MATSYENDRANATHA

flourished 10th century, ?, India also called Minanatha first human guru, or spiritual teacher, of the Natha cult, a popular Indian religious movement combining elements of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Hatha Yoga, a form of yoga that stresses breath control and physical postures. Matsyendranatha's name appears on both the lists of the 9 nathas (masters) and the 84 mahasiddhas (great accomplished ones) common to Hinduism and Buddhism. He was given semidivine status by his followers and identified with Avalokitesvara-Padmapani (a bodhisattva, or buddha-to-be) by his Buddhist followers in Nepal and with the god Siva by his Hindu devotees. In Tibet he was known as Lui-pa. The name Mina-natha (Fish-Lord) refers, according to one legend, to his receipt of spiritual instruction from Siva while in the form of a fish and in another legend to his rescue of a sacred text from the belly of a fish. The historical details of Matsyendranatha's life are lost in the legends that have grown up around him. Though an ascetic he succumbed, according to one legend, to enchantments of two queens of Ceylon and had two sons, Parosenath and Nimnath, who were leaders of the Jaina religious sect. His leading disciple, Gorakhnath, is commonly regarded as the founder of the Kanphata Yogis, an order of religious ascetics who stress the practice of Hatha Yoga.