[INDOLOGY] Query

[Michael Slouber]

Judit Törzsök and Dominic Goodall have an entry on the Kārukas in vol. II (p.92) of the Tāntrikābhidhānakoṣa:

> kāruka, n.m. [].
> A Pāśupata* or Lākula* sect, mentioned several times in Bhairavatantras* and by Abhinavagupta as inferior to tantric Śaivas; none of their texts seems to have survived. They are referred to in SvT 11.71ff. where they are said to be at the level of māyātattva* when liberated; SYM 1.18 mentions them together with pramāṇa-pāśupatas, whose initiation is not appropriate in the system of the SYM (accepting Diwakar Acharya’’s emendation of kāraka to kāruka in the text, personal communication), and TĀ 13.305 also notes that they remain bound souls from the point of view of Bhairavatantras. Kṣemarāja’’s commentary suggests that the founder of the sect was a disciple of Lakuleśa, just as Musulendra was. [J.T.]
> Kārukas are held to be impure and contact with them is to be avoided according to the following Siddhāntas: Kir 35.8, 38.7; Moh, fol. 44v; PKm 1.111. [D.G.]


Michael Slouber
Visiting Assistant Professor
Liberal Studies
Western Washington University



On Jun 8, 2013, at 1:56 PM, Patrick Olivelle wrote:

> Does anyone know whether the term "kāruka" has a specifically Śaiva technical meaning -- perhaps a special kind of initiate? I see this in a verse:
> 
> kāpālikāḥ pāśupatāḥ śaivaś ca saha kārukaiḥ |
> dṛṣṭāś ced ravim īkṣeta spṛṣṭāś cet snānam ācaret ||
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Patrick
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