A Survey of Veerashaiva Religion and Literature

A SURVEY OF VIRASHAIVA RELIGION AND LITERATURE

SAMVAHANA Publishers

No. 12/1, Behind Evening Bazaar Shivarampet, Mysore - 570 001

For Sri B. Mudalappa, my foster-father

who made me what I am today.

For my parents Smt. Parvathamma and Sri Basavayya

and for my sisters Smt. Gangamma and Smt. Nanjamma

and my brother-in-law Sri Soorayya with love.

PREFACE

This work, 'A Survey of Virashaiva Religion and Literature' is an attempt at picking up randomly and putting together a collector's choices in the history of a distinguished religion and its literature principally found written and documented in Kannada, though Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi too have their share in it. Obviously the work targets English knowing people who are not familiar with these languages in which this oriental religion found itself expounded in a variety of literary forms unravelling its story, history, philosophy, mysticism, theology, epistemology and experiential readings into the life.

The vachanas produced in Kannada by the Shiva Sharanas of the 12th century are a unique literary genre in Indian literature. This form which the sharanas invented to share their experiential readings into the mundane and the divine is believed to be rare and singular in world literature. This historic event culminating in the assembly of countless saintly men and women acted as a catalyst and perennial source of inspiration for hundreds of poets, writers, philosophers, folk-singers, saints, savants and mystics down the ages. What is most surprising about this movement was under its influence the creation of a dynamic society based on secular credentials that continues to live, evolve and progress imbibing the spirit of the religion and its literature even to this day. This could become a reality because of one specific reason that the religion in the successive centuries prompted the production of as diverse but unifying literature as deserving to be termed revolutionary, multi-formed and multi-dimensional. In its totality this literature is now addressed as Virashaiva or Lingayat literature reflecting all that is associated with the religion's legend, history, thought and philosophy. To narrate, illustrate, explain, interpret, define, describe, decipher and infer all about this religious system hundreds, nay thousands, of literary compositions, some of them literary masterpieces, have come to be written over the centuries. Volumes need to be written to put down all this into writing in any language. While working on this 'Survey…', more frequently than not, I suspected my abilities to do this work. At such times my only comfort was that mine is only a survey! And it terminates at the end of the 19th century. With the dawn of the 20th century the history of both the religion and its literature steps into modern age that demands a totally different treatment.

It was, when I was working on my recent novel in Kannada 'Jagada Nanta' I developed an intense fascination for this subject that grew with the progress of the novel. I would ask myself, 'Why don't I try a survey of this religion and its literature for those who are outside the ambit their languages?' Soon after completing the novel I took up this work and nearly a decade later my efforts are seeing the light of day.

I am deeply indebted to Sri D.N. Lokappa, my friend and well wisher, who is the publisher of this work. His perennial interest in much of my literary pursuits and his continued support are unforgettable. My heart goes to him. I can only say, 'Thank you, Sir!'. I also thank my friends Prof. K. Devaraja Hegde and Prof. S. Subbasetty who were too eager to see this work published and whose love and steadfastness through the dust and tumble of my life I cherish most. I also thank my young friend. Dr. C. Vedamurthy, who teaches physics in an Engineering College, and an avid reader of my works and a well meaning critic. My indebtedness is also due to hundreds of writers, authors, editors, research scholars, resource persons and their writings from whom I resourced the material during the writing of this work, but whose names I cannot list here due to paucity of space. I can only say I am humbled before their invaluable work! And lastly I remember with reverence Dr. A.K. Ramanujan, some of whose translations of Kannada vachanas I have used in this work marked with asterisk at the end of such vachanas. The rest of the vachanas are my own translations.

Prof. Chandrashekharaiah

Mysore

11-4-2013, Ugadi

Copyrights

A Survey of Veerashaiva Religion and Literature

First Edition

Copyright © 2013 Chandrasekharaiah

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-81-925808-3-8

Chapter - I SHAIVISM AND VIRASHAIVISM

The origin of Shaivism is not all that obscure. Studies made by both eastern and western scholars based on material of historical significance reveal that Shaivism is the most ancient and indigenous religious system of India. It has also been conclusively proved by similar sources that the most earliest civilized inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent had been worshipping Shiva. The Aryan advent, if any, was a later development which according to some scholars was an intrusion by a less civilized but more advanced militarily into a more civilized but militarily less powerful society of indigenous people. The god, Shiva, that the Indus valley people had been worshipping was not of Aryan origin and Shaivism in its pristine form had nothing to do with the Vedic religion of the Aryans. In fact it was only later that Shiva was appropriated into the pantheon of Vedic gods as Rudra, one of Shiva’s multifarious forms of manifestation. Historically speaking it is rather difficult to point out when exactly the fusion or amalganation between Shaivism and the Vedic religion took place. But it remains a fact that the Vedic or Brahmanical religion with all its rites and ritual sacrifices could not gobble up or neutralize the power of Shaivism, let alone rendering it become defunct. When the two were competing for survival it appears that the in-built socio-humanistic quality of Shaivism, that stressed on the importance of devotion alone between God and man, seems to have helped it stand firmly rooted. Since it pleased and fed the emotional psyche of the common people, it also received their epistemological approbation. Further Shaivism was not a dogmatic religion, rather a way of life evolved over the years guiding individuals in terms of spiritual as well as material progression. In response to this the Vedic religion was subtly influenced to give up some of its own ground and compromise with the doctrine of Shaivism. This can be observed in how the Brahmanical orthodoxy over the centuries imbibed the empirical spirit of Shaivism to avoid the consequence of being a system of mere orthodox practices. Scholars and historians who have made an in depth study of the evolutionary stages of Shaivism unequivocally state that Shaivism had centered round the worship of Shiva and Shakti as the primordial cause and effect of the creation. Further they have noted that its influence was not confined to north India alone, rather it was wide spread in the South of India as will. In this context the findings of Sir John Marshall at Harappa and Mohenjadaro and the opinion of G.U. Pope in his introduction to Manikkavachakar’s Tiruvachakam assume special significance. Sir John Marshall in his Mohenjadaro and the Indus Civilization observes, among the many revelations that Harappa and Mohenjadaro have had in store for us[i], none perhaps is more remarkable than this discovery that Shaivism has a history going back to the chalcolithic age or perhaps even further still, and that it thus takes place as the most ancient living faith in the world (‘Mohenjadaro and the Indus Civilization’ by Sir John Marshall, Vo l, Preface pp VII). And most of the historians including Sir John Marshall here put the date of this civilization between 2500 and 5000 B.C. The excavations conducted subsequently at many places in India do also testify that the Indus valley phenomenon was not confined to the Harappa-Mohenjadaro sites alone rather it was found in existence in many parts of India. The latest excavation conducted at Sembiankandiyur near Mayiladuturai in Tamil Nadu has led to the discovery of a polished stone Celt with the Indus script on it. According to Iravatham Mahadevan, an internationally acclaimed authority on Indus script, the find is the first ever discovery of its kind in Tamil Nadu bearing Indus script. Reading the script Mr. Mahadevan observes that the people of Indus valley and the Tamil county shared a common language which had been understandably Pro-Dravidian. He has put the date of this artifact with its script between 2000 B C and 1500 B C. The Archaeological Survey of India has confirmed the find and the script according to Mr. Mahadevan reads ‘Murukan’, and of significance is the fact that a number of Indus valley seals carry identical words. Earlier, pottery and artifacts bearing similar seals were also unearthed in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra regions.(The Hindu, May, 2006) G.U. Pope, an authority in the Tamil antiquity, observes in his introduction to Manikkavachakar’s Tiruvachakam as, ‘Shaivism is the old prehistoric religion of south India, essentially existing from Pre-Aryan times’, (Tiruvachakam, PP. LXXIV, Reprint 1959). The author Manikkacakar hails Shiva in this work as, ‘Praise unto Thee, God, Thou art indeed belonged to all lands.’ (Tiruvachakam, Porrittiruvakaval, lines 164-5) Scholars ascribe this work to pre-Christian-era and the words quoted above might be echoing the sentiments of the poet who had had the knowledge of the events of history suggesting the destruction of the Indus Valley Civilization and the subsequent religious developments following Aryan intrusion. The words ‘Southern land’ seems to be suggesting the author’s knowledge of the northern land as well where Shiva had lost His vestige and in due course found a firm foothold in the south. The Cilappadikaaram and Manimekhalai, two classics in Tamil of pre-Christian era, not only refer to Shiva as the first among gods but also describe His features, among others, as the lord with three eyes. Furthermore the Tamil works of the early Christian era highlight the divine sport of Shiva such as His Cosmic dance and the destruction of Tripura only to suggest that by then the influence of Shiva cult was wide spread in the south indicating the early stages of the development of Tamil Shaivism as a school of philosophy. And from this standpoint the stages of the evolution of Tamil Shaivism offer an absorbing study. Accepting that the evidences thrown up at Harappa-Mohenjadaro sites as also the views expressed in the early Tamil texts are sufficient to warrant that worship of Shiva was of Dravidian origin spreading to other regions of India we shall now turn our attention to how it branched off into several Shaivite schools. We cannot precisely say when the Aryans began their move in the northern parts of India nor can we conclusively establish the authenticity of their adventures since scholars differ on the theory of Aryan invasion. Absence of clinching evidence on either side of the Aryan theory of invasion has only led to doubt the Aryans as either natives or outsiders. But on one point there seems to be near unanimity that the Aryans and the Dravidians belonged to two distinguished races inhabiting the Indian sub-continent and at some point of time they intermixed resulting in the polarization of their religio-cultural and religio-economic values as also their metaphysical doctrines ultimately uniting them in such a way that their respective identity was completely lost. In the process their gods, religious practices, rituals and rites, traditions and beliefs got mixed up. It was only at the final stages of their convulsive religious-social-eschatological pursuits, it seems, emerged the scriptures such as the Vedas, the Upanishads, Agamas, Aranyakas etc., in which we find the end product of their philosophical debates in quest of the truth about the living and the non-living world and the unseen power they believed in that keeps everything ticking. In fact the Aryo-Dravidian unification was like the fulcrum of great speculative minds which sifted and sorted out matters related to spiritualism of astonishing heights. Consequently a number of metaphysical schools came into existence which over the centuries continued their search for an answer to the same old question. What is Reality?’ and that furthermore resulting in the birth of pantheons of gods and schools of philosophy such as animism, polytheism, pantheism, monotheism, monism, dualism, materialism etc. Though the Aryo-Dravidian unification was primarily based on the principle of give and take neither of the two was wholly inclined to give up their spiritual past completely and yet ready to assimilate the best in each other’s stock. In consequence the Dravidian Shiva made his entry into the pantheon of Aryan gods and similarly from among the many Aryan gods Vishnu was absorbed into the main stream of Dravidian cult. It appears this mode of dramatic exchange between the Dravidians and the Aryans continued for a pretty long time culminating in a rare kind of syncretic religio-cultural amalgamation formed on its own. Thus came to be created after all this tumult and churning a fine societal ethos that can be described as the synthetic culture of the Aryo-Dravidian people. The scriptures such as the Vedas and their companion works generated a lot of intellectual heat resulting in the emergence of the Upanishads. And the Agamas too which served as sub- texts to the Vedas occupied a place of importance in the routine religious life of the people. The vast literature so created subsuming all this and much more is often labelled as the Vedic literature, though they are expressly secular in spirit demanding an entirely different treatment. The Agamas by and large affiliated to the Vedas are too many to be counted easily and accordingly scholars do not agree as to their exact number, time and extent. However keeping the scope of this vast religious literature in mind we can conveniently classify them into three categories viz., 1. Shaivagamas 2. Sakthagamas 3. Vaishnavagamas and Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu presiding as their supreme godheads respectively.

The Shaivagamas

The Shaivagamas are believed to be delivered by Shiva to His consort Parvathi and being based on this premise they also are termed as Tantras, especially the Shakta Agamas. And again Shaivagams such as Karmikagama, Sukshamaga and Parameswaragama are not always treated as Tantras as we do in the case of Shaktagamas such as Kalitantra, Saktisangamatantra and Mahanirvanatantra etc., Scholars have by and large agreed on the total number of Agamas put at 28 although some disagree that there are a number of subordinate or secondary Agamas. Considering the specific issues being dealt in them scholars observe the Agamas are a sort of commentary on the Vedas. However some do not agree with this view on the ground that the Agamas, especially the Shaiva and Shaktagamas, are as ancient as or even earlier to the Vedas. Their contention is based on the fact of Shaivism being the oldest extant religious system of India. There seems to be truth in this since the Agamas do not always toe the line of the Vedas. They are explicit in their differences with the logic of rituals being expounded in the Vedas. A casual examination of how their respective subjects are discussed in them will make things clear that there are fundamental disagreements between the two. While the religion of the Vedas preach and propound the worship of many gods extolling the efficacy of being polytheist, the Agamas on the other hand have from the beginning highlighted the monotheistic approach to the Ultimate Reality, especially the necessity of a personal godhead in the life of an individual aspirant in his spiritual sojourn. In this context scholars have recognized the fact that the Vedic religion was essentially of the fire-cult whereas the Agamic religion was of the deistic cult. Such fundamental differences have prompted some historians as well as scholars to deduce that from the Aryan stand point the Agamas had come from outside. The etymology of the word ‘agama’ means, ‘that’ and what is of interest in this context is that for both the Dravidians and the Aryans, who at some point of time espoused enmity, ‘that’ or ‘the other’ indicated an outsider. Coming to the language of the agamas which being Sanskrit, historians and scholars postulate that when they first came to be composed were in the language of the Dravidians, probably the mother of all the four Dravidian languages now spoken in south India. Rendered into Sanskrit at some later date when the Aryo-Dravidian hostility ceased, the Agamas came to be treated on a par with the Vedas and other sacred works. After all this had happened it is presumed that the Dravidian versions disappeared mysteriously or came to be irretrievably lost. However there is little or no evidence to verify this occurrence. One more interpretation offered in this context for the word ‘agama’ might be of some interest: ‘a’ and ‘ga’ stand for ‘pasha’ and ‘pashu’, ‘ma’ stands for ‘pati’ meaning ‘matter’ ‘soul’ and ‘God’ respectively. The teleological relationship between God and soul, soul and matter which in due course developed into a system constituting the fundamentals of Shaivism. In its long journey from the time of the Indus Valley civilization to the 10th century A.D. Shaivism continued to flourish and evolve more or less responding to the spiritual needs of its adherents. But it was only in the centuries preceding and succeeding the 10th century that it metamorphosed into powerful religious force. During this period its two distinct branches, Tamil Shaivism and Kashmir Shaivism, consolidated their doctrinal positions resulting in the writing of their canonical texts elucidating and explaining their respective ways to redemption, the salvation. During this period the religious literature available of both the schools came to be collected and compiled. Despite this progression neither of the two schools was complete in the sense of it being a faith qualified to accommodate both spiritual and material demands and aspirations of individuals singly an collectively. In other words both of them unwittingly allowed themselves to be coerced by the dominant Brahmanical orthodoxy and compromise with the latter’s chosen way of retaining caste distinctions. Consequently the situation in the south of India warranted something radically revolutionary to bring succor and solace to the vast majority suffering under the draconian yoke of caste distinctions or the Varna system. The need of the time was largely met by a group of active and aggressive religious leaders, which around the 12th century successfully tried to revive and reestablish an ancient sect called Virashaivism.

Shaiva Sects

Scholars and historians have taken note of how Shaivism suffered hardship due to its heterogeneous confusion during the early Christian centuries. Though our knowledge of its sweep during the period of Indus Valley civilization is rather incomplete or rudimentary the same cannot be said of the first millennium of the present era. The literature produced in Sanskrit and other languages during the period abound in references made to Shaivite sects and their doctrines, though many a time disparagingly. During this period they were found deeply entrenched as monastic orders all over India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Gujarath to Assam and yet they suffered miserably for want of a common goal aimed at unification of all. In the absence of such a goal or a common welfare agenda they frittered away their material wealth and spiritual energies thereby abnegating the purpose of a true religion, religio perennis, and subjecting themselves to be later branded as shamanistic. Already disorganized and disoriented one or two of these branches fell on evil days indulging themselves in abominable practices of loathsome conduct. Despite this the spirit of Shaivism though not fully conceptualized was alive and kicking centered round the worship of Shiva. Under the circumstances, it appears, none of the sects had been able to win the hearts of the people nor had there been a committed following, with the exceptions of some sort of royal patronage they had sought to enlist, but remaining largely as monastic orders. Prominent among them were the sects known as the Pashupata, Kalamukha, Maheshwara, Kapalika etc., Literary and inscriptional sources offer palpable evidences to conclude that the Pashupata sect, with which Kalamukha sect is also identified, as the oldest and more wide spread monastic order. Attributed to Lakulisa or Nakulisa or Lakulishwara as its founder, the sect, according scholars, seems to have originated in Kashmir is about 5th century B.C. and later in the early pre-Christian era spread to many parts to north India including Nepal. By the turn of the 9th century AD the Pashupata or Kalamukha priests seem to have in large number migrated to southern India. However it is difficult to ascertain the circumstances which prompted them to migrate as itinerants. Historians attribute it to so many reasons that severe famine or loss of patronage or zeal to spread Pashupata doctrines or their peripatetic nature or probably foreign invasions might have triggered their movement. Regarding the last reason mention needs to be made of a series of invasions made by Mohammad Ghazni on the northwestern parts of India causing widespread unrest culminating in the destruction of Mathura and Somanath, two important seats of the Pashupata priests. Al-Beruni who chronicled about Mohamud’s, invasions in 1030 AD observes contemptuously, ‘Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot reach, to Kashmir, Banaras and other places. (Alberuni’s India 1-22, trans. By E.C. Sachau). Supporting this view David N. Lorenzen in his the Kapalikas and Kalamukhas (pp. 109) says, ‘If many Hindu scholars had fled to Kashmir, many of the more prudent Kashmiri scholars must have decided that the time was ripe to move elsewhere. Among them may have been the Kashmiri Kalamukhas who travelled to the South where some of their co-religionists had established themselves as early as the end of the eighth century.’ Following this the migration of the priests and preachers of the Shaiva sects to the South continued unabated under the threat of successive aggressions by Muslim invaders following Ghazni’s. However for a variety of reasons the Pashupata, Kalamukha, Kapalika, Mahesvara and other sects too lost their influence soon in the South. And by the beginning of the 11th century they had virtually become spent forces due to their ineptitude or meretricious existence with the exceptions of a couple of centers such as the ones at Balligave, Huli, Gadag, Belagave etc. in the Karnataka region.

Tamil Shaivism, Kashmir Shaivism and Virashaivism

Despite the fate that was meted out to the conglomerate of Shaiva sects it was for historic reasons that Kashmir Shaivism and Tamil Shaivism thrived very well under the circumstances prevailing in the North as well as South. By about the 10th century AD both Tamil and Kashmir Shaivisms had evolved as two distinct schools of religious thoughts, practices and philosophy. The religious literature they came to produce by this time expounding their doctrines which circumspected every aspect of their faith is profound in nature and quality requiring independent treatment. Geographically speaking they hailed from the two extreme ends of the land, north and the south of India. And as if to succeed the two Virashaivism or Lingayatism found itself rooted on the Deccan plateau beginning with the 12th century AD covering the present day Karnataka, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. And if the Kashmir Shaivism and Tamil Shaivism have their roots lost in the religion of the Indus Valley people, rather it is difficult to say the same thing about Virashaivism. Probably it originated at a later period from the same source. Though present in some pockets earlier in its rudimentary form its emergence in the 12th century was sudden and dramatic. But one thing seems to be certain that it stood up as a protestant socio-religious order drawing sustenance from both Kashmir Shaivism and Tamil Shaivism and also from the secular aspects of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Therefore it can be plausibly said that Virashaivism or Lingayatism was the flower of a tree the roots of which can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization. In fact it is a syncretic culmination of all that had been associated with Shaivism from the earliest times to the present. It has been convincingly established that Shaivism, whatever hue or colour it had taken at different stages of its long history, has unequivocally stressed on two aspects: 1. Worship of Shiva in the Linga form, and 2. Complete and unstinted devotion to Him. All else said or done is only peripheral or secondary. Coming to the ultimate realities Shaivism has this to say : 1. The supreme Being i.e. Shiva with male and/or female aspects including his immanent and transcendent aspects is the sole guiding spirit of both perceptible and imperceptible worlds. 2. Individual souls are graded, and 3. The objective universe is very much real. For almost all the Shaiva sects and schools of thought these three principles formed the basis of their dualistic philosophy. In Shaivism worship of the idols or images representing Shiva and his divine associates, gods and goddesses, continued to be promoted although the worship of Shiva in Linga form remained intact. Such worships were strong, intense and moving that devotees were said to experience some kind of mystical communion, which in some cases inspiring them to compose songs, sing, dance or chant sacred syllables to the accompaniment of musical instruments. This resulted in the promotion of temple worship, temple construction and temple architecture especially in south India. This in turn gave room for temple related rites and rituals resulting in the revival of priest-craft and orthodoxy reminiscent of the segregation caused by varnashrama, the so called divine ordained social order. When Shaivism was passing through such aberrations, it seems, Kashmir Shaivism in the North and Tamil Shaivism and Pashupata and Kalamukha monastic orders in the South tried to some extent successfully to revive the egalitarian values of the ancient Shaivism. Their efforts assumed some sort of a movement, a rebellion against the Brahmanical elements of the Vedic religion, which had been as always trying to hijack the cardinal principles of equality of man before God. However, it seems, Kashmir Shaivism could achieve little or no success in its attempt to contain the alien or foreign aggressive elements, which posed threat to its own survival. Consequently its proponents were left helpless either to compromise or flee to the southern parts of India.

The Tamil Shaivism

In the above context the history of ancient Tamil Shaivism is hagiologically different. Firmly rooted as it were in the Tamil country it not only succeeded in defending itself against coercive forces but succeeded to a great extent to reform itself so that it would become strategically broad based and inclusive. And by about 600 AD a fertile ground and a conducive environment were awaiting for the Nayanmars to appear and sow the seeds of equality and fraternity characterised by an unalloyed devotion to Shiva. For the next six hundred years or so the Nayanmars appearing in succession played and unforgettable role in reforming Tamil Shaivism. And much earlier to their arrival the ancient Tamil classics as the Cilappadikaram and Manimekhalai of the early Christian era and the Madhuraikanci a later work are so eloquent and categorical in their description of Shiva as the greatest of ass the gods. The Cilappadikaram describes Shiva as one and the only God who has not been born and as such has no parents. Referring to His transcendent nature of being timeless, the work says He alone will remain as He did in the past, as He does now and ever will be in the future. For the first time in Tamil literature this work makes a mention of the Panchakshara, the most propitiatory mantra according to Shaivites. And the Manimekhalai and Maduraikanci describe Shiva as one and the only god with the third eye on his forehead. In fact the Sangam literature in Tamil gives a vivid description of how Shiva looked blue-throated, three-eyed with matted hair upon which is seated the goddess Ganga, representing the divine river. He is found seated under a Banyan tree with a sword in hand. He is also eulogized as the only sustainer as well as the destroyer. He dances either to destroy or to create. Thus an anthropomorphic picture of Shiva in addition to His linga form, came to be conceived by the ancient Tamil classics which as literary medium served the cause of Shaivism as never before. However the Agamic view of the Supreme being as the one who is timeless, everlasting and eternal was never lost but continued to run as an undercurrent of everything said or done by the saints of all the Shaivite schools. The Nayanmars (7th –11th century AD), often referred to as the Purathanas in Kannada literature, are sixty-three or even more in number, though there is disagreement as to their names. They are credited with reviving and reforming the secular spirit of the ancient Tamil Shaivism. Peripatetic by nature they were charged with the visceral of unconditional devotion to Shiva. In them truly speaking personified the essence of Tamil Shaivism in all its glory and grandeur. These wandering minstrels, evidences corroborate, were instrumental in warding off the threat of both Buddhism and Jainism to Shaivism in south India. Under their influence Buddhism was simply not allowed to permeate itself into existence and Jainism had to remain context with whatever ground it had already held. Arriving in smaller groups intermittently over a period of six centuries they lived an exemplary life of devotion with utter simplicity and spiritual abandon and were radical enough to be called the harbingers of an egalitarian society in which distinctions of caste, creed, gender or station in life did not matter. They laid as much stress on the purity of inner life as on the outward living. Most of them were composers of hymns and the rest singers in praise of Shiva, their chosen one. The Thevarams, their compositions, are a unique literary creation in the Tamil language reflecting their mission in life, realization of the godhead. The most striking feature of the Nayanmars was their background. Of them Tirunilanakka Nayanar, Rudrapasupati, Tirujnana Sambandar, Somasimarar, Kananadar and Sirutonder were Brahmins. Sedaiya Nayanar, Yassajnani, Sundrara Murthy, Pugattunai Nayanar were Adi Shaivas. Kalarjanga(?) Nayanar, Meypular Nayanar, Pugal Chola, Narasinga Munaiyaru, Nedumara Nayanar, Seraman Perumal, Sediraja were princes. Amaraniti Ehappageyander, Murthy Nayanar, Kalikumarar and Siriyala were traders. Manakkanjar, Yearkon Kalikamar, Munaiyiduvar, Viralminda Nayanar, Chirutoneyar and Ileyandagudimara Nayanar were farmers. Thirunala Povar was an outcaste. Nesanayanarar was a weaver. Anayanayanar was a shepherd. Kuliya Nayanar was an oil-crusher, Bedara Kannappa was a hunter, Appar was a jaina. Athi Bhaktar was a fisherman. Tirukkuripputtondar was a washerman. Tirunilakantha was a potter, Karikkal Ammeyar was a lady belonging to merchant class. The occupations as inherited ones that the Nayanmars pursued were as important as their spiritual endeavours. They performed them as divine ordained ones which ultimately enabled them to transcend the limitations of caste barriers and restrictions. In this way the Nayanmars seem to be defying the occupation related caste or social status as of little consequence before their spiritual pursuits. Their doctrinal teachings are distinctly dualistic as opposed to the theory of illusion or mayavada of the non-dualists, the dominant contemporary school of philosophy. This must have quickened the process of increased temple building activities with popular support resulting in the construction of scores of monumental shrines, which even to this day stand as best examples of Dravidian art and architecture. The mission that the Nayanmars under took did just not end up in themselves and their influence confined to only the Tamil country. The mass appeal which even now is felt seems to be their singular achievement and their literary compositions, the Thevarams, have been acclaimed as messianic passages. Therefore it was natural for the Nayanmars to have cast a sanguine spell on the Virashaiva mystics, the Shiva Sharanas, of the twelfth century Karnataka. If the lives of the Tamil Nayanmars have rolled out models for the Shiva Sharanas to emulate, their achievement in general must have served as the apotheosis of earthly life. It can also be said that the Tamil Thevarams too, though not as a literary genre but as a concept of self expression, have exercised their influence on the Virashaiva mystics. And yet we cannot presume the Nayanmars to be the precursors of the Virashaiva mystics who later in the 12th century triggered an unparalleled socio-religious, socio-economic and socio-philosophical revolution in the country. Prominent among the reasons for this was their doctrinal differences and the fact that the Nayanmars appeared in a period of time spanning nearly six-hundred years to exert pointed and sustained influence. The Shiva Sharanas on the other hand appeared together in such a large number at one and the same time and converged, the dynamics of which certainly had its own advantage. By the turn of the 11th century AD the era of the Tamil Nayanmars was almost over. Similarly the theological influence of the Kashmir Shaivism had already been waning for some time and practically it had lost its external identity also by this time due to the migration of Kashmir Shaivites to the south and other parts of India following insecurity in the northwestern parts as a result of continued influx of invading forces from the outside. Despite this Shaivism continued to thrive and flourish in the country as a whole though of course not as a homogeneous entity. It was again due to a number of splintered groups, sects or sections, which gained or lost in their struggle for survival against the Brahmanical religion. This is evident in the criticism levelled against the Shaivitie sects by several commentators of the Brahma-sutra. For many of them devotion to Shiva itself was absurd or anathema and they had developed a disliking for such practices and doctrines as the ones which hailed the supremacy of Shiva. One of the main reasons for this hostility was probably the stand taken by the Shaivite schools towards caste distinctions. Shaivism at no point of time wasted its energy to perpetuate social hierarchy based on castes. In its set up even a low-born could get elevated to a higher status at least under ritual circumstances, thus accepting in principle the invalidation of the concept that birth was a deciding factor in respect of an individual’s caste. Caste consciousness was rather unknown to Shaivism in the beginning. In fact the Tantric worshippers of Shiva did indeed accept disciples from any caste by performing initiatory rites or rituals. Kularnavatantra, an Agama, declares, ‘Gone is the Sudra-hood of the Sudra and the Brahmana-hood of the Brahmana; there is no division into castes for one who is consecrated by initiation.’ (Ed. By T. Vidyaratna XIV.91) Brahma-sutra commentators such as Ramanuja and his preceptor Yamunacharya were known to have attacked persons or movements hostile to caste consciousness fearing it would weaken the Varna system. Ramanuja and his followers were quite aggressive whenever they criticized the Shaivite sets, which as ever before continued to remain dominant. This was true despite Ramanuja’s attempts at the emancipation of the lowborn. His attempts when viewed in the light of his conviction that the divine ordained social order was sacrosanct or unquestionable look half-hearted or theologically absurd.

Kalamukhas and the Virashaivism

The religious environment prevalent in the Karnataka region during 8-11th centuries was volatile and was in a state of flux. Though its political and economic scenario was by and large stable its religious structure was conspicuously dominated by Brahmanical manoeuvres aimed at weakening the Shaivite sects such as the Pashupatas, Kalamukhas, Kapalikas, Mahavratis etc., who had their own strongholds spread across the Karnataka region. Pitted against these diverse adversaries were Buddhism and Jainism; while the former by about the 8th century A.D. had as a practicing faith almost disappeared, the latter too, though upbeat till the end of the 10th century A.D. had lost its supremacy unable to grapple with the ground realities. Consequently Jainism was forced to beat a retreat by the Brahmanical Hindu revivalists who had in the meantime successfully enlisted the support of the ruling families. Royal patronage combined with the temple centric exploitative priest-craft had practically put the Brahmanical supremacy on the saddle. As the result of all these developments the 11th century Karnataka was a melting pot of religious fundamentalism characterized by contradictions and socio-religious conflicts. It was however the Shaivite sects such as the Pashupatas and the Kalamukhas which put tremendous pressure on the rulers and the lay to desist from falling prey to the Brahmanical machinations. In the race the most reformative and humane of the Shaivite sects, the Kalamukhas, alone could in their struggle against the forces of retrogression achieve some notable success. During the 10-11th centuries the Kalamukha Acharyas or teachers, though not well organized, had held sway over parts of Karnataka, Andhra and Maharastra. They had established themselves as monastic communities normally referred to as mathas. Inscriptions and religious texts in large number speak about them and their humanitarian services which rendered them immensely popular. The Kalamukha heads called the sthanapatis or sthanacharyas were by and large learned and many of them were undoubtedly great scholars and some of them being ‘Rajagurus’ or royal preceptors. They were radicals in thought and progressive in action. Though they did not overtly fight against casteism they looked upon and treated their disciples and followers as equals irrespective of their caste. Being tolerant, humane and magnanimous they even allowed a Buddhist or a Jaina to practice his faith in the precincts of their mathas. They were called ‘Kalamukha’ probably because of their foreheads being smeared with a black streak. The well-known Kodi matha at Balligave in Shimoga district was a typical Kalamukha monastery where according to inscriptions hundreds of students and disciples belonging to different castes were studying together. Similar institutions were found located at Srishaila in Andhra Pradesh and at Huli, Arasikere, Munavalli, Belagaum, Kuruvatti, Ittagi, Gadag, Sudi, Halebid, Nandi Hill, Mysore, Nagamangala, Kolar, Ingaleshvar, Kudalasangama, Hampi, Shimoga etc. In the likelihood of the Kalamukha religious texts, if there were any, being irretrievably lost we can presume they followed the ritual regimen of the Pashupata