________________
378
SVASTI – Essays in Honour of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah
This connection of individual physical experience and ritualized social practices can be seen as an example of what Connerton calls ,,incorporated bodily practices“. According to Connerton (1989: 73-74) such practices are used as a very effective technique for linking the memory of a group with the memory of an individual. Applying this idea to the navanu pilgrimage of young women and others, it can be concluded that the socially important values, rituals, myths and legends of Adishvar and Shatrunjaya are remembered by the individual pilgrim, because they are inscribed into the individual memory by the unforgettable sensation of an extreme exhaustion. This effect is of a special importance for the young Jains such as the girls from Bengalaru, whom I presented in my case study. Though leading everyday lives which are quite averted from ascetic ideals and practices, they were able to resurrect their link to the Jaina community by the intense experience of the two months long navanu pilgrimage. This experience is intimately linked to the sacred centre Shatrunjaya. Especially the final ritual of giri puja clearly illustrates the exceptional relation between the navanu pilgrim and the sacred mountain of Shatrunjaya. This relation is established during the course of navanu as our case study of the four girls from Bengalaru shows. While the girls came as absolute beginners and without any special knowledge regarding their religious tradition, the intense bodily and devotional experience of 108 or more yatras made them adepts of pilgrimage and its rituals, which were quickly learned by heart. In the last pilgrimage of the giri puja not only all the five major places, but literally every corner of Shatrunjaya is worshiped, remembered and internalized in order to be carefully kept in mind and body. Thus, in the end of navanu, every performer becomes an expert in the eyes of other lay pilgrims. For example, whenever I asked a detailed question regarding the pilgrimage or the sacred mountain Shatrunjaya and my interview partner could not answer it, they often excused themselves by saying: „I do not know, sorry. Anyhow, ask my sister. She has performed navanu!" Similar to an ascetic a performer of navanu is thus attributed with an unquestioned authority. Strikingly, this extraordinary knowledge of the navanu pilgrims is linked to the potential of overcoming linear time and participating in mythological, cyclic time. Thus, the navanu pilgrim is considered to enjoy a share of the imperishable quality called shashvat, literally meaning "eternal" and indestructible, a quality, which is ascribed to Shatrunjaya. It is believed that Shatrunjaya, even if it expands and contracts in accordance with the ups and downs of the never-ending cycles of time, is one of the few places which never vanishes. Affected by this quality, the navanu pilgrims, while moving on Shatrunjaya for a period of two months and performing diverse rituals which refer to mythological events, transcend linear time and take part in the mountain's eternity. Furthermore, during navanu the transcending of linear time coincides with the crossing of spatial borders. This is expressed by the idea that navanu pilgrims are among those few people who might get access to the otherwise hidden, subterraneous realms of the sacred hill, which are also linked to mythical time
