Representations of Siva--Siva's quarrel with his
father-in-law--Quarrel between Brahma and Vishnu--Misconduct
of Siva--Bengal temples of Siva--Ancient linga idols--Siege of
Somnath--Ferishtah's history--The twelve great
lingams--Account of the Viri-Saivas--The Jangamas--Legend of
Ravunu.
Siva, has the second place among the Hindoo deities, though in
general, in allusion to their offices, the principal gods are classed
thus: Brahma, Vishnu, Siva. Siva, personifies destruction or
reproduction, for Hindu philosophy excludes, while time shall exist,
the idea of complete annihilation: to destroy is, therefore, but to
_change_, or _recreate_, or _reproduce_.
This god is represented in various ways. In the dhyanu he appears as a
white or silver coloured man with five faces; an additional eye (one
of his names is Trilochunu, the three eyed), and a half-moon on each
forehead; four arms; in the first a purushao; in the second a deer;
with the third giving a blessing, and with the fourth forbidding fear;
sitting on a water-lily, and wearing a tiger's skin. He is worshipped
in the daily puja of the brahmins, who silently meditate upon him in
this form.
At other times Siva is represented with one head, three eyes, and two
arms, riding on a bull, covered with ashes, naked, his eyes inflamed
with intoxicating herbs, having in one hand a horn, and in the other a
musical instrument called a dumbooru.
Another of his images is the linga, a smooth black stone very much
like a sugar-loaf in shape, with a projection of a spoon shape.
There are three different stories respecting the origin of this image.
The Purana called Doorga-bhagavata gives the following account: King
Dukshu, having had a quarrel with Siva, refused to invite him to a
sacrifice which he was performing. Siva had married Sutee, the
daughter of Dukshu. She resolved, uninvited, to attend at this
sacrifice; but while there, she was so overcome by the abuse which
Dukshu poured upon her husband, that she died.
The ground of the quarrel between Siva and his father-in-law was this:
It was the custom for the junior branches of a family, as they arrived
at an assembly, to bow to their older relation. On a certain occasion
Siva neglected, or refused, to bow to his father-in-law, who began to
abuse him in such a manner that a dreadful enmity was raised which
ended in the destruction of Dukshu.
On hearing the news of the fate of his beloved wife, Siva, in
vexation, renounced a secular life, and assumed the profession of a
religious mendicant called a sunyasee. As a naked sunyasee he wandered
from forest to forest, in the bitterness of grief. At length he
arrived in a certain wilderness where many moonees were performing
religious austerities, by the side of the river at a distance from
their homes. The wives of these moonees, on beholding this naked,
dirty, and withered sunyasee, asked him who he was, and why he was
wandering up and down in this state? He related to them the cause of
his sorrow, viz., that he had been deprived of his wife, and was
overwhelmed with distress on her account. The women laughed at him,
and pretended to doubt his relation, declaring that his body was so
withered, that all desires must have been extinguished. In this manner
they provoked Siva, till at length he seized the wife of one of the
moonees and deflowered her. The moonee on hearing this relation,
pronounced a curse on Siva, and he became an hermaphrodite. As soon as
the curse had taken effect, the linga sunk into patalu, the world of
serpents, and ascended into the boundless space.
Before this period, a fierce quarrel had taken place betwixt Brahma
and Vishnu, as to which of them was the greatest, the former as the
creator, or the latter as the preserver or cherisher, of all. They
appealed to Siva, who left it to be determined by a trial of strength
at some future time, when he should have leisure.
Siva at length proposed to the two gods to settle their quarrel in
this way: one of them should ascend, and endeavour to ascertain the
height of the linga, and the other descend, and bring up word of its
depth. Brahma ascended, and Vishnu plunged into patalu. In this way
both the gods tried their utmost efforts, but could not find either
the height or the depth of the linga. As Brahma ascended, he met a
flower which had fallen from the top of the linga, and asked how far
it was to the top. The flower told him that it had been falling from
the head of the linga so many kulpus (one kulpu is four hundred and
thirty-two millions of years of mortals) and had not reached the earth
yet; what hope was there then of his reaching the top? Brahma related
the account of the difference betwixt him and Vishnu, and that upon
this trial of their powers the point of pre-eminence was to be
decided. The flower advised Brahma to tell the assembled gods, that he
had gone to the top, and if they doubted the fact, he might call him
to confirm it.
Brahma descended, and Vishnu came up disappointed in his attempt to
get to the bottom of the linga. When the two gods arrived in the
assembly, Brahma declared that he had been to the top, and brought the
flower to prove it. Vishnu confessed his disappointment, and charged
the flower with witnessing a falsehood. To this all the gods assented,
and Vishnu pronounced a curse upon the flower, that it should never be
received among the offerings presented to Siva.
After the matter was thus disposed of, the gods resolved that the
worship of the linga should have the precedency of every other
worship; that the benefits attending its worship should be boundless,
and that the heaviest curses should fall on those who neglected to
worship this image. So much for the account in the Doorga-bhagavata:
in the Kaduru-khundu the origin of the worship is thus mentioned:
When the gods resolved to churn the sea, in order to obtain the water
of life, become immortal, and overcome the usoorus, they were greatly
afraid lest the usoorus should seize the water of life, and become
immortal also. When the water of life came up, they contrived to send
the usoorus to bathe; but after bathing, they arrived before the gods
had drank the life-giving beverage. To draw off their attention,
Vishnu assumed the form of a most beautiful female. This contrivance
was successful.
The god Siva hearing that Vishnu had assumed this form, went to the
spot, and was so overcome by the charms of Mohinee, that he was about
to seize her by force: she fled, and Siva followed her; mad with lust,
he pursued her till she could run no longer, when she turned, and
pronouncing a curse upon him by which he became a hermaphrodite, she
immediately assumed her original form, viz., that of Vishnu. Siva was
so enraged, that all the gods, full of fear, arrived to soften him by
praise. He at length consented to dismiss his anger on condition that
the linga should become an object of universal worship.
Another account of the origin of this worship is contained in some of
the other puranas: At the time of a universal destruction of the world
all the gods are absorbed in what is called akashu; the linga alone
remains. The puranas, therefore, say that as all the gods except the
linga are absorbed in the akashu, he who worships the linga, obtains
the unbounded merit of embracing all the deities at once. From these
stories, temples innumerable have arisen in India, and a Siva linga
placed in each of them, and worshipped as a god.
The worship of Siva under the type of the Linga, is almost the only
form in which that deity is reverenced. Its prevalence throughout the
whole tract of the Ganges, as far as Benares, is sufficiently
conspicuous. In Bengal the temples are commonly erected in a range of
six, eight, or twelve, on each side of a Ghat, leading to the river.
At Kalna is a circular group of one hundred and eight temples, erected
by the Rajah of Bardwan. Each of the temples in Bengal consists of a
single chamber, of a square form, surmounted by a pyramidal centre;
the area of each is very small, the Linga, of black or white marble,
occupies the centre; the offerings are presented at the threshold.
Benares, however, is the peculiar seat of this form of worship: the
principal deity, Visweswara, is a Linga, and most of the chief objects
of the pilgrimage are similar blocks of stone. Particular divisions of
the pilgrimage direct visiting forty-seven Lingas, all of pre-eminent
sanctity; but there are hundreds of inferior note still worshipped,
and thousands whose fame and fashion have died away. If we may believe
Siva, indeed, he counted a hundred Pararrdhyas in the Kasi, of which,
at the time he is supposed to tell this to Devi, he adds sixty crore,
or six hundred millions were covered by the waters of the Ganges. A
Pararrdhya is said, by the commentator on the Kasi-Khanda, in which
this dialogue occurs, to contain as many years of mortals as are equal
to fifty of Brahma's years.
This worship of Siva, under the type of the Linga, is also, perhaps,
the most ancient object of homage adopted in India, subsequently to
the ritual of the Vedas, which was chiefly, if not wholly, addressed
to the elements, and particularly to Fire. How far the worship of the
Linga is authorised by the Vedas, is doubtful, but it is the main
purport of several of the Puranas--such as the Skanda-Purana, the
Siva, Brahmanda, and Linga Puranas. There can be no doubt of its
universality at the period of the Mohammedan invasion of India. The
idol destroyed by Mahmud of Ghizni, was nothing more than a Linga,
being, according to Mirkhond, a block of stone of four or five cubits
long, and of proportionate thickness. The passage from the _Rozet as
Sefa_ (cited in the Asiatic Researches, vol. 17), runs thus:--"The
temple in which the idol of Somnath stood, was of considerable extent,
both in length and breath, and the roof was supported by fifty-six
pillars in rows. The idol was of polished stone, its height was about
five cubits, and its thickness in proportion: two cubits were below
ground. Mahmud having entered the temple, broke the stone Somnath with
a heavy mace; some of the fragments he ordered to be conveyed to
Ghizni, and they were placed at the threshold of the great Mosque."
Another authority, the Tebkat Akbeeri, a history of Akber's reign,
with a preliminary Sketch of Indian History, has the following: "In
the year 415 (Hijera) Mahmud determined to lead an army against
Somnath, a city of the seashore, with a temple appertaining to the
followers of Brahma; the temple contained many idols, the principal of
which was named Somnath. It is related in some histories that this
idol was carried from the Kaaba, upon the coming of the Prophet, and
transported to India. The Brahminical records, however, refer it to
the times of Krishna, or an antiquity of 4000 years. Krishna, himself,
is said to have disappeared at this place.
"When the Sultan arrived at Neherwaleh (the capital of Guzerat) he
found the city deserted, and carrying off such provisions as could be
procured, he advanced to Somnath: the inhabitants of this place shut
their gates against him, but it was soon carried by the irresistable
valour of his troops, and a terrible slaughter of its defenders
ensued. The temple was levelled with the ground: the idol Somnath,
which was of stone, was broken to pieces, and in commemoration of the
victory, a fragment was sent to Ghizni, where it was laid at the
threshold of the principal mosque, and was there many years."
Ferishtah, the historian, supplies a much more graphic, if not
reliable account. He says: "When the garrison of Sumnat beheld their
defeat, they were struck with confusion and fear. They withdrew their
hands from the sight, and issuing out at a gate towards the sea, to
the number of four thousand embarked in boats, intending to proceed to
the island of Sirindiep. But they did not escape the eyes of the king.
He seized upon boats which were left in a neighbouring creek, and
manning them with rowers and some of his best troops, pursued the
enemy, taking and sinking some of their boats while others escaped.
Having then placed guards round the walls and at the gates, he entered
Sumnat, with his son and a few of his nobles and principal attendants.
When they advanced to the temple, they saw a great and antique
structure, built of stone, within a spacious court. They immediately
entered it, and discovered a great square hall, having its lofty roof
supported by fifty-six pillars, curiously turned and set with precious
stones. In the centre of the hall stood Sumnat, an idol of stone, five
yards in height, two of which were sunk in the ground.
"The king was enraged when he saw this idol, and raising his mace,
struck off the nose from the face. He then ordered that two pieces of
the image should be broken off, to be sent to Ghizni, there to be
thrown at the threshold of the public mosque, and in the court of his
palace. Two more fragments he reserved to be sent to Mecca and Medina.
When Mahmood was thus employed in breaking up Sumnat, a crowd of
Brahmins petitioned his attendants, and offered some crores (ten
millions) in gold, if the king should be pleased to proceed no
further. The Omrahs endeavoured to persuade Mahmood to accept the
money; for they said that breaking up the idol could not remove
idolatry from the walls of Sumnat, that therefore it would serve no
purpose to destroy the image, but that such a sum of money given in
charity, among believers, would be a very meritorious action. The king
acknowledged that what they said was, in some measure, true; but
should he consent to that bargain, he might justly be called a seller
of idols; and that he looked upon a breaker of them as a more
honourable title. He therefore ordered them to proceed. The next blow
having broken up the belly of Sumnat, which had been made hollow, they
discovered that it was full of diamonds, rubies, and pearls, of a much
greater value than the amount of what the Brahmins had offered, so
that a zeal for religion was not the sole cause of their application
to Mahmood."
It is said, by some writers, that the name of this idol is a compound
word of Sum and Nat; Sum being the name of the prince who erected it,
and Nat the true name of the god; which in the language of the
Brahmins, signifies Creator. In the time of eclipses we are told that
there used to be forty or fifty thousand worshippers at this temple;
and that the different princes of Hindostan had bestowed, in all, two
thousand villages, with their territories, for the maintenance of its
priests; besides the innumerable presents received from all parts of
the empire. It was a custom among these idolaters, to wash Sumnat,
every morning and evening, with fresh water from the Ganges, though
that river is above one thousand miles distant.
Among the spoils of this temple was a chain of gold, weighing forty
maunds, which hung from the top of the building by a ring. It
supported a great bell, which warned the people to the worship of the
god. Besides two thousands Brahmins, who officiated as priests, there
belonged to the temple five hundred dancing-girls, three hundred
musicians, and three hundred barbers, to shave the devotees before
they were admitted to the presence of Sumnat. The dancing-girls were
either remarkable for their beauty or their quality, the Rajas
thinking it a honour to have their daughters admitted. The king of
Ghizni found in this temple, a greater quantity of jewels and gold,
than, it is thought, any royal treasury contained before. In the
history of Eben Assur, it is related that there was no light in the
temple, but one pendant lamp, which being reflected from the jewels,
spread a strong and refulgent light over the whole place. Besides the
great idol above mentioned, there were in the temple some thousands of
small images, in gold and silver, of various shapes and dimensions.
The idol destroyed by Mahmood was, in fact, one of the twelve great
Lingas, then set up in various parts of India, several of which
besides Somesware, or Somanath, which was the name of the Siva
demolished by Mahmood, were destroyed by the early Mahommedan
conquerors.
In the Kedara Kalpa, Siva says: "I am omnipresent, but I am especially
in twelve forms and places.
"(1) Somanatha, in Saurashtra. (2) Mallikarjuna, or Sri Saila. (3)
Mahakala, in Ougein. (4) Omkara, said to have been in Ujayin. (5)
Amareswara, also placed in Ujayin. (6) Vaidyanath, at Deogerh in
Bengal. (7) Ramesa, at Setubandha. (8) Bhimasankara, in Dakini. (The
9th is missing from the list enumerated by Mr. Wilson in the Asiatic
Researches, said to be unknown). (10) Tryambaka, on the banks of the
Gomati. (11) Gautamesa, site unknown. (12) Kedaresa, or Kedaranath, in
the Himalaya."
One of the forms in which the Linga worship appears, is that of the
Lingayets, Lingawauts, or Jangamas. These are the anti-braminical
worshippers of Siva, who are distinguished by their wearing a small
idol, either hung on the breast, round the neck or arm, or placed in
the turban; the idol is of silver or copper. In common with the
Saivas, generally the Jangamas smear their foreheads with Vibhuti or
ashes, and wear necklaces and rosaries of the Rudraksha seed. The
priests stain their garments with red ochre. They have never been very
numerous in the north of India, being rarely met with except as
beggars, leading about a bull, the living type of Nandi, the bull of
Siva, decorated with housings of various colours and strings of Cowri
shells: the conductor carries a bell in his hand, and thus accompanied
goes about from place to place, subsisting upon alms. These are the
disciples of Basava, whom they regard as a form of the god Siva. They
are numerous in the South of India, among the Canarese, the Telugus,
and the Tamils, the officiating priests of the Saiva shrines are
generally of this sect, when they bear the designations of Aradyha,
and Pandaram. The sect is also known by the name of Vira Saiva.
Many years ago, Professor Wilson supplied certain information relative
to this sect in his paper in the 17th volume of the Asiatic
Researches. That information was sufficiently interesting to create a
desire for further particulars. Additional researches were accordingly
entered upon and we are now able to supply a much fuller account than
had hitherto been possible.
Among Brahmins the Smartas (followers of Sancar Achari) are generally
called saivites, but are in fact freethinkers, equally willing to
adore Siva and Vishnu. Their creed may be found in the Mahabharat, the
Bhagavat, and the Ramayan, all of which are entirely rejected by the
disciples of Basava. There are indeed some few Siva Brahmins who
officiate as priests in the Siva temples, and though but little is
known of their peculiarities they certainly are different from the
Smartas, who refuse to receive the holy water and rice.
The Vira-Saivas are divided into two sects: one is semi-braminical,
called Aradhyas; the other is anti-braminical, and is called Jangam.
The Aradhyas claim to be descendants of saivite brahmins, and between
them and the Smartas there is a certain degree of reluctant
intercourse: founded upon the rites of initiation which both parties
use. Their history, when divested of fabulous decoration seems to be
that, their creed was founded by Basava, whom they adore as their one
deity; looking upon him as an avatar or incarnation of Siva, the god
of this creed.
Basava was the son of a Saivite brahmin, named Madenga Madamantri, at
Hinguleswaram, a village near Bagwari in Belgaum, in the southern
Mahratta country. When he was a boy he refused (they allege) to wear
the braminical thread, because the rites that confer this mark of
initiation require the adoration of the sun in the manner prescribed
in the Vedas. Perhaps in truth he did assume it, but if so, he
subsequently renounced it. Shortly after this time he escaped from his
parents, and accompanied by his sister Acca Nagamma, he fled to
Calianum, the capital of the Carnataca country, where the reigning
prince was Bizzala or Vijala, a Jaina by religion, whose minister, a
brahmin, was Basava's maternal uncle: he bestowed employment on
Basava, and ultimately gave him his daughter in marriage. ("This
proves," says a writer in the Madras Journal, "in my opinion, though
opposed to that of his followers, that he did not lay aside the
braminical thread in childhood, for had he done so no brahmin could
have given him his daughter in marriage.") At his death Basava
succeeded to his office, and gradually usurped great power.
It would seem that at this time he began to compare the opposed
statements of Jainas and Brahmins, and perceived that both creeds were
idolatrous. In the end he determined on getting rid of the braminical
priestcraft, and accordingly refused to worship any deity but Siva,
whose image, the lingam, is the most ancient idol known among the
Hindus.
A writer on the subject says:--"This symbol is as separate from
indecency in the Hindu mind as circumcision is to the Mahomedan mind.
The Brahmins with their usual love of filth have connected a variety
of obscenities with the linga worship, but these are wholly unknown to
the Jangams, who look upon this idol just as the catholics do upon a
reliquary, with deep veneration
'Hanging a golden stamp about their necks
Put on with holy prayers.'
"The image erected in the Saiva temples being denominated Sthavara
Linga, or the stable image, he denominated this reliquary the Jangama
Lingam or Locomotive image: a phrase borrowed from the Vedas, where it
is used for living being. Hence he and his followers are denominated
Jangams, or living images of the deity."
Basava's determined opposition to the Saivite Brahmins and to the
Jainas raised him many enemies; while his bounty to the poor gained
him friends equally numerous. At last the prince's jealousy was
roused, and a civil war ensued, wherein Bizzala was slain, and this
event was soon succeeded by the death of Basava, who, according to his
followers was "absorbed into the image," or vanished; while the Jaina
account declares that he fled to Capila Sangam, where the Malparba and
Krishna rivers meet, about one hundred and four miles west of Bellary.
The name Basava is a very common one among Hindus: the Jangams have
taken occasion from their teacher having borne it to feign that he was
an incarnation of Nandi or Bassava (the Apis or bull appertaining to
Siva or Osiris), and this has been the source of numerous idle legends
in the subject.
The Basava Purana after recording the events just alluded to,
enumerates various marvellous actions, performed by Basava and several
of his disciples, such as converting grains of corn to pearls,
discovering hidden treasures, feeding multitudes, healing the sick,
and restoring the dead to life, and then gives various anecdotes from
which we make a selection.
Basava having made himself remarkable for the profuse bounties he
bestowed upon the Jangamas, helping himself from the royal treasury
for that purpose, the other ministers reported his conduct to Bijala,
who called upon him to account for the money in his charge. Basava
smiled, and giving the keys of the treasury to the king, requested him
to examine it, which being done, the amount was found wholly
undiminished. Bijala thereupon caused it to be proclaimed, that
whoever calumniated Basava, should have his tongue cut out.
A Jangama, who cohabited with a dancing-girl, sent a slave for his
allowance of rice to the house of Basava, where the messenger saw the
wife of the latter, and on his return reported to the dancing-girl the
magnificence of her attire. The mistress of the Jangama was filled
with a longing for a similar dress, and the Jangama having no other
means of gratifying her, repaired to Basava, to beg of him his wife's
garment. Basava immediately stripped Gangamba, his wife, and other
dresses springing from her body, he gave them all to the Jangama.
A person of the name of Kanapa, who regularly worshipped the image of
Ckamreswara, imagining the eyes of the deity were affected, plucked
out his own, and placed them in the sockets of the figure. Siva,
pleased with his devotion, restored his worshipper his eyes.
A devout Saiva named Mahadevala Machaya, who engaged to wash for all
the Jangamas, having killed a child, the Raja ordered Basava to have
him secured and punished; but Basava declined undertaking the duty, as
it would be unavailing to offer any harm to the worshippers of Siva.
Bijala persisting, sent his servants to seize and tie him to the legs
of an elephant, but Machaya caught the elephant by the trunk, and
dashed him and his attendant to pieces. He then proceeded to attack
the Raja, who being alarmed, applied to Basava, and by his advice,
humbled himself before the offended Jangama. Basava also deprecated
his wrath, and Machaya being appeased, forgave the king, and restored
the elephant and the guards to life.
A poor Jangam having solicited alms of Kinnaraya, one of Basava's
chief disciples, the latter touched the stones about them with his
staff, and converting them into gold, told the Jangam to help himself.
The work is also in many places addressed to the Jainas, in the shape
of a dialogue between some of the Jangama saints and the members of
that faith, in which the former narrate to the latter instances of the
superiority of the Saiva religion, and the falsehood of the Jain
faith, which appears to have been that of Bijala Raza, and the great
part of the population of Kalyana. In order to convert them Ckanta
Ramaya, one of Basava's disciples, cut off his head in their presence,
and then marched five days in solemn procession through and round the
city, and on the fifth day replaced his head upon his shoulders. The
Jain Pagodas were thereupon, it is said, destroyed by the Jangamas. It
does not appear, however, that the king was made a convert, or that he
approved of the principles and conduct of his minister. He seems, on
the contrary, to have incurred his death by attempting to repress the
extension of the Vira Saiva belief. Different authorities, although
they disagree as to the manner in which Bijala was destroyed, concur
in stating the fact.
In the city of Kalyana were two devout worshippers of Siva, named
Allaya and Madhuvaya. They fixed their faith firmly on the divinity
they adored, and assiduously reverenced their spiritual preceptor,
attending upon Basava whithersoever he went. The king, Bijala, well
knew their merits, but closed his eyes to their superiority, and
listening to the calumnious accusations of their enemies, commanded
the eyes of Allaya and Madhuvaya to be plucked out. The disciples of
Basava, as well as himself, were highly indignant at the cruel
treatment of these holy men, and leaving to Jagaddeva, the task of
putting Bijala to death, and denouncing imprecations upon the city,
they departed from Kalyana--Basava fixed his residence at
Sangameswara.
Machaya, Bommidevaya, Kinnara, Kannatha, Kakaya, Masayana, Kolakila,
Bommadeva, Kesirajaya, Mathirajaya, and others, announced to the
people, that the fortunes of Bijala had passed away, as indicated by
portentous signs; and accordingly the crows crowed in the night,
jackals howled by day; the sun was eclipsed, storms of wind and rain
came on, the earth shook, and darkness overspread the heavens. The
inhabitants of Kalyana were filled with terror.
When Jagaddeva repaired home, his mother met him, and told him when
any injury had been done to a disciple of the Saiva faith, his fellow
should avenge him or die. When Daksha treated Siva with contumely,
Parvati threw herself into the flames, and so, under the wrong offered
to the saints, he should not sit down contented: thus saying, she gave
him food at the door of his mansion. Thither also came Mallaya and
Bommaya, two others of the saints, and they partook of Jagaddeva's
meal. Then smearing their bodies with holy ashes, they took up the
spear, and sword, and shield, and marched together against Bijala. On
their way a bull appeared, whom they knew to be a form of Basava come
to their aid, and the bull went first, even to the court of the king,
goring any one that came in their way, and opening a clear path for
them. Thus they reached the court, and put Bijala to death in the
midst of all his courtiers, and then they danced, and proclaimed the
cause why they had put the king to death. Jugaddeva on his way back
recalling the words of his mother, stabbed himself. Then arose
dissension in the city, and the people fought amongst themselves, and
horses with horses, and elephants with elephants, until, agreeably to
the curse denounced upon it by Basava and his disciples, Kalyana was
utterly destroyed.
Basava continued to reside at Sangameswara, conversing with his
disciples, and communing with the divine Essence, and he expostulated
with Siva, saying, 'By thy command have I, and thy attendant train,
come upon earth, and thou hast promised to recall us to thy presence
when our task was accomplished.' Then Siva and Parvati came forth from
the Sangameswara Lingam, and were visible to Basava, who fell on the
ground before them. They raised him, and led him to the sanctuary, and
all three disappeared in the presence of the disciples, and they
praised their master, and flowers fell from the sky, and then the
disciples spread themselves abroad, and made known the absorption of
Basava into the emblem of Siva.[8]
[8] See the Mackenzie Collection, vol. 2, Halakanara MSS.
A writer in the Madras Literary Journal, upwards of fifty years ago,
said that by perusing the books and observing the customs of the
Jangams, we might plainly see the grounds of that hatred in which
Brahmins held the Jangams. Their leader was the resolute opponent of
every braminical principle. The Brahmins inculcated the adoration of
many gods. He declared that there was only one sole deity. They
venerated goddesses and subordinate beings; they reverenced cows,
hawks, monkeys, rats and snakes; they used fasts and feasts, penance
and pilgrimage, rosaries and holy water. All these he renounced; he
set aside the Vedas which they venerated. They declared Brahmins to be
literally gods upon earth, women to be vastly inferior to men in all
things, and parias to be utterly abominable. Basava abolished these
distinctions. He taught that all men are holy in proportion as they
are temples of the great spirit; that by birth all are equal; and
amongst those whom the Jangam books describe as saints, we find not a
single Brahmin, but many parias and many women. In the braminical
writings, women are usually treated in a manner abhorrent to European
feelings, but in the Jangama books we find a very different temper.
The three words Guru, Linga, Jangam, are said to comprise the creed of
the sect, and were evidently intended to disavow every part of the
braminical priestly tyranny. This mystic phrase is thus expounded. The
image (lingam) is the deity: the Jangam is the wearer or fellow
worshipper: and he who breathes the sacred spell in the ear is the
Guru. Thus he supplies the link between the god and the worshipper,
and ever after is looked upon with affection as the true parent: even
more respected than the father according to the flesh. For, says the
Jangam, I am one with the deity, and he alone is my father who
conferred this unity on me.
"Brahmins frequently allege that the Jangams are a depraved sect, who
are guided by the Tantras or heretical books," says Mr. Brown, "but we
should not incautiously believe this. The Jangams are in all respects
opposed to licentiousness, which is the main-spring of the Tantras.
The Jangams came from the west, the Tantricas from the north. The
Jangams adore the Linga, and abhor Maia the goddess of delusion (Venus
or Cali, as Devi), who is expressly the goddess (Yoni, or Bhaga
Malini) of the Tantricas. The Tantricas take no notice of the Lingam;
they adore Betala (the devil), and other malevolent powers. The
Jangams honour Siva as Daxina Murti, or the beneficent and loving
deity. The Tantricas say they aim at a perfect release from fleshly
lusts. The Jangams do the same. But the former being hypocrites
pretend to yield to their passions as the path to freedom. Whereas the
Vira Saivas call on their votaries to deny themselves in all respects.
They attend especially to the rules concerning funerals, marriage; and
placing infants in the creed. On all these points the Tantras are
silent. The Tantras inculcate the use of flesh, wine, magic and
debauchery, the Jangam creed abhors these. The Jangams are an avowed
sect; the Tantricas assume the guise of Smartas. The Jangams train up
their children in their creed; the Tantricas merely admit proselytes.
The Jangams are sober, devout and humble; the Tantricas are debauched,
atheistical and proud. The Jangams are rigid puritans: the Tantricas
are licentious atheists. Herein their depravity resembles that of the
worshippers of Isis in Rome, the St. Simonians in France, the
Illuminati, and other philosophers of Germany, the followers of
Cagliostro in Italy, and the Nessereahs at Kerrund in Persia."
With a few touches of his felicitous pencil, Shakespeare has given a
view of their system, or _philosophy_ which is the Sacti Puja or
Worship of Power.
"Thus everything includes itself in Power:
_Power_ into will: will into Appetite:
And Appetite, an universal wolf,
So doubly seconded with Will and Power
Must make perforce an universal prey,
And, last, eat up himself."
TROILUS I.
Again (ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, II., 1.)--
"Let witchcraft join with beauty, lust with both:
Tie up the libertine in a field of sweets
Keep his brain fuming," &c.
Indeed, the sottish aspirations of Gonzalo (Tempest, Act II, Scene 1),
give a summary of the bacchanalian rites taught in the Tantras. And if
the reader has any curiosity regarding their system of magic, he will
find it in Dr. Herklot's English translation of the Canom-e-Islam, or
customs of the Moosulmans of India.
Knowing the deserved odium that attaches to the Tantras, Brahmins
assert that these constitute the Jangam system. But were this the case
how does it happen that the Tantra volumes are found only in the
possession of Brahmins? The fact is that both parties read the Tantras
from motives of curiosity, just as a Protestant might read the Koran
without in any point adopting the Mahommedan faith. The Jangams
honestly avow, and vindicate all they do, they have no motive for
concealment. The Brahmin acts on an opposite principle and assures us
that the Jangams are a depraved and senseless set of heretics, who
obey the levelling principles of the Tantras, and pay honour to the
vilest castes.
It is to be observed that no instance is known of a Vira Saiva acting
on the principles laid down in the Tantras. To excuse their aptness to
read these abominations they allege that the Tantras belong to their
creed because they describe Siva as the great deity, and countenance,
as Basava does, the abolition of caste. These are but slender
apologies, for such an imitation of the evil example set them by the
Brahmins.
The Minda Jangamas or Bachelors are spoken of in various passages of
the Lingadhari poems. They are confessed to be libertines, but are
devout. They have interviews with (Vesias) courtezans who are likewise
devout!!
The following is the received opinion. The Jangams are entirely
forbidden to have intercourse with prostitutes: but among the earliest
proselytes were some unmarried men, who were permitted by Basava to
have intercourse with courtezans who belonged to the sect. These men
were called Minda Jangams or libertines, and in the present age there
are none; for all are bound either to marriage or to virtuous
celibacy.
In the western districts there are prostitutes who are called
Basvinis, and are said to be thus devoted by their parents, on their
lives being in danger through illness in infancy. Some of these are
daughters of Jangams: but all are not so, being children of Hindus of
other castes. I have heard of some Jangams in similar cases attempting
to remove a child's illness by giving it a braminical name, with a
view to appease some god or goddess, whose displeasure is imagined to
have caused disease. These statements certainly shew the purity of the
creed not to be so complete as its devotees assert.
The Vira Saivas illustrate their creed by a comparison quite in the
Hindu style. They say, the guru is the cow: whose mouth is the Jangam
or brother in the faith; and the lingam or image is the udder. The cow
benefits its owner by means of the udder: but what fills the udder?
the mouth. And what connects the mouth and the udder? the body.
Accordingly if a Vira Saiva wishes the image to benefit him (that is,
if he desires to obtain the favour of the deity), he must feed the
mouth--that is sustain and comfort his brethren. And then the blessing
will be conveyed to him by means of the teacher. Accordingly the
Jangams blame the Aradhyas for neglecting this command, and ask how
they can expect the image to nourish them if they neglect to sustain
brethren and fellows in the faith, for the Aradhya refuses to look
upon any but Aradhyas as brethren.
The strangest part of their legends regarding Siva is that wherein he
is represented in the most contemptible light as completely the
servant of various worthies or saints. Such stories abound in the
Basava Puran but are excluded from the Lila. In these, some personages
are represented under most degraded circumstances, as obeying or
waiting upon the saint whom the legend extols. Thus in the fourth book
of the Basava Puran is a story of a certain "worthy" named Nambi, who
by force of faith got Siva so completely into his hands that he
employed the god as a mere slave. In another story one of the
"worthies" scolded Siva, who was so much alarmed that he slunk round
the other side of the image, and ran away into the jungle. Other
stories represent this paltry demi-god acting either as a thief or as
a receiver of stolen goods, to protect his adorers; and they
frequently represent him as acting the part of a pander, at the
bidding of one of the worthies.
In apology for these stories Jangams allege that they all establish
the necessity of faith as the great means of attaining happiness and
miraculous power. "As the Brahmins," say they, "call themselves gods
upon earth, we will shew that our worthies are quite a match for
them." Accordingly there are many legends to prove that food or the
leavings of food blessed by a worthy, can perform all sorts of
miracles. For instance, a Brahmin, who, by a curse, had become a
swine, ate what a Jangam had spit out and hereby resumed the human
form. Elsewhere a Jangam's shoe works miracles.
* * * * *
Ravunu was once carrying an unadee-lingu from Himaluyu to Lunka, in
order that he might accomplish all his ambitious schemes against the
gods, for it was the property of this stone, also called Kamu-lingu,
to grant the worshipper all his desires, whatever they might be.
Shinu, however, in permitting him to remove this, his image to Lunka,
made Ravunu promise that wherever he let it touch the ground, there it
should be set up.
When the gods saw that Ravunu was carrying this stone to Lunka, all
their heavens were in an uproar, for they knew that if Ravunu could do
what he pleased, neither Indru nor any other god would be able to sit
on his throne. Council after council was held, and appeals to this and
to that god made, in vain. At last it was resolved that Vurvonu should
be sent, to cause the sea to enter the belly of Ravunu, who would
thereby be compelled to set the stone down while he discharged his
water. (Ravunu could not continue to hold the lingu while in this act,
as a person becomes unclean at this time until he has bathed). Vurvonu
accordingly set off, and entered the belly of Ravunu, as he was
carrying the lingu on his head, and the latter soon began to feel the
effect of his visit. His belly swelled prodigiously, but he went on
till he could hold his water no longer. At this moment Indru, in the
form of an old Bramhun, met him. Ravunu asked him who he was, and
where he was going? The latter told him he was an old Bramhun going
home. Ravunu entreated him to take hold of the lingu for a short time,
and he would bestow upon him the greatest favours. At length the
Bramhun consented, and Ravunu, setting the lingu on his head, squat on
his hams to ease himself. The Bramhun agreed to hold the stone an hour
but no longer. Ravunu told him he should not keep him half that time.
After Ravunu had thus sat for four hours, the Bramhun complained he
could hold the stone no longer, and he threw it down,--when the bottom
part sunk into patulu, and the top part remains to this day in a place
in the zillah of Beerbhoom, called Voidyunathu, which is also the name
of this lingu, and the river at that place called Khursoo is said to
have arisen from the water of Ravunu. Ravunu when he arose, seeing
what had taken place, full of rage and disappointment, went home: some
accounts say, having discovered that the gods had played him this
trick, he went and fought with them in the most furious manner.