Paśupatasūtra

The Paśupatasūtra is regarded as the earliest and most authoritative scripture of the Nakulīśa–Pāśupata school of Śaivism. This brief note reports on a manuscript of the text—accompanied by a portion of Kauṇḍinya’s commentary—found in the Indian Museum and transferred to the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. The work was subsequently published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series based on a Benares manuscript and partly on the Society’s copy. The note points out that the printed edition cites some variant readings without identifying their sources, and, more problematically, ignores the variants preserved in the Society’s manuscript. The author therefore lists major differences between the printed edition and the manuscript. For several sūtras the manuscript preserves different words, spellings or additional phrases. Examples include differences in the opening invocation, substitution of llāyat for āyāt, and variant epithets of Śiva. In the commentary, an important variant concerns the commentator’s name—Kauṇḍinya in the printed edition versus Kauṇḍanya in the manuscript. Other variants involve doctrinal terms and ritual instructions. The note observes that some concluding sūtras correspond closely to verses in the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, suggesting that the compilers may have borrowed Vedic material. It hints that the original version of the Paśupatasūtra may have differed slightly from the recension commented on by Kauṇḍinya. By drawing attention to these textual discrepancies, the note highlights the need for a critical edition of the Paśupatasūtra based on multiple manuscripts. Scholars of early Śaiva philosophy must consider manuscript variants when reconstructing the doctrine and practices of the Pāśupata tradition. The comparison underscores the complexity of textual transmission and the importance of examining primary sources rather than relying solely on printed editions.

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