Ghar Vapsi: The myth of a single home
By: Chandan Gowda
In an essay, The Story of the Namdharis, written in 1922, a Christian missionary noted: “One matter of great interest is the fact that this community has already been converted twice.” He was referring to the agricultural caste -- now familiar as Vokkaligas -- which lived in the densely forested Malnad areas of Sringeri, Koppa, NR Pura and Thirthahalli in Karnataka.
The Vokkaligas in these parts of Malnad are known to have embraced Jainism in the 8th century after a Jain matha (monastery) was founded at Humcha, Shivamogga district, during the rule of the Ganga dynasty. Were they a caste or a tribe previously? We cannot be certain.
In the 12th century, Acharya Ramanuja, the Sri Vaishnava philosopher, sought refuge under the Hoysala rulers of Mysore. The hostility of the Siva-worshipping Cholas had proved difficult for him. Myth has it that Bitti Deva, the Hoysala ruler, switched from Jainism to Vaishnavism after Ramanuja cured his daughter of her illness. His name changed to Vishnuvardhana (the one who elevates/strengthens the name of Vishnu).
The Hoysala patronage to Vaishnavism made the Jain agriculturists of Malnad move over to the new faith. The discrimination by the orthodox Jains may have also mattered. Their new caste name, Namadhari Vokkaligas, refers to the new practice of wearing a nama on their foreheads (this is less common nowadays). A portion of the ritual food is set aside for their Jain ancestors during festivals even now.
Shiva versus Vishnu
Palkuriki Somanatha’s Basava Purana, a 13th century text on the life and times of Basava, the founder of Virasaivism, is replete with stories affirming Shiva’s superiority over Vishnu. In these frequently violent accounts, the heads of the non-believers of Siva are chopped, and their temples destroyed, with unbelievable ease. Unlikely to be real life accounts, they let us sample though the imaginations of violence among rival faiths. It is no surprise, that V Narayana Rao’s English translation of this Telugu text is titled, “Siva’s Warriors.”
Rao explains that Somanatha’s narrative conformed to the guidelines that Panditaradhya, another Saiva poet, had laid down in Sivatattvasaramu such as:
“One should not commit violence towards any living being, but yet the sinners who abuse Shiva must be killed without hesitation (V 275)
“Books that include words accusing Shiva should immediately be burned without hesitation and their authors should be killed (V 277).” The Saiva-Vaishnava rivalry is bitter throughout medieval times, their competition for converts intense.
In Virasaiva philosophy, devotion to Shiva alone matters, not caste hierarchy. Various Virasaiva mathas converted different castes into their faith in medieval times. A movement to dissolve caste differences ironically created a new caste of Lingayats. The matter is however not settled. Two days ago, the heads of several Virasaiva mathas renewed a 65-year-old demand that the government view them as a separate religion and not club them with Hinduism.
These episodes should make clear the banality of how “conversion” is being talked about these days. The experience of conversion varies profoundly across different faiths, i.e. in terms of the changes required in the outward and inner aspects of one’s life and the freedom one has towards one’s former faith. For instance, the Namdhari Vokkaligas retained their meat-eating and hunting habits across two faiths that shunned animal killing whereas vegetarianism was non-negotiable for the Lingayat converts.
Castes have lived in ghars we can never know about, renovated them, rebuilt them, and moved to new ghars at times, with or without their old belongings. Really, there is no one ghar in Hinduism or, for that matter, in any other religion. Any talk of Ghar Vapasi (“return home”), where Christian and Muslim converts are asked to return to their “original home of Hinduism,” makes no sense.
The writer is professor of sociology, Azim Premji University
In an essay, The Story of the Namdharis, written in 1922, a Christian missionary noted: “One matter of great interest is the fact that this community has already been converted twice.” He was referring to the agricultural caste -- now familiar as Vokkaligas -- which lived in the densely forested Malnad areas of Sringeri, Koppa, NR Pura and Thirthahalli in Karnataka.
The Vokkaligas in these parts of Malnad are known to have embraced Jainism in the 8th century after a Jain matha (monastery) was founded at Humcha, Shivamogga district, during the rule of the Ganga dynasty. Were they a caste or a tribe previously? We cannot be certain.
As we know, Jainism forbids its members from practicing agriculture as land cultivation hurts worms and insects in the soil. The Malnad Vokkaligas, however, became Jains without giving up agriculture. And hunting, fishing and drinking alcohol remained cherished habits. The orthodox Jains apparently considered them inferior as a result.
In the 12th century, Acharya Ramanuja, the Sri Vaishnava philosopher, sought refuge under the Hoysala rulers of Mysore. The hostility of the Siva-worshipping Cholas had proved difficult for him. Myth has it that Bitti Deva, the Hoysala ruler, switched from Jainism to Vaishnavism after Ramanuja cured his daughter of her illness. His name changed to Vishnuvardhana (the one who elevates/strengthens the name of Vishnu).
The Hoysala patronage to Vaishnavism made the Jain agriculturists of Malnad move over to the new faith. The discrimination by the orthodox Jains may have also mattered. Their new caste name, Namadhari Vokkaligas, refers to the new practice of wearing a nama on their foreheads (this is less common nowadays). A portion of the ritual food is set aside for their Jain ancestors during festivals even now.
Shiva versus Vishnu
Palkuriki Somanatha’s Basava Purana, a 13th century text on the life and times of Basava, the founder of Virasaivism, is replete with stories affirming Shiva’s superiority over Vishnu. In these frequently violent accounts, the heads of the non-believers of Siva are chopped, and their temples destroyed, with unbelievable ease. Unlikely to be real life accounts, they let us sample though the imaginations of violence among rival faiths. It is no surprise, that V Narayana Rao’s English translation of this Telugu text is titled, “Siva’s Warriors.”
Rao explains that Somanatha’s narrative conformed to the guidelines that Panditaradhya, another Saiva poet, had laid down in Sivatattvasaramu such as:
“One should not commit violence towards any living being, but yet the sinners who abuse Shiva must be killed without hesitation (V 275)
“Books that include words accusing Shiva should immediately be burned without hesitation and their authors should be killed (V 277).” The Saiva-Vaishnava rivalry is bitter throughout medieval times, their competition for converts intense.
In Virasaiva philosophy, devotion to Shiva alone matters, not caste hierarchy. Various Virasaiva mathas converted different castes into their faith in medieval times. A movement to dissolve caste differences ironically created a new caste of Lingayats. The matter is however not settled. Two days ago, the heads of several Virasaiva mathas renewed a 65-year-old demand that the government view them as a separate religion and not club them with Hinduism.
These episodes should make clear the banality of how “conversion” is being talked about these days. The experience of conversion varies profoundly across different faiths, i.e. in terms of the changes required in the outward and inner aspects of one’s life and the freedom one has towards one’s former faith. For instance, the Namdhari Vokkaligas retained their meat-eating and hunting habits across two faiths that shunned animal killing whereas vegetarianism was non-negotiable for the Lingayat converts.
Castes have lived in ghars we can never know about, renovated them, rebuilt them, and moved to new ghars at times, with or without their old belongings. Really, there is no one ghar in Hinduism or, for that matter, in any other religion. Any talk of Ghar Vapasi (“return home”), where Christian and Muslim converts are asked to return to their “original home of Hinduism,” makes no sense.
The writer is professor of sociology, Azim Premji University
