Panchacharyas
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According to popular view, and one backed by historical and literary evidence, the Lingayat or Veerashaiva sect was founded by Panchacharyas Basavanna is not the founder of Veerashaivism but he is preacher . There is however, a school of thought that holds that the faith was founded by the Panchacharyas or the Five great Prophets. This view however, is in the realm of mythology and is not supported by historical and literary evidence.
It is believed that the Panchacharyas arose out of five great Sthavaralingas located in Kolli Paki in Andhra Pradesh, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Kedar in Uttarachal, Shrishaila in Andhra Pradesh, and Kashi or Benares in Uttar Pradesh under different names in different Yugas.
The five Panchacharyas are
- Revanaradhya or Revanasiddha
- Marularadhya or Marulasiddha
- Ekoramaradhya or Ekorama
- Panditaradhya
- Vishvaradhya
