Kalamukha wore the clothing of a typical Saivite ascetic. Unlike the Kapalikas, the Kalamukhas established themselves in mathas, monastic organizations centered around a temple. The primary sources of their existence are based upon epigraphs which record donations to these temples and mathas. Monks were responsible for managing and caretaking at the temples, under the supervision of government officials. Kalamukhas are also often connected with the company of devadasis, women who resided in the temple for purposes of attending to the patron diety, as well as prostitution to the public. [12]
There were two major divisions of Kalamukhas, the Shakti-parisad, located in the Dharwar and Shimoga districts of Mysore and the Simha-parisad, also located in Mysore byt stretching as far as Andra Pradesh. The best known order of the Shakti-parisad was centered at the Kedaresvara temple at Belagave, now a protected monument. [13] The Simha-parisad, meanwhile, was less influential, probably receiving little or no support form the government. Kalamukha doctrine does not seem to deviate from typical Vedic mores, with at least some of the Kalamukha priests openly embracing their status as Brahmins, as many of their names ended in pandita-deva ("divine wise man"). [14]
The Kalamukhas are closely tied with the Pasupatas, one of the oldest Shaivite schools. Many Kalamukha sages were identified with Lakulisa, a famous Pasupata saint and author of the Pasupata sutra, and as such, the two sects shared a number of traditions. [15] The Kalamukhas were apparently influenced by the Pasupata veneration of logical analysis as the paramount means of investivation. Ramanuja contrasted his own system of thought with what he described as dualism on the part of the Kalamukhas, who he claimed worshipped Shiva as the instrumental but not the material cause of reality, a Pasupata ideal. [16] In addition to these philosophical positions, the Kalamukhas, much like the Kapalikas, also seem to have acknowledged a magical element in their worldview. Despite the connection to Devadasis, and the fact that the Tripurantaka temple at Belagave is depicts many erotic scenes, there is little other concrete evidence linking the Kalamukhas to tantra, suggesting these sexual aspects were secular in nature. [17]
The Kalamukhas also practiced a number of yoga-like rituals, stressing the yogic attainments of Patanjali's Yogasutras. The Kalamukhas have also been related to the Mahavrata. For this sect, however, the ritual was based upon Patanjali's Yogasutra ii. 30-31, which prescribes that one must follow that five yamas or "restraints": non-violence, chastity, truthfuless, non-theft, and rejection of anything more than what is required for bodily subsistence. No exception is made in any of these restrictions based upon place, time, location or status.
As with other southern Saivite groups, the Kalamukhas partook in worship of the linga, the phallic representation of Shiva. The Virasivas of Karnataka (or Lingayats), who succeeded the Kalamukhas, continued to hold this practice as central in their worship. Basava, founder of the Lingayats, may have founded his movement in order to reform the Kalamukha doctrine. In accordance with this theory, many temples formerly run by Kalamukhas are now run by the Virasaivas. [18]
Significance
Though these two groups are often paired together in scholarly and encyclopedic works, they are not as similar as may have originally been thought. While the Kapalikas seem to have embraced all things macabre and anti-social, the Kalamukhas seem to have been a more organized and less extreme religious sect. Nonetheless, both embody some very unorthodox beliefs in the span of religious activity. For both groups, particularly the Kapalikas, the lowest in the realm of the material world, such as sexuality, becomes a symbol for the highest spiritual attainment. While the body is widely underappreciated in many other religious faiths, the Kapalikas and Kalamukhas identifid it as a means to a spiritual end.
Notes
- ↑ Lorenzen, 53.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 52.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 52-53.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 38.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 44.
- ↑ Samkara-digvijaya, xi 9-12.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 69.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 74-75.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 77.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 97.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 160.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 115.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 98.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 149.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 107.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 134.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 139.
- ↑ Lorenzen, 167-168.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Dasgupta, S.B. Obscure Religious Cults. 2nd Ed. Calcutta; Firma K.L. Mukhopadhay, 1962.
- Lorenzen, David. The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas: Two Lost Saivite Sects. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1972. ISBN 81-208-0708-1
