Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

forms of colour, 4) water with the quality of taste, and 5)
earth with the quality of odour and smell. These
elements and forces represent prakriti or the nature of
the originator of creation. The five substances offered to
the linga are curd, milk, ghee, honey, and sugar
(Bhandar 1988:8). Shiva appears in many forms named
as Rudra, Maheshwar, Mahadeva, Pashupatinath and so
on. The religious tradition, which give highest priority to
Shiva worship and lays a secondary emphasis on all the
other gods and goddesses, is known as Shaivism (Dangol
1993:12). Even though Brahma is the original creator,
after the introduction of the lingam as a symbol Brahma
is rarely worshipped as the creator. The worship of Shiva
has replaced Brahma’s (ibid:18), and the linga is the
perfect symbol encompassing everything.
There are several authors who argue that the evolution of
the lingam has its origin in Buddhism and the Buddhist
stupa. Seen from this approach, Shaivism became in one
or another way a duplication of Buddhism. The state of
enlightenment or Dharmakaya was transformed and
transmuted into Shiva as the supreme soul. The five
forms of Adi Buddha (enlightenment) – Vairochana,
Akshyobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and
Amogsiddhi – were transformed into five incarnations of
Shiva named Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Sadyojat, and
Vamdeva respectively (Dangol 1993:25). Others turn the
argument the other way around, and according to some
Brahmans, there is actually a linga underneath the
Swayambunath stupa (Gellner 1993:80). Regardless of
whether the Hindu or the Buddhist worship originated
first and gave rise to the other, the importance is the
cosmological totality of the lingam as written in The
Skanda Purana, “The ether is the lingam and the earth
its base. And this is the abode of all of the gods and
goddesses. As all are merged in it, it is known as the
lingam”. When Shaivism reached the cult of Pashupat, it
emphasised that the creatures were unable to attain
enlightenment, and that they in reality were beasts. In the
Shiva Purana, it is written that (Dangol 1993:33): “All
the living creatures including Brahma are but beasts. As
they are fettered by the bondage (chain) of pleasure and
pain, they are attributed as beasts. The deluded and
ignorant beasts go to heaven and hell because of being
fettered in pleasure and pain. After gaining the complete
knowledge (wisdom) on the beasthood, bondage and
karma (activities or cycle of birth and death), the
Brahmagyani (the knower of Brahman) becomes free.”
Priesthood and the temple complex
Adi-Shankaracharya (788-820?) was a Vedantic
philosopher living in Varanasi. He was highly against
Buddhism, and his claims to the authenticity of his
doctrines are based on the authority of the Vedas
(Majupuria & Majupuria 1981:137-139). The Saint was
seen as an incarnation of Shiva and in the succession a
lot of Buddhist monasteries were demolished and Shiva
temples constructed, and the five meditative images of
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Buddha were replaced by Shiva images. Shankaracharya
was a great guru and authority of the Shaivite religion,
and fought against Buddhism by any means. His impact
on the society was pervasive, and he established the
tradition of appointing priests from South India at
Pashupatinath. The procedures of worship laid down by
Adi Shankaracharya are still followed at Pashupatinath
(Dangol 1993:46-47); “Let the brahmins from
Karnataka, Maharashtra or Andhra of the West
Vindhyachal belonging to Dravidian clan be anointed or
consecrated and then be deployed to the priesthood of
the Pashupatinath. After his death, the same procedure
be followed while appointing another priest”. The
Muslim invasions in northern India ruined much of the
priesthood and its traditions. Thus, as bearers of tradition
the priests from southern India have a longer continuity
and they are therefore seen as more authentic. According
to another story the Nepali king once upon a time asked
for one of the priests to come to the temple of
Pashupatinath, and the tradition has evolved and
continued. Be that as it may, Shankaracharya also
purified the temple and forbade animal sacrifice at
Pashupatinath (Bhandar 1988:25). He established a
guthi, religious trust, and this institution has also
continued, and the rituals are allegedly similar to those
that were performed then.
The priests at Pashupatinath are addressed as Bhattas.
There are two kinds of priests; the chief priest and
ordinary priests. They should be married and cannot be a
sanyasin (holy man). The posts as priests, occupied by
Brahmans of South India, are not hereditary. The chief
priest is selected and recommended by the royal
preceptor and approved by the king himself. The
candidate for priesthood must not have any scars of
stitched wounds, and if he sustains such an injury or his
wife dies during his priesthood, he has to resign. Among
the Newars there is a group called Bhandari. Members
of this group work in the temple. They supervise
Pashupatinath and assist the priests. The members of the
Bhandari perform their duties for one month at a time by
rotation. Their duty is inherited, and while they are on
post they have to live a purified life. Only those who are
born at Pashupatinath or Deopatan area can perform this
duty. Their main function is to assist the worshipping
devotees. The incomes of both the priests and the
storekeepers are not based on a permanent salary, but
parts of the money and food offered to Pashupatinath are
distributed among them afterwards. Anything given
directly to the priests will stay in their pockets. Very
precious items such as gold and silver are nevertheless
the property of Shiva himself and will be stored in His
treasury (Majupuria & Majupuria 1990:15).
Shankaracharya has played a crucial role in the
development of the practices at Pashupatinath, and the
temple of Shankaracharya is located near the rear
entrance of the main Pashupatinath temple. The sage laid
down the rules for this temple, and these rules were
followed, a fact which illuminates the importance of