Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati

Author(s): Kalyani Mallik
Publisher: Poona Oriental Book House Poona

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their treasures. In this book are published for the first time a set of collections of MSS. of the Natha Yogis secured by me from Northern and Southern India. In my first book on the subject, “ The History, Philosophical Doctrine and Practice of the Nātha School ( of Yogis ) " written in Bengali and published by the Calcutta University in 1950, I have given some detailed account of these: Yogis and their practices, with their fundamental philosophy.
The Legends
Legends relating to the different gurus ( preceptors ) and their shişyas ( disciples) are often contradictory, except in the case of Sree Matsyendra and Sree Gorakhnath. Gorakhnāth learned Yoga from his guru Sree Matsyendranath, who in turn learnt it from Adināth or Siva, is unanimous!: accepted by the different traditions and paramparas' i. e.. the list of the gurus and their disciples. The followers of Gorakhnath are known as Gorakhnathis, and Kunphutus' ( Kān = ears, phatās = slit ) as well, as they wear huge car-rings by slitting the cartilages about three quarters of an inch of both ears in imitation of Lord Siva. The kānphāti yogis are found even to the present day in different regior.s of India and their places of pilgrimage are scattered all over the country.
Of Gorakhnath's disciples King Jalandharnāth of Northern India and Queen Maynämati of Comilla (East Bengal, now Pakistan ) have become famous in the ballads sung in honour of the Queen's only son King Gopichandra. Gopichandra's renunciation is a familiar subject on which ballads and dramas have been composed in Bengali, Oriya, Nepalese and Hindi. Gopichandra was the ruler of Bengal in the eleventh century. His mother Maynāmati was a disciple of Saint Gorakhnāth. Gopichandra's span of life was short. So Gorakhnāth ordered Maynāmati to conipel her only son to become a Yogi and accept as his guru Hādipā, a man of low caste and a scavenger. Hadipā was none other than Jālandharnāth, the disciple of Gorakhnāth, in disguise. As Maynāmati and Hāļipā were both adepts at performing miracles, Gopichandra suspected some foul play at first and resented the idea of becoming Hādipā's disciple. The two