Lord Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni, the organizer of Akhāḍās – glory and lineage
Incarnation of Paramaśiva and Lord Viṣṇu, from the Sūrya vaṁśa, the Sun dynasty
Śri Kapila Mahāmuni, with his mother, Devahūti
Lord Śri Kapila Mahāmuni is the incarnation of Lord Śrī Paramaśiva and Lord Viṣṇu, who appeared in the Sūrya vaṁśa, the sun-dynasty as the son of glorious Prajāpati Kardama, one of the nine sons of Lord Brahma and procreator of human life on planet earth and as the son of Devāhuti, the daughter of the reigning Manu Svayambhuva (the lord of the first manvantara or aeon) the original ancestor of the Sūrya vaṃśa, the Sun Dynasty.
Srimad Bhagavat Purāṇa, the Hindu scripture (purāṇas are scriptures that record the historical happenings of cosmos, of cosmic laws (dharma), of all incarnations) gives detailed accounts about Śrī Kapila’s divine lineage and His purpose:
Anasūyā is the Mother of Bhagavan Dattatreya, the Incarnation (establishing Dattatreya in the lineage of Manu)
अत्रेः पत्न्यनसूया त्रीञ्जज्ञे सुयशसः सुतान्
दत्तं दुर्वाससं सोममात्मेशब्रह्मसम्भवान् ॥ ४.१.१५ ॥
atreḥ patny anasūyā trīñ jajñe suyaśasaḥ sutān
dattaṁ durvāsasaṁ somam ātmeśa-brahma-sambhavān
~ Śrimad Bhāgavatam 4.1.15
Translation: Anasūyā, the wife of Atri Muni, gave birth to three very famous sons — Soma, Dattātreya and Durvāsā — who were partial representations of Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Soma was a partial representation of Lord Brahmā, Dattātreya was a partial representation of Lord Viṣṇu, and Durvāsā was a partial representation of Lord Śiva.
Devāhuti, the daughter of the Sūrya Vaṃsa (Solar dynasty’s), is mother of Lord Kapila. Lord Kapila Mahāmuni is the Siddhagaṇadhīśa, the emperor of perfected beings (establishing Kapila in the lineage of Manu)
एष मानवि ते गर्भं प्रविष्टः कैटभार्दनः
अविद्यासंशयग्रन्थिं छित्त्वा गां विचरिष्यति ॥ ३.२४.१८ ॥
eṣa mānavi te garbhaṁ praviṣṭaḥ kaiṭabhārdanaḥ
avidyā-saṁśaya-granthiṁ chittvā gāṁ vicariṣyati
अयं सिद्धगणाधीशः साङ्ख्याचार्यैः सुसम्मतः
लोके कपिल इत्याख्यां गन्ता ते कीर्तिवर्धनः ॥ ३.२४.१९ ॥
ayaṁ siddha-gaṇādhīśaḥ sāṅkhyācāryaiḥ susammataḥ
loke kapila ity ākhyāṁ gantā te kīrti-vardhanaḥ
~ Śrimad Bhāgavatam 3.24.18-19
Translation: Lord Brahmā then told Devahūti: My dear daughter of Manu, the same Absolute Lord who killed the demon Kaiṭabha is now within your womb. He will cut off all the knots of your ignorance and doubt. Then He will travel all over the world.
“Your son will be the emperor of all the perfected being, Siddhagaṇadhīśa. He will be approved by the Acāryas, the spiritual authorities, experts in transmitting the real absolute knowledge, and among the people He will be gloriously celebrated by the name Kapila. As the son of Devahūti, He will increase your fame.”
Depiction of young Lord Kapila Muni, transmitting the Sānkhyayoga to his mother Devāhuti
About 20,000 years back, Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni brought forth the “Science of pure thought currents to humanity called Sānkhya Darśana’’ initiating and revealing this science first to his mother Devahuti. Sānkhya is the naked philosophy of the Truth. Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni lived in Varanasi, and further formed and organized the Akhāḍās, which became the foundation for all other Akhāḍās. Many of the shāstradhāris (the warriors wielding the revealed scriptures) of the Akhāḍās, carried their bodies with spiritual purity and freedom.
Thus was born the naked Nāgā Sādhus of the Mahānirvaṇi Akhāḍā. Śrī Kapila also created the Dasanāmi Sampradāya – the 10 traditions of Sanyāsa (monkhood) given to various Sanyāsis of the Akhāḍā. द॒शा॒नामेकं॑ कपि॒लं (daśonāmekam kapilam) – meaning among 10 divine names is “Kapila” – says Rig Veda 10/27.
(Rig Veda is one of the four main Vedas, the revealed source scriptures in Hinduism)
Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni is also known as ‘Sākhya Muni’ or ‘Sānkhya Muni’. The Buddha, in the lineage of Mahānirvani Akhāḍā also came to be known as the ‘Sākhya Muni’.
(left) Image of Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni as worshipped at the Mahanirvani Akhāḍā; (right) the worshipped deity of Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni at the Akhada.
The Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism (SPH) at the Śrī Nithyanandeshwara Paramaśiva Devasthānam (the main temple at the Dhyanapeetha Matha , monastery at Bengaluru), with the living deity of Śrī Kapila Mahāmuni (extreme right) consecrated in the main sanctum.