Nepal: Children play on a swing at the Gorakhnath Temple, Kathmandu (1996)

The enigmatic Gorakhnath (early 12th century) was born in Northern India, possibly in the town of Gorakhpur in present-day Uttar Pradesh State. By name he is associated with the cow (go' in Sanskrit), and according to one legend, he was born through the anal congress of Shiva with a cow, during which Shiva’s seed turned into the child Gorakhnath. Another legend states he was born from the sweat of one of Shiva’s breasts. Gorakhnath became the disciple of the legendary mystic Matsyendranath (Machhendranath) who had earlier founded the order of the Nathas or Natha-Panthis. The Nathas were a yogic sect, who endeavoured to make the body immutable and immortal.