Lakulīśa

Lakulīśa is the twenty-eighth and last Yogācārya (teacher of yoga) of Kali Yuga, according to the Liṅga Purāṇa. He is the last in a line of twenty-eight yoga teachers, each ordained by Bhagavān Śiva, who handed down the ashṭāṅga yoga (yoga of eight limbs) from age to age. The Liṅga Purāṇa also calls him the master of śruti and smṛti (the Vedas and the traditional sacred learning).

The Liṅga Purāṇa names him as an avatāra of Bhagavān Śiva (a Śivāvatāra) who came for the Kali age to restore the Pāśupata yoga tradition.

The line of twenty-eight Yogācāryas

The Liṅga Purāṇa lists twenty-eight Vyāsa-avatāras, the teachers of the Vedas. It also lists twenty-eight parallel Yogācārya-avatāras, the teachers of yoga. They come across the twenty-eight cycles of the Dvāpara Yuga and the periods linked to them. Parameśvara himself ordained each of these Yogācāryas, to teach Pāśupata yoga and Śaiva philosophy for the good of people in each age.

Lakulīśa, the twenty-eighth Yogācārya

Lakulīśa holds the place of the twenty-eighth and last of these teachers. He is the one set for the present Kali Yuga. The text records this line:

śruti-smṛtīśvaro lakulīśaḥ ānu-śivāvatāraḥ

It means that Lakulīśa is the master of Śruti and Smṛti, the Śivāvatāra who follows the tradition. The Liṅga Purāṇa also lists him among the sacred duties given by Brahmā under the authority of Bhagavān Śiva.

Lakulīśa and Pāśupata yoga

Lakulīśa is the first ācārya of the Pāśupata-vrata tradition as it was set down for Kali Yuga. His name is linked to lakula, a staff or club, which is the mark of a Śaiva ācārya. He stands in the direct line of the teaching of Bhagavān Śiva, which passed through the Dāruvana ṛshis.

His place in Śaiva tradition

Śaiva tradition knows Lakulīśa (also written Lakuliśa or Lakuliśa) as the one who put the Pāśupata darśana (school of thought) in order. It became one of the major schools of Śaiva philosophy. The Pāśupata Sūtras are attributed to him or to his tradition. The Śaiva Siddhānta and Kāpālika traditions honour him as a direct avatāra of Bhagavān Śiva who came to bring back the Pāśupata discipline.

The Vāyu Purāṇa account: Nakulīśa

The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa (Chapter 23) gives the same place to Lakulīśa under the name Nakulīśa. This spelling appears in other Purāṇic manuscript traditions. The Vāyu Purāṇa lists the twenty-eight avatāras of Bhagavān Śiva who came as Yogācāryas in successive Dvāpara Yugas, and the twenty-eighth and last is Nakulīśa.

The Vāyu Purāṇa names the Yogācāryas who come before him as: Śveta, Sutāra, Dama, Suhotra, Kaṅku, Lokākshi, Jaigīshavya, Ṛshabha, Bali, Gauriśas, Vedasiras, Gokarṇa, Guhāvāsi, Śikhaṇḍi, Jaṭāmāli, Aṭṭahāsi, Dāruka, Lāṅgali, Mahāmuni, Śūla, Śarush and Somaśarman. Nakulīśa is the twenty-eighth. Both the Vāyu Purāṇa and the Liṅga Purāṇa place the one now known as Lakulīśa as the last Śivāvatāra of the present cycle.

Sources

• Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 8–10 and 23–24
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 23