Matsyendranath

Matsyendranatha
Vishvayogi Svami Machindranath
Other names	Swami Machindranath, Matsyendranath, Macchindranath
Known for	Founder of Natha Pantha

Matsyendranatha (Sanskrit: मत्स्येन्द्रनाथ) or Machindranath (9th-10th century) was one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas. He was the guru of Gorakshanath, with whom he founded the school of Hatha yoga. He is considered as the author of the Kaulajñānanirṇaya ("Discussion of the Knowledge Pertaining to the Kaula Tradition"), one of the earliest texts on Hatha Yoga in Sanskrit.^[1] He is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists.^[2] Machindranath is believed to be the founder of the Natha Pantha. Machindranath is called "Vishwayogi" because his teachings are universal.^[3]

Birth

According to the popular belief, Swami Machhindranath was created from a fish. But the fact is that neither was he created from a fish nor was he born from a womans' womb because Lord Shiva wanted to create him from absolute purity and absolute purity can be found in the five elements of life: fire, water, sky, earth and air. Lord Shiva took a certain percentage from each of the 5 elements and created Swami Machhindranath and gave Him a human form. Another reason why he created Swamiji from the 5 elements was because Lord Shiva wanted his creation to be more powerful than Lord Brahma (one of the gods of the Hindu trinity) . Since Swamiji was created from the 5 elements he is indestructible. After creating Swamiji Lord Shiva gave him all his knowledge, thoughts, philosophies. Swamiji is a Sanyasi in the true sense because apart from being born out of purity he was endowed with pure qualities like 'Tyag' or 'Sacrifice'. 'Bhakti and Shraddha', 'Gyan or Knowledge', 'Yog and Rishimayta'.

He was popularly known as Minanatha and was an inhabitant of either Chandradwip (Barisal) or sandwip in Bengal.

Spiritual Seats

• Kadri Manjunath Temple in Mangalore, Karnataka
• Madyar Sri Parashakthi temple (Sri Parashakti Temple is situated at Madyar, near Mangalore in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka)
• Viratnagar in Rajasthan
• Hellapatnam in Bengal
• Chitrakoot Karvi (Border of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh near the banks of the river Piyushini.
• Gumbahatta in Kalimpong, Dist. Darjeeling, West Bengal.

Disciples

• Shri Kanifnath Maharaj
• Shri Gorakshanath Maharaj
• Shri Madhavnath Maharaj
• Shri Mangalnath Maharaj
• He has eight disciples, They along with Matsyendranath are called as Navanathas.

Machindranath Temples

• Toyu (white) Machindranath temple in Kathmandu.
• Macchendranath Guru Peeth in Sri Guru Parashakthi Kshethra, Madyar, Mangalore.
• Hyangu (red) Machindranath temple in Patan^[4]
• Vishwayogi Swami Machindranath Mandir, Mitmita, Aurangabad ^[5]
• The samadhi place of Machindranath is in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh(India).
• Mayamba Temple ( Garbhagiri Pravat as mentioned in Navnath Grantha) at Shri Kshetra Machindranath Devasthan at Sawargaon, Tal: Ashti, Dist: Beed.

. Machhindra Nath Mandir, Inside Ambagate, Amravati.

Popular culture

There are a few films about this legend in Indian cinema.

• The first film entitled Maya Machhindra was made in 1932 in Hindi and Marathi languages by Prabhat Film Company and directed by V. Shantaram. Govindrao Tembe portrayed the role of Machhindranath.^[6]
• The second film was made in 1939 in Tamil language directed by Raja Chandrasekhar and starring N. S. Krishnan and M. G. Ramachandran.^[7]
• Third film in Telugu language was made P. Pullaiah in 1945 starring Jandhyala Gourinatha Sastry, Addanki Srirama Murthy and Kannamba.^[8]
• The fourth film was again made in Hindi and Marathi languages in 1951 directed by Aspi Irani.
• The fifth film was made in Hindi language by Babubhai Mistri in 1960/61.
• The sixth film was made in Telugu language in 1975 starring N. T. Rama Rao and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao.

References

1. ^ Larson, Jerald James; Ram Shankar Bhattacharya (2008). Yoga: India's Philosophy of Meditation. Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies. Vol. XII. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 436. ISBN 978-81-208-3349-4. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=p6pURGdBBmIC&pg=PA436&dq=Matsyendranatha&hl=en&ei=ws_fS5-ONpO5rAfs7eyxBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Matsyendranatha&f=false. 
2. ^ An Introduction to Hinduism; Gavlin Flood; 1996; pg. 98
3. ^ Tridal, Publication by Shree Pratishtan Trust, Mitmita, page:5
4. ^ Lalitpur city official website - historical monuments
5. ^ Last cover page of Tridal Book
6. ^ Maya Machhindra, 1932 film at IMDb.
7. ^ Maya Machhindra, 1939 film at IMDb.
8. ^ Maya Machhindra, 1945 film at IMDb.

.

External links

• Mahendranath, Shri Gurudev. Ecstasy, Equipoise, and Eternity. Retrieved Mar. 7, 2006.
• Mahendranath, Shri Gurudev. Notes on Pagan India. Retrieved Mar. 7, 2006.

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death