Journeys to the Transcendent: Finding Mount Kailāsa in Texts, Topography, and Temples Open Access

Abstract

This thesis explores the evolution of Mt. Kailāsa’s religious significance across Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, throughout textual sources and the cultural landscape. Kailāsa is today considered a mountain peak in the Kailash Range that is the site of pilgrimage for followers of these three religious traditions. However, its initial appearances do not speak of a physical mountain but rather a heavenly one that is beyond the quotidian experiences of humans.

Kailāsa’s religious significance was a process, one that I argue reflected a desire to render accessible that which is inaccessible. The diverse textual representations of Kailāsa, through powerful celestial beings and unique geographical features, allude to a mountain that is supernatural and difficult to access for ordinary mortals. Especially at a time when Śaivism was booming, the medieval representations of Kailāsa elevate its attraction by positing it as an inaccessible and heavenly mountain. That inaccessibility drove certain attempts to render Kailāsa accessible, specifically in the field of pilgrimage and temple construction. Pilgrimage today brings followers as close as possible to the physical mountain, and aspects of temple construction—specifically the Kailāśanātha and Choṭā Kailāsa—bring representations of Kailāsa itself to the kingdoms in which followers reside.

To say that accessibility is the sole driver, however, is an oversimplification that ignores external factors. For example, the establishment of pilgrimage as a larger-scale process was substantially catalyzed by political, economic, social, and even alchemical factors. Similarly, it is difficult to assert temple construction was directly modeled off textual descriptions of Kailāsa as inaccessible. These suggest that the Kailāsa of texts may not be the physical mountain that is understood as Kailāsa today, nor the Kailāśanātha temple that shares its namesake. Nevertheless, the accessibility-inaccessibility argument put forth in my thesis offers a useful heuristic to explain how and why Kailāsa came to possess mass religious significance both textually and through cultural practices.

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………….……………………….1

Part 1: Kailāsa in Medieval Texts……………………..………………….……………………….4

           Hinduism: Kailāsa as Śiva’s Transcendent Abode……………….……………………….4

                       Celestial Figures on Kailāsa in Hindu Purāṇas………….……………………….5

The Flora, Fauna, and Geology of Kailāsa in Hindu Purāṇas..…………….…..12

           Jainism: Kailāsa’s Connection to the First Tīrthaṅkara Ṛṣabha……….………………...16

                       The Religious Significance of Aṣṭapada……………………….………………...16

Linking Aṣṭapada and Kailāsa.………….…………….………………….……...19

Why Is Aṣṭapada Linked to Kailāsa?….…………….……………….……….….22

           Buddhism: Kailāsa, Meru, and Cakrasaṃvara…………………………………….……..26

                       An Abhidharma Reading of Meru…………………………………….………….27

                       Meru and Kailāsa in the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra…………………………………29

The Buddhist Incentive for Tying Meru to Kailāsa………………………………31

Part 2: The Cultural Landscape of Kailāsa…………………………………….………………...34

Pilgrimage: The Journey To, From, and Around Mount Kailash.…….….…….…..……35

 

The Historical Drivers of Pilgrimage to Mount Kailash…………………..….…36

 

Pilgrimage to Kailash Today for Hindus and Buddhists…………..….…………..44

Art and Architecture: The Kailāsa Temple at Ellora…………………………………….51

                       The Structure and Symbols of Kailāśanātha……………………………………..52

                       Choṭā Kailāsa: Ellora’s Jain Excavation…………………………………..……57

The Rāṣṭrakūṭa and Śaiva Motives for Kailāśanātha’s Creation

.…….…………59

Conclusion…………………….……………….…….……………………………….…….……64

Bibliography…………………………………….………………………………………….……68

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Religion
Subfield / Discipline	West and South Asian Religions
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Religion, Comparative
Keyword	Kailash Kailāsa Ellora Pilgrimage
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Ellen Gough, Emory University
Committee Members	Harshita Mruthinti Kamath, Emory University Sara McClintock, Emory University

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