Jangam.

It is recorded, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that “the orthodox theory among the Lingāyats is that their religion was founded by a number of Achāryas, the most famous of whom were Renuka, Daraka, Gajakarna, Ghantakarna and Viswakarna, who are the Gotrakartas of the Lingāyat Dwijas, having received their mandate direct from Siva to establish his true religion on earth, or rather to restore it to its purity. As belonging to the Apprakrita Srishti, the Vīrasaivas are enjoined not to follow that portion of the Vēdas which treats of Yagnas or animal sacrifices. Their contention is that karma, or the performance of ceremonies, is of two kinds, namely, one relating to the attainment of worldly desires, and the other relating to the attainment of wisdom or gnana. The idea of salvation in Brāhmanical religions generally is the attainment of desires, going to Swarga or Heaven, where one would enjoy eternal bliss. But salvation, as understood by the Vīrasaiva religion, is something different, and goes one step further, meaning absorption into and attainment of oneness with the deity. Consequently, they are prohibited from performing all those ceremonies which relate to the attainment of Swarga, but are bound to perform those which relate to gnana or wisdom, and to salvation as understood by them. The five great Gotrakartas established five great religious centres in different parts of India, viz., Ekorama at Ketara in the Himalayas, Viswacharya at Benares, Marutacharya at Ujjain, Pandithacharya at Srīsaila in Cuddapah district, and Renukāchārya at Balehalli or Balehonnūr in Koppa tāluk (of Mysore), at all of which places the mutts still exist. The heads of these mutts have geographically divided the Lingāyats into five great divisions, and each head exercises spiritual control within his own legitimate sphere, though all of them have a general jurisdiction over all the Lingāyats generally. Each of these mutts, called simhasanas (thrones), has sub-mutts in important popular centres under the management of Pattadaswāmis. Each sub-mutt has a number of branch mutts, called Gurusthala mutts, under it, and these latter are established wherever a community of Lingāyats exists. The rights and duties of the Swāmis of these mutts are to preside on all ceremonial occasions, to receive their dues, to impart religious instructions, to settle religious disputes, and to exercise a general control over all matters affecting the interests of the community at large. But one particular feature of this sect is the existence of another order of priests, called Viraktas, also known as Nirabharis or Jangamas, who hold the highest position in the ecclesiastical order, and therefore command the highest respect from laymen as well as from the above mentioned clergy. Each Virakta mutt is directly subject to the Murgi mutt at Chitaldrug, which has absolute jurisdiction over all the Viraktas. Most Lingāyat towns have a Virakta mutt built outside the town, where the Swāmi or the Jangama leads a solitary, simple and spiritual life. Unlike the other priests, the Virakta is prohibited from presiding on ceremonial occasions, and from receiving unnecessary alms unless for the purpose of immediately distributing the same to others. He should devote his whole life partly to spiritual meditation, and partly to the spreading of spiritual knowledge among his disciples, so that he would be the fountain head, to whom all laymen and all clergy must turn for spiritual wisdom. His position, in short, should be that of a pure Sanyāsi of the most exalted order. But here, as in the case of most other Indian ecclesiastical orders, the modern representative of the ancient prototype is far different from the ideal.”

Sacrifices are contrary to the tenets of the faith, but the practices of other Hindus are to some extent copied. When laying the foundations of a house, a cocoanut is broken, incense offered and camphor burnt. When setting up the main door frame, a ceremony called Dwāra Pratishta is performed. On that day, or a subsequent day, an iron nail is driven into the frame, to prevent devils or evil spirits from entering the house. After the house is completed, the ceremony of Graha Pravēsam takes place. With all Lingāyat ceremonies the most important feature is the worship of the jangam, and in this instance the house is sprinkled with water, in which the Jangam’s feet have been washed. Jangam’s friends and relatives are then entertained and fed in the house.

Theoretically, any one may become a Lingāyat by virtue of investiture with the lingam. But in practice very few outsiders are admitted. The priests do not proselytise. The elders of the community sometimes persuade a relative or friend to join the fold. In the Bellary district, it is believed that the religion is not spreading. The contrary seems to be the case in the Bombay Presidency. The Bijapur Gazetteer states that the wearing of the lingam, and the desertion of Brāhmans for Jangams as priests, are still spreading among the Brāhmanical castes of Bijapur, and adds “In Mr. Cumine’s opinion few castes have remained beyond the influence of the new sect, and between Lingāyatism and Islam, Brāhmanism will in a few centuries be almost extinct.” According to Mr. C. P. Brown, the Jangams insist upon any candidate for admission undergoing a probation of ten or twelve years. The authorities at Ujjini state that there is a recognised scale of probation ranging from three years for the Brāhman to twelve years for the Sūdra, but the Jangams admit that no Brāhmans are ever converted now, and the probation period is probably not enforced. The castes from which outsiders occasionally come are the various sub-divisions of the Kāpu or Reddi caste. It is not uncommon to find all the Neredi Kāpus in one village wearing the lingam, while the people of the same caste in a neighbouring village are not Lingāyats. The Pakanāti Kāpus illustrate the same rule. Lingāyat and non-Lingāyat Kāpus who are relatives eat together, and in some cases intermarry.

Lingāyatism has recently made converts from other castes. In the last century, many weavers of Tuminkatti in the Dharwar district of Bombay were converted by a Jangam from Ujjini, and are now known as Kurvinavāru. They have abandoned all social intercourse with the parent caste.

According to Basava’s teaching, even the lowest castes could join the community, and obtain equality with other Lingayāts. The Abbé Dubois wrote that, “even if a Pariah joins the sect, he is considered in no way inferior to a Brāhman. Wherever the lingam is found, there they say is the throne of the deity, without distinction of class or rank. The Pariah’s humble hut containing the sacred emblem is far above the most magnificent palace where it is not.” These were undoubtedly the views of the founder, but his orders are not followed at the present day. The authorities at Ujjini deny that any Māla or Mādiga can become a Lingāyat, and say that, even if he wears a lingam, it has not been given him by a Jangam. There is a class of Mālas called Chalavādis, whose duty it is to accompany Lingāyat processions, and ring a bell. These Chalavādis wear the lingam. It is, however, the accepted rule amongst Lingāyats of the present day that a Māla or Mādiga cannot wear lingam.

In a note on the relations between Lingāyats and Brāhmans,[42] Mr. T. V. Subramanyam refers to the long-standing differences between them in the Bellary district. “The quarrel,” he writes, “has reference to the paraphernalia the former may carry in their religious processions, and has its origin in a legend. The story runs that Vedavyasa, the author of the Mahābharata and a fervent devotee of Vishnu, once went to Benares with the object of establishing the superiority of his favourite deity in that stronghold of Saivism. Within the precincts of the temple, he raised his hands aloft, proclaiming that Vishnu was the supreme God, when, to the consternation of the assembled worshippers, Nandi, the trusted servant and vehicle of Siva, whose sculptured image is found in every temple sacred to his master, rose up in indignation, and cut off the right hand of the blasphemous sage. The principal insignia claimed to be used in Lingāyat processions are makaratoranam, pagaladivitti, svetachhatram, nandidhvajam, and vyasahastam. No objection is raised by the Brāhmans to the use of the first three of these, which are respectively a banner with the representation of a tortoise embroidered thereon, torches carried during the day, and a white umbrella. The nandidhvajam consists of a long pole, at the upper end of which floats a flag with a representation of Nandi, and to which is affixed an image of Basava, the founder of the sect. The vyasahastam is a similar pole, from which a wooden arm is suspended. The assertion of the prowess of Nandi, and the perpetuation of the punishment alleged by the Lingāyats to have been inflicted on Vyasa for daring to declare the supremacy of Vishnu, as symbolised by these emblems, are equally offensive to all classes of Brāhmans, as the sage is reverenced equally by Vaishnavas, Mādhvas, and Smartas. Besides these emblems, the Lingāyats claim that, during their processions, they are entitled to ring a bell, which is usually suspended from the flat end of a large ladle-like object. The Brāhmans object to this, however, as the bells are carried by low-caste persons, who ring them with their feet, to the accompaniment of chants intended to insult the Brāhmans and their religious creeds. They contend also that the hollow of the ladle is designed in mockery of the Brahmakapala (or skull of Brahma), which is very sacred in their eyes.... In the year 1811, a dispute arose regarding the display of the nandidhavajam and the vyasahastam, an enquiry into which was held by the Judge of Bellary, who issued a proclamation for general information throughout the district, prohibiting the procession altogether, and declaring that no person should attempt it, on pain of being put in irons, and sent to take his trial before the Court of Circuit.... When the Sringeri Swāmi, known as Jagadguru or spiritual head of the universe, visited Bellary in 1888, certain Lingāyats petitioned the District Magistrate, praying that, if he was to be allowed to enter the town displaying his usual paraphernalia, their gurus must also be allowed a similar privilege during their processions. The petitioners were directed to meet the agent of the Sringeri Swāmi, and they agreed with him, to quote from the Collector’s order, in a spirit of mutual consideration that the processions of the gurus of the Smarta Brāhmans and of the Lingāyats should be peaceably conducted, and that, in the latter, neither the nandidhvajam nor the vyasahastam should be used. In 1899, it was decided in a Civil Court that the bells used in the processions of the Lingāyats should be rung with the hands and not with the feet, and that the Chalavādis, or bell-ringers, should not utter any cries or chants offensive to the feelings of the Brāhmans. In 1901, the Collector negotiated a compromise between the Lingāyats and the Brāhmans of Rayadrūg, by which the display of all insignia, except the vyasahastam, was permitted to the former. Apparently, the Brāhmans have not been satisfied with the terms of this compromise, as, subsequent to 1901, they have started civil litigation, in which it is contended that the use of nandidhvajam is itself objectionable. At the present moment, therefore, the Brāhman Lingāyat controversy is exactly where it was a hundred years ago.”

Non-Lingāyats, wishing to join the faith, have to undergo a three days’ purification ceremony. On the first day they get their face and head shaved, and take a bath in cow’s urine and ordure. Except these articles, they are under a prohibition to drink or eat anything else that day. On the second day they bathe themselves in dhulodaka, i.e., water with which a Jangam’s feet have been washed, and eat sugar and drink cow’s milk. On the third or last day, they take a panchamrutham bath, i.e., they apply to the head and body a paste made of plantains, cow’s milk, ghī (clarified butter), curds and honey, and wash it off with water; they drink the water (thirtham) in which a Jangam’s feet have been washed; the lingam is tied on by the Jangam, and the convert eats with other Lingāyats. Women also undergo this ceremony, but in their case shaving is omitted.

Disputes are settled by a panchāyat (council) headed by one of the community called Yejamān or Setti, assisted by the Reddi or headman called Banakara. Where there is no Setti, the Reddi takes his place. The Setti is appointed by the community, after the office itself has been created by the Simhasanadhipati of the mutt. The other members of the panchāyat are not permanent, but are selected for the occasion. The panchāyat also tries offences against caste rules, and imposes fine on the culprit. The money, when collected, is given to some mutt or temple. Failure to pay is punished by excommunication. Any one may be appointed Setti, but the post is hereditary. It is an honorary post carrying no remuneration, and the enquiries of the panchāyat entail no expense, except in the cost of supplying pānsupāri (betel leaves and areca nuts). The panchāyat is not limited in numbers, all the leading members of the community being invited to attend. Appeals from the decisions of the panchāyat lie to the mutt to which the village is subordinate. In Bellary appeals go to Ujjini. The orders of the mutt are final. The Ujjini authorities say that the only punishment that can be inflicted is to interdict the offender from all social intercourse. He is practically “put into Coventry”; but is released on payment of a fine to the guru, so the punishment is in fact a fine. The appointment of a new Setti is a solemn function, resembling the instalment of a church dignitary. The priests and Settis of neighbouring villages assemble, and instal the new man. The following is the order of precedence amongst them:—