Around the 6th century B.C., the Vedic culture began to crumble for want of powerful Masters. Shaivism (the worship of Lord Shiva) which was based on the Pashupata teachings, the earliest teachings of the worship of Shiva, was sorely in need of revival. Around the 2nd century A.D., Lord Lakulisha was born in Medhavati, India, as the 28th incarnation of Shiva. He came from the great ancestral line of the ancient sage Atri. He trained many disciples and rejuvenated the Vedic culture. Kayavarohana became a great spiritual center. Having fulfilled his life's mission, he assembled his disciples in the main temple where he seated Himself on the Jyotirlingam (holy statue) of Bhagavan Brahmesvara. He said a final good-by and disappeared, his figure merging into the front part of the Jyotirlingam. The Jyotirlingam disappeared mysteriously during the Muslim invasion of 1025 A.D. and reappeared years later in a nearby field. Swami Kripalvananda discovered this very Jyotirlingam on a visit to Kayavarohana in 1955 and recognized it as the true form of his Beloved Teacher. You can read about this event in a book by Rajarshi Muni, Light from Guru to Disciple.