 Vasugupta is said to have lived near Mahadeva Mountain in the valley of the Harvan stream behind what are now the Shalimar Gardens near Srinagar.One myth is that he received the aphorisms in a dream visitation of a Siddha or semi-divine being.Another is that Lord Shiva came to him in a dream and instructed him to go to a certain rock on which he would find the teachings inscribed.