The Ahirs have a special relation to the Hindu religion, owing
to their association with the sacred cow, which is itself revered
as a goddess. When religion gets to the anthropomorphic stage the
cowherd, who partakes of the cow's sanctity, may be deified as its
representative. This was probably the case with Krishna, one of
the most popular gods of Hinduism, who was a cowherd, and, as he is
represented as being of a dark colour, may even have been held to
be of the indigenous races. Though, according to the legend, he was
really of royal birth, Krishna was brought up by Nand, a herdsman of
Gokul, and Jasoda or Dasoda his wife, and in the popular belief these
are his parents, as they probably were in the original story. The
substitution of Krishna, born as a prince, for Jasoda's daughter,
in order to protect him from destruction by the evil king Kansa of
Mathura, is perhaps a later gloss, devised when his herdsman parentage
was considered too obscure for the divine hero. Krishna's childhood in
Jasoda's house with his miraculous feats of strength and his amorous
sports with Radha and the other milkmaids of Brindawan, are among
the most favourite Hindu legends. Govind and Gopal, the protector
or guardian of cows, are names of Krishna and the commonest names of
Hindus, as are also his other epithets, Murlidhar and Bansidhar, the
flute-player; for Krishna and Balaram, like Greek and Roman shepherds,
were accustomed to divert themselves with song, to the accompaniment
of the same instrument. The child Krishna is also very popular, and
his birthday, the Janam-Ashtami on the 8th of dark Bhadon (August),
is a great festival. On this day potsful of curds are sprinkled over
the assembled worshippers. Krishna, however, is not the solitary
instance of the divine cowherd, but has several companions, humble
indeed compared to him, but perhaps owing their apotheosis to the
same reasons. Bhilat, a popular local godling of the Nerbudda Valley,
was the son of an Ahir or Gaoli woman; she was childless and prayed
to Parvati for a child, and the goddess caused her votary to have
one by her own husband, the god Mahadeo. Bhilat was stolen away from
his home by Mahadeo in the disguise of a beggar, and grew up to be
a great hero and made many conquests; but finally he returned and
lived with his herdsman parents, who were no doubt his real ones. He
performed numerous miracles, and his devotees are still possessed by
his spirit. Singaji is another godling who was a Gaoli by caste in
Indore. He became a disciple of a holy Gokulastha Gosain or ascetic,
and consequently a great observer of the Janam-Ashtami or Krishna's
birthday. [26] On one occasion Singaji was late for prayers on this
day, and the _guru_ was very angry, and said to him, 'Don't show your
face to me again until you are dead.' Singaji went home and told the
other children he was going to die. Then he went and buried himself
alive. The occurrence was noised abroad and came to the ears of the
_guru_, who was much distressed, and proceeded to offer his condolences
to Singaji's family. But on the way he saw Singaji, who had been
miraculously raised from the dead on account of his virtuous act of
obedience, grazing his buffaloes as before. After asking for milk,
which Singaji drew from a male buffalo calf, the _guru_ was able
to inform the bereaved parents of their son's joyful reappearance
and his miraculous powers; of these Singaji gave further subsequent
demonstration, and since his death, said to have occurred 350 years
ago, is widely venerated. The Gaolis pray to him for the protection
of their cattle from disease, and make thank-offerings of butter if
these prayers are fulfilled. Other pilgrims to Singaji's shrine offer
unripe mangoes and sugar, and an annual fair is held at it, when it is
said that for seven days no cows, flies or ants are to be seen in the
place. In the Betul district there is a village godling called Dait,
represented by a stone under a tree. He is the spirit of any Ahir who
in his lifetime was credited in the locality with having the powers of
an exorcist. In Mandla and other Districts when any buffalo herdsman
dies at a very advanced age the people make a platform for him within
the village and call it Mahashi Deo or the buffalo god. Similarly,
when an old cattle herdsman dies they do the same, and call it Balki
Deo or the bullock god. Here we have a clear instance of the process
of substituting the spirit of the herdsman for the cow or buffalo as
an object of worship. The occupation of the Ahir also lends itself to
religious imaginations. He stays in the forest or waste grass-land,
frequently alone from morning till night, watching his herds; and
the credulous and uneducated minds of the more emotional may easily
hear the voices of spirits, or in a half-sleeping condition during
the heat and stillness of the long day may think that visions have
appeared to them. Thus they come to believe themselves selected for
communication with the unseen deities or spirits, and on occasions
of strong religious excitement work themselves into a frenzy and are
held to be possessed by a spirit or god.