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XXXV] History and Literature of Vira-saivism 47 soma-pīķha, there were four teachers of different priority, Revaņa, Marula, Vāmadeva', and Panditārādhya. These names are of a mythical nature, as they are said to be referred to in the different Vedas. But the names that we have quoted above from the Viraśaiva-guru-paramparā form a succession list of teachers up to the time of the teacher of the author of the manuscripta. On studying the succession list of teachers, we find that we know nothing of them either by allusion or by any text ascribed to them, excepting Vīra-bhadra, who has been referred to in the Siddhānta-śikhāmani3. We cannot say how much earlier Vīra-bhadra was than the author of the Siddhānta-śikhāmaņi. But since Vīra-bhadra is mentioned along with Basava in the same context, we may suppose that this Vira-bhadra could not have been much earlier than Basava. So if we are safe in supposing that Vīra-bhadra lived somewhere in the twelfth century, we have only to compute the time of the three Acāryas who lived before Vīra-bhadra. According to ordinary methods of computation we can put a hundred years for the teaching period of the three teachers. This would mean that Vīrasaivism as a sect started in the eleventh century. It is possible that these teachers wrote or preached in the Dravidian tongue which could be understood by the people among whom they preached. This would explain why no Sanskrit books are found ascribed to them. Basava was probably one of the most intelligent and emotional thinkers, who expressed his effusions in the Kāunāļa language.
But about our specification of the succession list of Vīra-saiva teachers much remains yet to be said. It does not explain anything about the other lines of teachers, of whom we hear from stray allusions. Thus we hear of Agastya as being the first propounder of the Saiva faith. We find also that one Reņukācārya wrote the work, Siddhānta-śikhāmaņi based upon the verdict of other Vīra-saiva works and giving us the purport of the mythical dialogue that took place between Reņuka-siddha and Agastya some time in the past. The Renuka-siddha was also called Revaņasiddha, and it is supposed that he expounded the Vīra-saiva Šāstra to Agastya in the beginning of the Kali age. We find at a much later date one Siddha-rāmeśvara, who was impregnated with
1 Another reading is Rāma-deva (eighth and sixteenth pațalas). 2 asmad-ācārya-paryantām bande guru-paramparām. (Madras manuscript.) : Siddhānta-śikhāmaņi. avataraņikā of the 36th verse, ch. 9.
