पशुमर्दनम्, कौलगजमर्दनम् ॥ (Paśumardanam, Kaulagajamardanam)

It seems that I must be in possession of one of the only surviving copies (at least I fail to find it in library catalogues) of a lithograph print of a work called the Kaulagajamardanam (“the Crushing of the Kaula-elephant”) of Kṛṣṇānandayati (or Kṛṣṇānandācalayati), disciple of Kailāsācalayati, so I post scans of it here. As its title indicates, it is a fairly aggressive attack on what the author perceives to be the demonic religion of Kaulism, and even more specifically the “elephant” may be identified as Hariharānandanātha.

Like many other attempted heresiologies it seems quite poorly informed concerning actual Kaulism, and as such Kaula pratitioners cannot seriously have been its intended audience, rather Kṛṣṇānandayati presumably addresses his polemics to those he deemed in peril of becoming Kaulas. His efforts are a direct response to a work called the Paśumardana (“The Crushing of the Beasts”), by Hariharānandanātha. Here paśu “beast” is a Śaiva technical term for “non-initiates”. (I have not yet managed to get hold of this work, so I do not know if it is itself already a response to a specific “paśu”, but contrasting the two would make a fascinating and illuminating study of the religious climate in Vārāṇasī in the 1860s).

One of the main motives behind this work is of course “religious competition” and so Kṛṣṇānandayati presents Hariharānandanātha as a bhraṣṭa- “fallen” anchorite in the following passage ...[mention of Manu scorning cat-like fake ascetics and heron-like fake ascetics fol. 6v]...etena

śaivadharmāśritāḥ kaulās tīrthabhūtāḥ śivātmakāḥ <|>
snehena śraddhayā premṇā pūjyā mānyāḥ parasparaṃ <||>
yathāśaktyā tu yatkiṃcid yo dadyāt kulayogine <|>
viśeṣatithiṣu prītyā tasya puṇyaṃ na varṇyate <||>
kulaniṣṭhān parityajya yac cānyasmai pradīyate <|>
niṣphalaṃ tad bhaved devi dātā ca narakaṃ vrajed <||>

ityādikān HARIHARĀNDANĀTHĀkhyena bhraṣṭānandanāthena kauleyakena Paśumardanānta upanyastān vākyābhāsān ālambya “vayaṃ saṃpūjyāḥ” iti pralapantaḥ kauleyakāḥ pratyuktāḥ...

Kṛṣṇānandayati refers to the following Tantric sources:

Uttaratantra, Merutantra, Rudrayāmala, Vaḍavānalatantra, Bhāvacūḍāmaṇi, Kāmākṣītantra, Kubjikātantra, Mahākālasaṃhitā, Bṛhattantrarāja, Niruttaratantra, “Kulāgama”, Nīlatantra, Kulāvalītantra, Mṛtyuñjayatantra, Kaulārcanacandrikā, Kulārcanatantra, Paśumardanākhyagrantha

He also refers to the Bhagavadgītā, Kūrmapurāṇa, Vāsiṣṭhapurāṇa, Liṅgapurāṇā, Brahmavaivartapurāṇa, Skandapurāṇa,Pārāśarapurāṇa, Nibandhas on Dharmamīmāṃsā by Hemādri (=Caturvargacintāmaṇi) and Mādhava, Pūrvamīmāṃsā, Nigamakalpadruma, and the work of Hariharānandanāthabhāratī, and a Hindī commentary (bhāṣāvivaraṇa) thereon by his disciple Sukhānandanātha.

To give a flavour of Kṛṣṇānandayati's style here is the opening section:

[fol.4v]śrīgaṇādhipataye namaḥ

natvā śrīgaṇanāthapādakamalaṃ pratyūhakakṣānalaṃ &
mārttaṇḍaṃ bhavameśapādayugalaṃ devyaṅghripadmāvalam |
labdhaṃ yat padasevanena sakalaṃ vedāntavācām phalaṃ &
taṃ kailāsapadādisaṃjñam acalaṃ saṃsmṛtya labdhvā balam ||1||

vipravrātavanāpaheṣu satataṃ varṇāśramālānakam &
bhaṅktvā madyamadena vāmamatitaḥ kaulākhyadurdantiṣu |
dharmasthāpakakāśikāpuravasadvidvadvariaḥ preritaḥ &
kṛṣṇānandayatiḥ karoti sudṛḍhaṃ śārdūlavikrīḍitam ||2||

he viprā dharmasetoḥ suvidhṛtividhaye brahmakarmaikahetor &
viṣṇor aṃśastha [-sya?] yūyaṃ naratanuvidhṛtivyājato lokapālāḥ |
yāce baddhāñjaliṃ vo dititanayanarair vāmibhir vīrakaulaiḥ &
saṅgaṃ tyaktvā vidūre śrutivihitasadācārarītiṃ bhajadhvam ||3||

viprāṇāṃ rakṣaṇārthāya & viduṣāṃ toṣahetave |
smṛtyāgamādibhiḥ kurve & duṣkaulagajamardanam ||4||

iha khalu dharmārthakāmamokṣeṣu caturvidhapuruṣārtheṣu mokṣa eva paramapuruṣārthaḥ | sa ca brahmajñānaikagamyaḥ, tam eva viditvātimṛtyum eti nanyāyaḥ panthā vidyate ’yanāyeti śruter brahmajñānaṃ ca dharmānuṣṭhānadagdhāntaḥkaraṇakaṣāyasyaiva puruṣottamasya bhavati |...

[colophon:] randhracaṃdrāṅke [']bde bhāvākhye vikramād gate āṣāḍhasitapakṣatyāṃ kāśikāyām idaṃ kṛtam 7 <||> iti śrīmatparamahaṃsaparivrājakācāryaśrīmatkailāsācalayativaryaśiṣyaśrīkṛṣṇānandācalanirmitaṃ kaulagajamardanaṃ samāptam || śā*yāgokulacandrasya śrīmannā lālaśarmaṇā || yatnān mudrāmayaṃ prāpiśilāvarṇaiḥ suśodhitaiḥ || mānamaṃdirasannidhau vārāṇasīsaṃskṛtayantrālaye kaulagajamarddanākhyo yaṃ grantho mudritaḥ saṃvat 1923 jyeṣṭhakṛṣṇaikādaśyāṃ samāptaḥ ||