Pasupata Yoga and the Art of Dying

Abstract

This paper researches the relation between yoga and death in the early Saiva tradition of the Pasupatas, based on three Pasupata sources: the Pasupatasutra, the Ratnatika and the Skandapurana. The paper presents an analysis and interpretation of textual passages that treat the last moment of the life of a Pasupata ascetic in order to find out whether or not his death can be interpreted as a form of ‘self-induced yogic death’. Following the analysis of the primary sources, it will become clear that yoga and death stood in a much closer relation than one might expect.