Lakulisha

According to Hindu mythology, Lakulish, that is, the lord with a club, is believed to be the founder of the Pashupata cult of Hindus. Some believe that the Pashupata doctrine was already in existence, and Lakulish was its first former teacher or guru. He lived in a place named Kayarohana, currently (2006) called Karvan, and is located in the peninsula of Kathiawar, Gujarat state, India.

He authored the Pashupatasutra, which formalizes various canons of Pashupata cult, and contains the basic theology of the cult. According to some tradition, he is considered as the twenty-eight incarnation (avatar) of Shiva.

His image

His images have been found in Gujarat, a state on the western coast of India, as also in some parts of the eastern India. Some of his images depict him as a naked yogi (with ithyphallic state), and he carries prayer beads, a club, a cup of human skull. He is shown as accompanied by animals.

Reference

• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0500510881) by Anna Dallapiccola