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JULY, 1875.]
SEVEN LINGAYTA LEGENDS.
trtct.
on Monday the first day of the bright fortnight which was a kampanat of the Banavase Disof the month Pushya of the Rakshasa samvatsara which was the year of the Saka 997, he laved the feet of the holy Pârnanandabhaṭṭâraka, who was the chief (saint) of that place, and set apart, with oblations of water and as a grant to be respected by all,-for the decoration of the temple of the god the holy Narasimhadêva, who was located above the bank of the tank called Pêrgatta of the capital of Balligåve, and for the worship of the god, the one (town) of Kundavige, a town which was near tot the Mugund Twelve
The tank of the large flight of steps or ghaut','gaṭṭa' being a Tadbhava corruption of "ghatta'.
211
SEVEN LINGAYTA LEGENDS.
BY REV. F. KITTEL, MERKARA.
The following legends, of which a literal | Nandikesa become angry, and squeeze and break
translation is given, are taken from the Anubhavasikhámani, a popular Liñgayta composition in Kannada (Canarese). It was finished on a Monday (somavára) which was the fifth lunar day (pinchami) of the dark lunar fortnight (bahula) of the sixth lunar month (báhdrapada) of the sarvadhari year. One of our copies dates from 1844 A.D. Its contents, however, as the author states, are based on a work by the Lingâyta poet Raghava, who lived about 1300 A.D., and was the nephew and pupil of the guru and poet Hari, called also Hari Hara and Hari Deva. At least three of the legends are alluded to in the 54th chapter of the Kannada Basava Purána of 1369 A.D., the author of which knew the celebrated Raghava and his uncle. The allusions are contained in the following sentences:-"Parvatiśvara (as Virabhadra) took the form of Sarabha, destroyed the Narahari (Narasimha), and put on the skin-cloth." (v. 42; No. 5.) "When that Sanatsut a (Sanatkumâra) became proud in the presence of Sri Sadasiva, did he not become a camel ?" (No. 1.) "When the master Vyasa, from rudeness, said: Even Vâsudeva is god!' and raised his hand, did not
+ 'Baliya'.
I have shown that kampana' is a convertible term with bada' in its second meaning of a circle of towns constituting an administrative post; see Note 37 to No. VII of the Ratta inscriptions previously referred to. Bada', a Tadbhava corruption of the Sanskrit 'vata', enclosure of a town or village, fence, wall, hedge, &c., occurs here in its
Whosoever preserves this act of piety shall obtain as much religious merit as if he were to cause the horns and hoofs of a thousand tawnycoloured cows to be fashioned out of the five jewels§ at Gaye, or Gange, or Kurukshetra, or Vâranâsi, or Prayage, and were to give them to Brahmans thoroughly well versed in the Vêdas! They say that poison is not poison, but the property of a god is called poison; for, poison slays only one, but the property of a god, (if confiscated), destroys one's children and their posterity.
his arms?" (v.49; conf. 57, 24; No. 6.) Besides, the author of the Purána puts these words into the mouth of the Lingâyta Södḍala B â chiarasa (Bachi raja, Bachi ayya), a contemporary of Basa va at Kalyana in the Nizam's country who was the founder of the Lingâyta sect; Bâchi at the time is represented as being angry with king Bijjala for his setting up an image of Govinda. The author therefore refers the existence of the legends to the end of the 12th century A.D. Captain Mackenzie (vol. II. page 49 of this journal) says that the story brought forward by him concerning Vyasa's arm is from the Skanda Purana; to a Sanskrit version of the story the slokas interwoven with the present Kannada version also point. Further, the Vaishnava dâsa song quoted in vol. II. p. 311 of this journal (conf. vol. II. p. 133), seems to indicate that Vyasa's arm and Nandi's staff were already in existence in Râm â - nuja's time, about 1127 A.D.
So the legends give us some insight into the time when the Vira Saivas and Vira Vaishnavas in the south were fighting with each other for supremacy, using all sorts of weapons; that about the janitára (janvi) is
first meaning of a town; it occurs frequently as 'wad' as the termination of the modern names of villages. Kam pana' is probably another form of the Canarese kampala kampilu, a cluster, heap, assemblage, multitule. In No. 1 of the Bankapur inscriptions this word is written 'kan. pana', the only instance in which I have yet met with it in that form.
§ Gold, the diamond, the sapphire, the ruby, and the pearl; or, gold, silver, coral, the pearl, and the Kagapatta.
