MatsyendranāthaMatsyendranathaalso called Mīnanātha Minanatha  ( flourished 10th century? , Indiafirst human guru, or spiritual teacher, of the Nātha cultNatha, a popular Indian religious movement combining elements of HinduismShaivism, Buddhism, and Haṭha Hatha Yoga, a form of yoga that stresses breath control and physical postures.

Matsyendranātha’s Matsyendranatha’s name appears on both the lists of the 9 nātha nathas (“masters”) and the 84 mahāsiddha mahasiddhas (“great accomplished ones”) common to Hinduism and Buddhism. He was given semidivine status by his followers and identified with AvalokiteśvaraAvalokiteshvara-Padmapāni Padmapani (a bodhisattva, or buddha-to-be) by his Buddhist followers in Nepal and with the god Śiva Shiva by his Hindu devotees. In Tibet he was known as Lui-pa. The name MīnaMina-nātha natha (“Fish-Lord”) refers, according to one legend, to his receipt of spiritual instruction from Śiva Shiva while in the form of a fish and in another legend to his rescue of a sacred text from the belly of a fish.

The historical details of Matsyendranātha’s Matsyendranatha’s life are lost in the legends that have grown up around him. Though an ascetic he succumbed, according to one legend, to enchantments of two queens of Ceylon Sri Lanka and had two sons, Pārosenāth Parosenath and NīmnāthNimnath, who were became leaders of the Jaina religious sectJainism. His leading disciple, GorakhnāthGorakhnath, is commonly regarded as the founder of the Kānphaṭa Kanphata Yogis, an order of religious ascetics who stress the practice of Haṭha Hatha Yoga.