Kapila
Kapila ( Sanskrit कपिल kapila ) is a sage ( rishi ) of Hindu mythology; its historical authenticity is disputed. According to some sources, he is considered a descendant of Manu and the founder of the Samkhya system.
myth
In the third book of Bhagavata Purana , Kardama Muni and Devahuti are named as his parents; his sister and student was Anusuya . Both in the Bhagavata Purana and in other Puranas he is seen as the incarnation of Vishnu , who through his teaching restored the spiritual balance. He is also considered to be the originator of Bhakti Yoga . Of Krishna , he is in the Bhagavad Gita called completely '. Still others consider him a son of Prahlada or an incarnation of the god Agni .
His most important appearance relates to the myth of the 'Descent of the Ganga' ( Gangadhara Murti ): King Sagara had already performed the horse sacrifice ( ashvamedha ) 99 times and was about to do it for the hundredth time. But the Vedic high god Indra , the Lord of Heaven ( svarga ), was afraid because of the associated increase in power - he kidnapped the horse and placed it in the stable of the Kapila Ashram . There the 60,000 sons of Sagara found it and, believing Kapila was responsible for the theft, attacked him. But this burned them all to ashes with one look. Anshuman, a grandson of Sagara, then came and asked the sage for the possibility of freeing and redeeming the souls of the deceased ( moksha ). Kapila replied that only the goddess or the Ganga river , when she came down from heaven, could do this. Bhagiratha, a relative of the king, then committed 1000 years of asceticism until Ganga finally promised to come down to earth - but she warned that no one could tame the force of her water masses and that she would consequently destroy everything. Thereupon Shiva (here in the role of the keeper) offered to tame the floods and caught them in the strands of his long braids of hair.
to teach
Some legendary sayings of Kapila have survived, including the following:
- "Actions purify the body, but knowing (or gaining wisdom) is the highest goal."
Buddhism
The Buddhists also built Kapila into their teachings and even considered him to be a previous incarnation of the Buddha . His disciples are said to have built the city of Kapilavastu , where Buddha spent the first 29 years of his life.
literature
- Peter and Anneliese Keilhauer: Imagery of Hinduism. The Indian world of gods and their symbolism. DuMont, Cologne 1986, pp. 176f, ISBN 3-7701-1347-0 .
Web links
- Swami Vivekananda on Kapila Muni (English)