Shaivism centres around Shiva, but it has many sub-traditions whose theological beliefs and practices vary significantly. They can broadly divided in theistic dualism and nontheistic monism, but there are also combinations of the features or practices of the two. Shaivism can also be divided in Vedic, Puranic and non-Puranic (esoteric, tantric) Shaivism. Vedic and Puranic are often grouped together given the significant overlap. Non-Puranic Shaivism consists of esoteric, minority sub-traditions wherein devotees are initiated (''
) into a specific cult they prefer. These are traditionally further divided into the atimarga
or "outer higher path", only accessible for Shaiva sannyasins and the mantramarga
, followed by both the renunciates (sannyasi) and householders (grihastha'') in Shaivism. The atimarga consists of the
Pashupata; the Lakula, a subschool of the Pashupata; and the
Kalamukha, a subschool of the Lakula.
Lingayatism is related to the Kalamukha, but was also influenced by Siva Siddhanta. The
Nath-tradition is a subgroup of the
Siddha tradition, and related to heterodox ascetic Shaivite traditions especially the
Kapalika and the
Kaula,
Vedic-Puranic Shaivism Vedic-Puranic Shaivism is a householder lay religion, followed by the majority within Shaivism. They revere the Vedas and the Puranas and hold beliefs that span from dualistic theism, such as Shiva
Bhakti (devotionalism), to monistic non-theism dedicated to yoga and a meditative lifestyle. This sometimes involves renouncing household life for monastic pursuits of spirituality. In Vedic-Puranic Shaivism, Shiva is also called Mahadeva or Maheshvara and others" synonymously, and most worshipped in the form of the
Linga, while temples also feature the bull
Nandi, the
Trishula (trident), and anthropomorphic statues of Shiva, to help focus practices.
Atimarga The Atimarga branch of Shaivism emphasises liberation (salvation) – or the end of all
Dukkha – as the primary goal of spiritual pursuits. It was the path for Shaiva
ascetics, in contrast to Shaiva householders whose path was described as Mantramarga and who sought both salvation as well as the yogi-siddhi powers and pleasures in life. The Atimarga revered the
Vedic sources of Shaivism, and sometimes referred to in ancient Indian texts as Raudra (from Vedic
Rudra). The
atimarga sub-traditions include Pashupatas and Lakula.
Pashupata at Sangameshvara Temple at Mahakuta, Karnataka (
Chalukya, 7th century CE). His 5th–10th century ithyphallic statues are also found in seated yogi position in
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere.
Pashupata (IAST: ''
) are the Shaivite sub-tradition with the oldest heritage, as evidenced by Indian texts dated to around the start of the common era such as the Shanti Parva book of the Mahabharata epic. It is a monist tradition, that considers Shiva to be within oneself, in every being and everything observed. The Pashupata path to liberation is one of asceticism that is traditionally restricted to Brahmin males. Pashupata theology, according to Shiva Sutras'', aims for a spiritual state of consciousness where the Pashupata yogi "abides in one's own unfettered nature", where the external rituals feel unnecessary, where every moment and every action becomes an internal vow, a spiritual ritual unto itself. The Pashupatas derive their Sanskrit name from two words: Pashu (beast) and Pati (lord), where the chaotic and ignorant state, one imprisoned by bondage and assumptions, is conceptualised as the beast, He is the purported author of the
Pashupata-sutra, a foundational text of this tradition. Other texts include the
bhasya (commentary) on
Pashupata-sutra by Kaudinya, the
Gaṇakārikā,
Pañchārtha bhāshyadipikā and
Rāśikara-bhāshya. The Pashupatha monastic path was available to anyone of any age, but it required renunciation from four
Ashrama (stage) into the fifth stage of
Siddha-Ashrama. The path started as a life near a Shiva temple and silent meditation, then a stage when the ascetic left the temple and did karma exchange (be cursed by others, but never curse back). He then moved to the third stage of life where he lived like a loner in a cave or abandoned places or Himalayan mountains, and towards the end of his life he moved to a cremation ground, surviving on little, peacefully awaiting his death. The Pashupatas have been particularly prominent in
Gujarat,
Rajasthan,
Kashmir and
Nepal. The community is found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent. In the late medieval era, Pashupatas Shaiva ascetics became extinct. The tantric sub-tradition in this category is traceable to post-8th to post-11th century depending on the region of Indian subcontinent, paralleling the development of Buddhist and Jain tantra traditions in this period.
Lakula The lakula developed from the Pashupatas. Their fundamental text too was the Pashupata Sutras. They differed from Pashupata in that they departed radically from the Vedic teachings, respected no Vedic or social customs. He would walk around, for example, almost naked, drank liquor in public, and used a human skull as his begging bowl for food. The Lakula Shaiva ascetic recognised no act nor words as forbidden, he freely did whatever he felt like, much like the classical depiction of his deity Rudra in ancient Hindu texts. However, according to Alexis Sanderson, the Lakula ascetic was strictly celibate and did not engage in sex. Secondary literature, such as those written by Kashmiri Ksemaraja, suggest that the Lakula had their canons on theology, rituals and literature on
pramanas (epistemology). However, their primary texts are believed to be lost, and have not survived into the modern era.
Mantramarga "Mantramārga" (
Sanskrit: मंत्रमार्ग, "the path of mantras") has been the Shaiva tradition for both householders and monks. It grew from the Atimarga tradition. This tradition sought not just liberation from
Dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness), but special powers (
siddhi) and pleasures (
bhoga), both in this life and next. The
siddhi were particularly the pursuit of
Mantramarga monks, and it is this sub-tradition that experimented with a great diversity of rites, deities, rituals, yogic techniques and mantras. These sub-traditions cherish secrecy, special symbolic formulae, initiation by a teacher and the pursuit of
siddhi (special powers). Some of these traditions also incorporate theistic ideas, elaborate geometric yantra with embedded spiritual meaning, mantras and rituals. Mantramārga grew to become a dominant form of Shaivism in this period. It also spread outside of India into
Southeast Asia's
Khmer Empire,
Java,
Bali and
Cham. The Mantramarga tradition created the
Shaiva Agamas and Shaiva tantra (technique) texts. This literature presented new forms of ritual, yoga and mantra. This literature was highly influential not just to Shaivism, but to all traditions of Hinduism, as well as to Buddhism and Jainism. Mantramarga had both theistic and monistic themes, which co-evolved and influenced each other. The tantra texts reflect this, where the collection contains both dualistic and non-dualistic theologies. The theism in the tantra texts parallel those found in Vaishnavism and Shaktism. Shaiva Siddhanta is a major sub-tradition that emphasised dualism during much of its history. Its central premise has been that the
Atman (Self) of every being is identical to Shiva, its various practices and pursuits directed at understanding and being one with the Shiva within. This monism is close but differs somewhat from the monism found in
Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara. Unlike Shankara's Advaita, Shaivism monist schools consider
Maya as Shakti, or energy and creative primordial power that explains and propels the existential diversity. In this theology, Atman (Self) is not identical with
Brahman, but shares with the Supreme all its qualities.
Appayya Dikshita (1520–1592), an Advaita scholar, proposed pure monism, and his ideas influenced Shaiva in the
Karnataka region. His Shaiva Advaita doctrine is inscribed on the walls of Kalakanthesvara temple in Adaiyappalam (
Tiruvannamalai district).
Shaiva Siddhanta , the great Tamil Śaivasiddhānta poet and mystic saint (
siddha). on
Kauaʻi Island in Hawaii is the only Hindu Monastery(shaivaite) in the United States. The
Śaivasiddhānta ("the established doctrine of Shiva") is the earliest
sampradaya (tradition, lineage) of Tantric Shaivism, dating from the 5th century. The tradition emphasises loving devotion to Shiva, uses 5th to 9th-century Tamil hymns called
Tirumurai. A key philosophical text of this sub-tradition was composed by 13th-century
Meykandar. The tradition may have originated in Kashmir where it developed a sophisticated theology propagated by theologians Sadyojoti, Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇakaṇṭha and his son Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭha (c. 950–1000). However, after the arrival of Islamic rulers in north India, it thrived in the south. The philosophy of
Shaiva Siddhanta, is particularly popular in
south India,
Sri Lanka,
Malaysia and
Singapore. The historic Shaiva Siddhanta literature is an enormous body of texts. The tradition includes both Shiva and Shakti (goddess), but with a growing emphasis on metaphysical abstraction. Unlike the experimenters of Atimarga tradition and other sub-traditions of Mantramarga, states Sanderson, the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition had no ritual offering or consumption of "alcoholic drinks, blood or meat". Their practices focussed on abstract ideas of spirituality, worship and loving devotion to Shiva as SadaShiva, and taught the authority of the Vedas and Shaiva Agamas. This tradition diversified in its ideas over time, with some of its scholars integrating a non-dualistic theology.
Tamil Shiva Siddhanta - Nayanars in Shaivism. It included three women saints, such as the 6th-century
Karaikkal Ammaiyar. By the 7th century, the
Nayanars, a tradition of poet-saints in the bhakti tradition developed in ancient
Tamilakam with a focus on Shiva, comparable to that of the Vaisnava Alvars. The devotional
Tamil poems of the Nayanars are divided into eleven collections together known as
Tirumurai, along with a
Tamil Purana called the
Periya Puranam. The first seven collections are known as the
Tevaram and are regarded by Tamils as equivalent to the
Vedas.{{efn|For eleven collections, with the first seven (the
Thevaram) regarded as Vedic, see: They were composed in the 7th century by
Sambandar,
Appar, and
Sundarar.
Tirumular (also spelled or ), the author of the
Tirumantiram (also spelled
Tirumandiram) is considered by Tattwananda to be the earliest exponent of Shaivism in Tamil areas. Tirumular is dated as 7th or 8th century by Maurice Winternitz. The
Tirumantiram is a primary source for the system of Shaiva Siddhanta, being the tenth book of its canon. The
Tiruvacakam by
Manikkavacagar is an important collection of hymns.
Kapalika The
Kāpālika (
Sanskrit : कापालिक) tradition was a
Tantric, non-
Puranic form of Shaivism which originated in
medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE. The word is derived from the Sanskrit term
kapāla, meaning "skull", and
kāpālika can be translated as the "skull-men" or "skull-bearers". Today, the Kāpālika tradition survives within its Shaivite offshoots: the
Aghorī order,
Kaulā, and
Trika traditions.
Aghori The Aghori (from , ) are a Hindu
monastic order of
ascetic Shaivite sadhus based in
Uttar Pradesh, India. They are the only surviving sect derived from the
Kāpālika tradition, a
Tantric, non-
Puranic form of
Shaivism which originated in
Medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE. Similarly to their Shaivite predecessors, and use bones from human corpses for crafting
kapāla (
skull cups which
Shiva and other
Hindu deities are often iconically depicted holding or using) and jewellery. Many Aghori
gurus command great reverence from rural populations and are widely referred to in
medieval and modern works of Indian literature, as they are supposed to possess healing powers gained through their intensely
eremitic rites and practices of
renunciation and
tápasya. Nath theology integrated elements from Yoga, shaivism, Tantra,
Buddhism and
Advaita Vedanta. Their unconventional ways challenged all orthodox premises, exploring dark and shunned practices of society as a means to understanding theology and gaining inner powers. The tradition traces itself to 9th or 10th century
Matsyendranath and to ideas and organisation developed by
Gorakshanath. They combined both theistic practices such as worshipping goddesses and their historic
Gurus in temples, as well monistic goals of achieving liberation or
jivan-mukti while alive, by reaching the perfect (
siddha) state of realising oneness of self and everything with Shiva. They formed monastic organisations, and some of them metamorphosed into warrior ascetics to resist persecution during the Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent. The
Inchegeri Sampradaya, also known as Nimbargi Sampradaya, is a lineage of Hindu Navnath teachers from
Maharashtra which was started by Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj. It is inspired by
Sant Mat teachers as
Namdev,
Raidas and
Kabir. The Inchegeri Sampraday has become well-known through the popularity of
Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Lingayatism Lingayatism, also known as Veera Shaivism is a distinct Shaivite religious tradition in
India. It was founded by the 12th-century philosopher and statesman
Basava and spread by his followers, called
Sharanas. Lingayatism emphasises
qualified monism and
bhakti (loving devotion) to Shiva, with philosophical foundations similar to those of the 11th–12th-century South Indian philosopher
Ramanuja. Large communities of Lingayats are found in the south Indian state of Karnataka and nearby regions. Lingayatism has its own theological literature with sophisticated theoretical sub-traditions. They were influential in the Hindu
Vijayanagara Empire that reversed the territorial gains of Muslim rulers, after the invasions of the Deccan region first by
Delhi Sultanate and later other Sultanates. Lingayats consider their scripture to be
Basava Purana, which was completed in 1369 during the reign of Vijayanagara ruler
Bukka Raya I. Lingayat (Veerashaiva) thinkers rejected the custodial hold of Brahmins over the
Vedas and the
shastras, but they did not outright reject the Vedic knowledge. The 13th-century Telugu Virashaiva poet
Palkuriki Somanatha, the author of the scripture of Lingayatism, for example asserted, "Virashaivism fully conformed to the
Vedas and the shastras." ==Texts==