06 Vignettes

appendix b:

vignettes from ḍv. guṇḍappa’s

jñ āpaka citraś āle

The Lives of Vaidikas

ThefollowingselectionfromGuṇḍappa[1970,v.7]providessome

insight into the lives of vaidikabrāhmaṇas in the late 19th century.

They were residents of Muḷabāgilu, a town located 90 km east of Beṇgaḷūru.

In 1891, it had a population of 5,026, of whom 3,404 were Hindu, 1,611 were Muslim, and 11 Christian [Rice 1897a, p. 143].

* * * The following appears in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 7, p. 10].

. . . There is great variety among the peoples of our world. They differ in numerous ways. The peoples constituting mankind may have similar physical needs, such as in matters of food or clothing. They differ, however, in matters of mindset and propensity. Their propensities are not altogether different. That would preclude all contact or exchange. It is because they differ in some aspects but not in others that interactions between the various peoples of the world are possible; these differences also stimulate such interactions.

Variety in Ways of Living

What matters for exchanges between societies is what distinguishes their respective ways of life. One people may be esteemed highly for their cuisine.

Another may be superior in making or producing clothing. Yet another in architecture. Or in making machinery. Some other in science, or in art. In this manner, different peoples may excel in different fiields of human culture or achievement.

The people of India too, may claim such distinctions in culture and ability. This cultural identity is the soul of the Indian people. A loss of this cultural identity means the end of what it means to be Indian. What are the main features of Indian culture? Indians were like all other people in their physical being. They felt hunger and thirst like everyone else. They hurt if pinched. They bled if pricked. They felt happiness and sorrow. They laughed for joy. They cried for sorrow. They worried about food and clothing, about love and separation.

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They had, however, one distinct characteristic. A certain spirituality amidst all this worldly commerce, a certain desire for contentment amidst all these earthly proclivities, a certain purity amidst all these temporal attachments—these were the unique features of Indian culture. A deep concern for the inner Self, for the Absolute, and for purity—these proclivities have come down to Indians from time immemorial. Experiencing the sublime amidst poverty, contentment amidst commotion, and striving with purity amidst squalour—this is the essence of being Indian.

Simplicity and Contentment

Nothing spectacular or heroic will be evident in the profiiles we are about to see. No show of audacity or grandeur. These are not stories that will draw the eyes or ears of this world. From a certain perspective, the individuals I am about to describe were poor. They lived simply, had no material riches, and lacked ostentation or affectation. These portraits are certain to be interesting, however, to those who see beauty in lives that are lived in simplicity, contentment, and serenity.

*Vaidikas, śāstrapāṭhakas, purāṇikas,*and haridāsas—what could be remarkable about such lives?692 These were lives lived in small villages. These lives were as the flows of little streams. No highs nor lows. Yesterday was the same as the day before. Tomorrow will be the same as today. All is ever the same, all is ever steady. Such were their lives, day after day. ¯

*Ahnika, pāṭha, *

p ūjā, purāṇa.693 Again the next day, āhnika, pāṭha, pūjā, *purāṇa.*No trace of adventure. No draw of enticement. No excess or excitement in sight.

One might even see them as backward. Many of them had never seen trains. Those who had seen them had only seen them from afar, never having sat in one. Yet, they had all seen harmony and fulfiillment in their lives, and had brought harmony and fulfiillment into the lives of their neighbours.

692 Śāstrapāṭhakasare devoted to the study of the *śāstras,*especially the Dharmaśāstras.

*Purāṇikas *(or paurāṇikas) are skilled recounters of purāṇiclore, often at the level of performance art. *Haridāsas *(literally “servants of Hari”) are followers of a commonly itinerant devotional tradition within the Vaiṣṇavaschools. The tradition developed an extraordinarily rich corpus of literature and music, which is in many ways the foundation of modern South-Indian classical music. The tradition, being both appealing and readily accessible, is also believed to have sparked the Bhaktimovement that quickly spread across India.

693 ¯

Ahnikaare daily rituals, pāṭharefers to Vēdicrecitation, pūjāmeans worship, and purāṇais the body of sacred lore.

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If there be people in this modern world who take delight in such lives, then for them is the ensuing series of images.

It is also my intention to draw the mind of the reader, to the extent possible, towards lives of such simplicity and innocence.

Puṇyaśl ōkaVeṇkaṭar āmabhaṭṭa

If there be any merit or value in my life, the person chiefly responsible would be Vēdam ūrtiVeṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa. He was to me as a grandfather.

To three generations of my family—my great-grandfather, my grandfather, and my father—Annambhaṭṭa and his son Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa were more than our family purōhitas; they were practically close relatives. I was named after my great-grandfather. . . But Guṇḍappa was a Drāviḍabrāhmaṇa from a community known as Br̥haccaraṇa.694 No members of this community lived in Muḷabāgilu at the time. Annambhaṭṭa being a well-known brāhmaṇa in this town, Guṇḍappa cultivated his friendship…

Friendship and Support

. . . His house and ours were across from one another. Annambhaṭṭa’s house was older than ours. Over time, the friendship between the families grew so great that it was more correct to think of them as two branches of the same household, not as separate ones. The two households were seen as one when it came to festivals and observances, or with regard to their relationships to others in the neighbourhood. Even what was cooked in one home was invariably shared with the other.

Annambhaṭṭa had already passed away before my time. Even Veṇkaṭa-rāmabhaṭṭa was around sixty years old by the time I had acquired awareness of the world. He had two elder sisters, Annamma (Annap ūrṇamma) and Ammaṇṇamma by name. They were both ritually observant of maḍi.695

The older of the two passed away eight or ten days after my birth. I am told she said *“māmayya puṭṭe” *(“Māvayya is born”) when I was born.696 That was my naming.

694 Br̥haccaraṇameans “great migration”. The name most likely be commemorates a major brāhmaṇa migration event in history.

695 Maḍiis a set of traditional practices aimed at attaining and maintaining extraordinary level of ritual purity. There are rules governing contact with ritually impure items and individuals, foodstuffs, bathing, and so on. Also see footnotes 218 and 701.

696ḌV. Guṇḍappa was born on March 17, 1887. It is common to view the birth of a child as the rebirth of a departed ancestor, in this case, the elder Guṇḍappa.

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The sisters referred to my great-grandfather Guṇḍappa as “Māmayya”.

Ammaṇṇa was alive in my childhood. She always called me “Māmayya”.

Matching Brides and Bridegrooms

The people of the village often approached Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa with questions such as: “Are these horoscopes compatible for marriage? When is an auspicious lagnafor the ceremony?” Many of them had no horoscopes.

They were not literate folk. When thus approached, Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa would ask for the names of the bride and bridegroom. He would then determine the nakṣatrasfrom the fiirst syllable of their names, using the formula *“cī cē cō lā aśvinī, ḻī lē lō lā bharaṇī. . . ”*697 After the nakṣatrawas known, there remained the task of determining marital compatibility. One now looked to the nakṣatra’sanimal signifiier. My nakṣatrawas Mūlā. The signifiier in my case was the dog. This nakṣatrais compatible with a nakṣatra whose signifiier is the mouse. Thus was marital compatibility ascertained.

If people arrived with such questions when Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa was away, one of his elder sisters Annamma or Ammaṇṇamma would provide the lagnain accordance with the above s ūtra.

Knowledge of the Śruti

Annamma and Ammaṇṇamma did more than merely this much. They also trained students in Vēdic adhyāyana. Students practiced their Vēdicrecitation even in Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa’s absence. If a student erred in his rendering of either a syllable or a tonal accent, Annamma or Ammaṇṇamma, who would be paying attention, would call out to him, saying (in Telugu): “*Yelā! *

That was incorrect. I cannot correct you—The Vēdamay not issue from my 697This feat is not nearly as magical as it may fiirst appear. At the nāmakaraṇaor naming ceremony, it is common to give a newborn an offiicial name, the fiirst syllable of which is determined by the nakṣatraand pādaof birth. Each of the 27 nakṣatrais divided into four pādas, for a total of 108 pādas. The following list of 108 syllables shows how the nakṣatra determines the fiirst syllable of the child’s name. Each group of four syllables corresponds to one of the 27 nakṣatras, the fiirst group to Aśviṉī, and the last to Rēvatī.

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mouth. Go ahead and correct yourself. I will let my brother know when he returns.” Thus, students were fearful of being corrected by Annamma or Ammaṇṇamma. Both these ladies had authoritative command of Vēdic recitation, having heard it performed day and night at home.. . .

Students

His house was always home to some four or fiive students. They came from such places as Muḍiyanūru, Hebbaṇi, Guḍipalli, Naṇgali, and even from as far away as Madanapalli and Puṇgan ūru. He instructed them in prayōga, *jyōtiśśāstra, dharmaśāstra,*and some Saṁskr̥taliterature. He also taught the saṁhitā, brāhmaṇa, and āraṇyakaparts of the Yajurvēdato some. He was widely known for his munifiicence with food, and as a teacher. It is due to the household’s munifiicence that the names Annambhaṭṭa and Annap ūrṇamma appear in this household across generations.

* * * . . . Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa’s wife Mātr̥śrīAkkayyamma was from Muḍiyan ūru. Muḍiyanūru was an agrahāra, and home to vaidikabrāhmaṇas from the Mulukunāḍucommunity. It appears to have been fiilled with scholars at some time past. This is clear even from the names of families resident there.

*“Śrīdharamvāru”, “Naiṣadhamvāru” *, *“Purāṇamvāru” *, *“Pārāyaṇamvāru” *,

*“Nivr̥ttivāru” *, and so on.698 Akkayyamma was Nivr̥tti Tippābhaṭṭa’s sister. Tippābhaṭṭa was a scholar. He was learned not just in the Vēdas, but also in literature. At mealtime, following a ceremony such as a śrāddha, he would often lead the conversation on an expository or disputational de-tour. His brother-in-law Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa would jokingly refer to this as

“Tippayya’s vexations”. There never was an end to “Tippayya’s vexations”.

Tipp ābhaṭṭa’s Income

It seems important to take the opportunity to say a word or two about the lives of these vaidikabrāhmaṇas.

I have said that Muḍiyanūru was an agrahāra. The brāhmaṇas there were all endowed with *vr̥ttis.*That is, they had a share in the output of certain lands that some king in times past had bequeathed to ensure the 698In Telugu, the suffiix vārumeans “they of”. Thus *“Naiṣadhamvāru”*means “they of the Naiṣadha”.

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preservation and progress of Vēdiclearning. The lives of these brāhmaṇas were sustained by the rice and rāgifrom these lands. They lived in ancient flat-roofed mud houses, and subsisted on the produce from lands granted to them. Their need for money, that is, for cash or currency, was limited.

He earned money exactly six days in a month. On Saturdays, he would leave at four in the afternoon and be in the Āñjanēyasvāmi temple in Muḷa-

bāgilu till six or six-thirty. His frame was large. He was tall. His gait was slow. Vaiśyanotables visited the Āñjanēya temple on Saturday evenings, and

after their darśanaof the deity, would gift a Dammaḍieach to the brāhmaṇas there.699 Thus, Tippayya earned about ten Kāsusa week, perhaps some forty or fiifty Kāsusa month.

Each month also had two ekādaśīs. On those evenings, he might earn eight or ten Kāsus. The following day of dvādaśī, he may get six Kāsus each from those Vaiśyaswho chose to give gifts that day. That amounted to twenty-fiive or thirty Kāsusacross four or fiive households. That added up to about eighty-fiive or ninety Kāsus. That was his income in cash. There was also dakṣiṇāgiven on occassions such as śrāddhas. That might add up to one or two R ūpīsa year.

All this added up to about twelve R ūpīsa year—if we choose to be generous in our reckoning.700

To Tippābhaṭṭa, such concerns were as straws in the wind. Before no one did he bow down. In him was no trace of bitterness. He spent his days being happy and making others happy. His family was large, and included sons, daughters, as well as relatives. Never did he admonish or fiind fault. It seems that these people were never even aware of their penury.

* * * Śivasaṇkara śāstri

Two Havyakabrāhmaṇas, Śivaśaṇkara Śāstri and Pōcambhaṭlu Narasiṁha Śāstri by name, often visited our home. Of the two, I must have seen Śivaśaṇkara Śāstri a hundred times. Never did I see him but his clothes were 699A *Dammaḍi *(also Pai, or Kāsu)was afourthofa Duḍḍu(also Paisa), which wasathird of an ¯

Aṇe. There were sixteen Āṇeto the *Rūpī.*The Dammaḍiwas the lowest currency denomination, there being 192 to the *R ūpī. *

700Generous, indeed. Ninety Kāsusa month, with the two additional R ūpīsadds up to between seven and eight R ūpīsa year, considerably short of the twelve R ūpīssuggested.

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in tatters. But he never seemed concerned that his clothes were in tatters. He never sewed the tatters in his clothes. He would simply knot together the ends of these tatters. The knotted tatters in his clothes appeared as natural on him as the hair in his beard. If the suggestion were to be made: “Perhaps these tatters might be sewn. . . ”, the Śāstri would reply: “*Che! Che!*What should it mean for a brāhmaṇa to wear sewn clothes!? This is contrary to the śāstras!”701 Was there much point in suggesting this to him? He intoned the Vēdasunceasingly. Two meals a day, that too, without a surfeit of vegetables or delicacies, the lake’s water for his bathing, vibh ūtifor his forehead. For him, these were the equal of the eight great treasures.

He never sought anyone’s charity. Conducting ritual for others and accepting such honoraria as they may see fiit to offer, these he saw as his duty.

atyāśanādatīpānāt yacca ugrāt pratigrahāt 702

Protect me from such evils—such was their prayer. In this age, with its focus on raising everyone’s standard of living, gone for such people is the well-being of old, and with it the purity of spirit. The nourishment that sustained these folk is now not to be had by their own grandchildren.

Daily Routine

Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa’s daily routine was as follows. Vēdicrecitation began at fiive in the morning. After about six or six-thirty, he would ride his horse to neighbouring villages as the need arose, to conduct rituals. He would return at around ten or so, and proceed to any Vaiśyahouseholds where his services were desired. He would return home by around eleven. Before entering his house, he would stop before our house and shout: “Māvayya, 701It is unlikely that there were any śāstricprohibitions against the wearing of stitched clothing. As the excellent discussion in Altekar [1938, p. 350] shows, stitched clothes were known and used both in ancient and classical times. The most ritually auspicious were bark garments ( valkala), which of course, were not stitched. Stitching may also be seen as a certain form of defiilement, especially since stitched clothes are also usually cut. Also, stiched clothes were associated with Muslim attire, and thus acquired additional stigma.

702This is from the Aghamarṣaṇa Sūktaof the Taittirīya Āraṇyakaof the Kr̥ṣṇayajurvēda. The full mantrais: *“atyāśanādatīpānādyacca ugrāt pratigrahāt | tanno varuṇo rājā-pāṇināhyavamarśatu ∥” *, which translates to: “May the king Varuṇa, by his hand, protect me from over-indulgence in eating and drinking, and from accepting honoraria from the dishonourable.”

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*Guṇḍū!”*I would go to his house right away. He would untie the bundle he carried, and lay out the items he had received as gifts. He would set aside for me any pieces of coconut, jaggery, dates, or bananas. He would pass on to the kitchen any rice, legumes, or pieces of pumpkin. Any coins he had received, he would place in the bōdigeatop the pillar.

The B ōdigeBank

This bōdigewas indeed something special. The term bōdigerefers to the four nooks formed when horizontal beams laid along four different directions meet atop a pillar. These nooks served as our guru’s “iron safe”. One nook held coins. Another held his brahmas ūtrasand pavitras. The third held his vibh ūti. The fourth held a cup with mantrākṣate. On a rafter next to the bōdigewas a bundle of darbhagrass. On another rafter was a pañcāṇga.703

Such was the sum total of his riches. He had no need of chests or boxes.

He hardly had occasion to spend money. There was of course the dakṣiṇā he bestowed on others. There was the grass he bought daily for his cow. At the temple, there was the bag of coins he placed on the maṇgaḷāratiplate in the evenings. The bōdigebank suffiiced for such purposes. Nobody ever laid hands on the coins he placed therein.

The Afternoons

Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa would proceed for a bath after he returned at about eleven. One of his students would have started performing the dēvatārcana by this time. Before the Bhaṭṭa’s return from his bath, two or three students of his would already have been at places such as Śaṇkaratīrtha, the temples of Sōmēśvara, Āñjanēyasvāmi, Kāśī Viśvēśvara, and Viṭṭhalasvāmi,

inviting brāhmaṇas who were visiting from other places, saying: “Please do 703These are the modest accessories of a vaidika. The brahmas ūtrais the sacred thread worn over the shoulder and across the torso as a loop formed without a knot. It is worn over the left shoulder ( upavītam), when performing rites for the gods, over the right shoulder ( prācīnāvītam) when performing rites for the pitr̥s, and round the neck ( nivītam) when performing rites for humans. The pavitrais a ring of kuśagrass worn on the fourth fiinger during ritual performance. For vibh ūtiand mantrākṣate, see footnotes 426 and 378. Darbha grass is

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us the great favour of joining us for the mid-day meal.”704 There would be at least two or three such guests every day. They would come over to Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa’s house, fiinish their baths, and begin their daily observances. Some engaged in Rudrādhyāyachanting. Others performed s ūryanamaskāras. Some might recite the Navagraha S ūktas. Some others might chant the Śivakavacaor Indrākṣī stotras. It would be around twelve-thirty or one in the afternoon before the daily observances of Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa and the others would be complete. Then would come the meal. Rāgiwas almost invariably served.705

An hour of rest followed the meal. Vēdic adhyayanawould resume at around three. It would continue till about fiive. People would come to visit the Vēdam ūrtiduring this time.

The Evenings

The Bhaṭṭa would usually be seated in a yōgic āsanaeither in the inner corridor of the house or in the courtyard.706 A small pañcewas bound as a band from behind his back to across his shins in the front, in the yōgicmanner. His fiingers held a small pinch of snuff. Beside him were his pañcāṇga and his bilvagourd holding snuff. I do not recall that Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa ever used snuff. He would hold a pinch in his fiingers, but rarely did he use it. He was clean from his grey hair to his feet. He countenanced no fiilth.

The people who visited the Bhaṭṭa were of all kinds. One would see tai-lors, Vaiśyas, Baṇajigas, potters, Vokkaligas, and most certainly brāhmaṇas as well. All these castes and communities came to see him. Even those who are now called Harijanacame by.707 Some would speak of their illnesses 704Also see footnote 738. Muḷabāgilu is enroute to Tirupati, one of the holiest sites of pilgrimage in South India. The very name “Muḷabāgilu”, being a corrupt version of “Mūḍala Bāgilu” (“Eastern Doorway”) suggests its signifiicance as a transit point for travellers.

705 Rāgiis a variety of millet (fiinger millet, Eleusine coracana) widely used in South India, being far cheaper than rice. It is ground into a flour, and fashioned either into unleavened flatbread ( rāgi roṭṭi), or cooked in water and fashioned into balls ( rāgi mudde). Since the seedcoat is retained before being ground into flour, it is rich in fiibre, and very fiilling. It is seen as a coarse grain, and the food of the common man.

706The implication is that he was seated in the meditative Padmāsanaor Siddhāsanapos-ture, with his hands in an appropriate mudra.

707 Baṇajigasare the trader caste (the word is a tadbhavaform of vaṇijaka). The Vokkaligas are farmers. *Harijana *(Hari’s own people) was the name given by Mahatma Gandhi to the untouchables. They are better known these days as *Dalits *(the oppressed).

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or the deaths of loved ones. Some others would talk about their household rifts. Yet others would talk about their worries regarding marriages. Some would inquire about the proper muh ūrtasfor upanayanasor marriages.

Good Will and Serenity

The Bhaṭṭa would hear everyone out with patience. He would consult his pañcāṇgaand calculate the desired lagnafor those who so asked. He would reassure those who spoke of their family troubles. He would recount some story from ancient times, some episode or tale from the traditional literature, some story from the Rāmāyaṇaor Mahābhārata—he would tell the story in full, and elaborate it so its moral or teaching showed itself. The listener would feel consoled. There were many reasons why the town had need for Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa. Chief among these reasons was his ability to comfort people. This ability derived from his inner serenity. Composure, affection, and serenity—such gifts had Bhagavantaconferred on him.

Well may there have been a great many Vēdicscholars. Well may there have been aplenty those who were charitable with food. But rare in all times have been they who can give such affection and comfort.

He would visit the Sōmēśvara temple after his Sandhyāvandanein the evenings. Vēdic adhyayanawould resume when he returned. That would continue till nine or so. After this would come the dīpārādhaneat home, and then the evening meal.

Such was his daily routine.

* * * Sabh āp ūje

. . . Another episode from that same wedding is fiirmly fiixed in my mind. The day after the wedding was the sabhāp ūje.708 All the prominent fiigures of the town—traders, landowners, government offiicials—about a hundred were gathered. With them were their families, as well as an assembly of vaidikas.

It was about four in the afternoon. As soon the event started, some seven or eight students of Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa’s stood up. Eager to the bless the 708This literally means “veneration by the assembly”, and is a ritual of blessing and bestowal. The family, friends, and well-wishers confer gifts and blessings upon the couple.

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couple in the vēdicfashion, each of them held in his left hand a plate of mantrākṣate, of which a fiistful was in his right hand.709 Their excitement was clearly manifest, with each eagerly wanting to the fiirst in line, all awaiting the guru’s word so they might proceed. Smiling, Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa said: “Tippayya, you be the one.”

Tippābhaṭṭa organized them into pairs, and asked each pair to recite one verse from the Vēdas. He also determined in what order they were to go. Things got started. Of the eight, I remember the name of one student: S ūryanārāyaṇa of Naṇgali village. Each pair of students recited their Vēdic verse in four forms: *pada, krama, jaṭā,*and ghana.710 I do recall one:711

hagaṁsaśśuciṣat | śuciṣadvasuḥ| śuciṣaditi_śucisat | vasurantarikṣasat ∥

It may have been around seven before the four groups had completed their Vēdicrecitation. The assembly was seated transfiixed. The faces of Veṇkaṭa-rāmabhaṭṭa and his wife were both radiant beyond description. After each student was done blessing the couple, he would walk over and do reverence to Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa, grasping both his feet with his hands. Words have not the power to describe what one beheld in the guru that day. When Śrīrāma conquered Laṇkā, when Alexander triumphed in his campaigns, when Columbus discovered America, then may they have felt such fulfiillment and jubilation as did the guru that day. The Vēdaguruhad just witnessed his instruction come to fruition.

As people say in English today: “unsophisticated”—these were not people of cultivated refiinement; they had no affectations. They were simple, and to them simplicity was the only proper way.

* * * . . . Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa must have passed away in 1907–1908 or so…

* * * 709The mantrākṣateis cast on the couple during the blessing.

710See footnote 460.

711This is based on the famous Haṁsamantrafrom *R.gveda *(IV:40.5), which also appears in various other places, including the *Vājasaneyīyasaṁhitā *(X.24), the Taittirīyasaṁhitā (III:2.10.1, IV:2.1, etc.):

hamsaḥśuciṣadvasurantarikṣasaddhōtā vēdiṣadatithirdurōṇasat |

nr̥ṣadvarasadr̥tasadvyōmasadabjā gōjā r̥tajā adrijā r̥tam br̥hat ∥

The recitation given in the text, however, does not appear to correspond to pada, krama, *jaṭa, ghana,*or any standard pāṭha. Guṇḍappa may be improvising somewhat here.

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VaidikaBeliefs

In writing this account of Veṇkaṭarāmabhaṭṭa and his people, I did not set out to document the extraordinary. Their lives were entirely normal for the time. Such vaidikafamilies were common then. One saw them in many places—Kōlāra, Śrīnivāsapura, Cikkabaḷḷāpura, and even in many smaller places. But now—that is, in the last fiifty or sixty years, such vaidikafamilies have become rare.712 The older ways of our society are now steadily becoming extinct. My goal has merely been to record these ways in some measure.

Three features distinguished that way of life: (1) faith (2) well-being, and (3) affection.

They believed in divinity, in dharma, that acts were virtuous or evil, and in heaven and hell. These beliefs were deeply and strongly held. Because of such faith, a certain serenity was manifest in their lives. There was not conflict or strife, and neither passion nor malice. They had the strength to endure, somehow, all the troubles that they invariably faced. An absence of turmoil helped them fiind gratifiication in whatever they had, and whatever little came their way. Their contentment derived from their peace of mind.

Empathy for All

In this manner, because of their faith in the sovereignty of the almighty and their sense of contentment, they dealt with all wordly matters with empathy and good will. No cause for envy if good fortune visits a neighbour.

Good fortune will surely come our way when the almighty casts his benevolence upon us. This benevolence is to be celebrated. It has now favoured our neighbour. We can fiind great satisfaction in that.

Ill fortune has now visited our neighbour. What sadness! This is surely due to karma. We too, are not immune to it. Let us strive to lighten their burden as much as we can. This is empathy for the world. Such empathy is attained when the heart and mind attain greater compass. They attain greater compass when there is greater contentment. Greater contentment obtains from complete faith.

These truths do become evident when we examine the lives of people from fiifty or sixty years ago.

712This work was published in 1970, so Guṇḍappa means during the 20th century.

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In this age of the motor car, in this age of the atom, in this life full of strife, amidst all this commotion, amidst all this meaningless clamour, amidst all this modern revelling in face-powder and toothpaste, it is my fancy that bringing to mind such a time of well-being and contentment will bring them to our own minds in some small measure.713

yathā vr̥kṣasya sampuṣpitasya dūrādgandhō vātyēvam puṇyasya karmaṇo d ūrādgandhō vāti ∥

713The following verse appears in the Taittirīya ¯

*Araṇyaka *(10.11.1) (also Mahānārāyaṇō-

*paniṣad *(11:1)): “yathā vr̥kṣasya sampuṣpitasya dūrādgandhō vātyēvam puṇyasya karmaṇo d ūrādgandhō vāti yathāsidhārām kartē_vahitāmavakrāmē yadyuvē yuvē havā vihvayiṣyāmi *kartam patiṣyāmītyēvamamr̥tādātmānam jugupsēt ∥”*This means: “Just as the fragrance of a tree in full flower is manifest at a distance, so too does the fragrance of good deeds manifest itself at a distance. Just as, were one to walk on the sharp edge of a sword laid across a pit, one would at each step be intensely perturbed by the fear of falling into the pit, so too must one guard oneself from aspirations of attaining immortality.” One interpretation of the second sentence is that one must guard against overt and covert evils to attain immortality. Another interpretation, perhaps more apt in this context, is that immortality is better attained by traversing this treacherous pit without focusing the mind on the goal of immortality, since the consequent anxiety is likely to cause us to fall. This understanding accords better with the fiirst part, which points out that the fragrance of its flowers is disseminated without any explicit effort on the tree’s part. If one performs good deeds without consideration of merit or consequence, one naturally accrues merit and does good in this world. That is the way of the vaidika.

Some Students of Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri.

Other Reminiscences

ThefollowingselectionfromGuṇḍappa[1970, v.5]providessome

additional information about Vāsudēvaśastri, one of Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri’s foremost students, and other contemporary scholars. It also provides additional insight into a period of transition for traditional Indian scholarship.

The Students of V āsudēvaśastri

It is my understanding that Vāsudēvaśastri was from Doḍḍabaḷḷāpura.714

His Highness had conferred upon him the title Vidyānidhi. He was surely the foremost of the scholars in Mais ūru who might rank as Vidyānidhis.715

He had also acquired renown as *“Jaganmithyā”*Vāsudēvaśastri. In a debate in a scholarly assembly held in the presence of the Jagadguruof Śr̥ṇgēri,716

he established the Advaiticdoctrine *“brahma satyam jaganmithyā”*using the Vēdasas well as ingenious arguments. It appears that the *Svāmi,*impressed by his scholarship and eloquence, praised him by referring to him as *“Jaganmithyā”*Vāsudēvaśāstri.717

His Students

Vāsudēvaśastri had no peer in logic, grammar, and hermeneutics. A great many of the renowned scholars in Beṇgaḷūru were his students. I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to speak to several of them on occasion. Chief among them were Sāggere Nārāyaṇaśāstri, Dēvanagondi Nārāyaṇaśāstri, Doḍḍabele Nārāyaṇaśāstri, and Veṇkaṭēśaśāstri of Soṇḍekoppa.

I have forgotten the names of many others. Vāsudēvaśastri had a great many students.

714Vāsudēvaśastri was a senior student of Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri, and appears repeatedly in the biography of Rāmaśāstri. Not surprisingly, many of his students also appear as students of Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri.

715Others had received this title, such as Virūpākṣa Śāstri [Guṇḍappa 1970, v. 5, p. 154].

716This would have been JagadguruŚrī Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nr̥siṁha Bhāratī, the son of Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri, who was Vāsudēvaśāstri’s teacher.

717Vāsudēvaśāstri had already done this earlier, in the company of Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri, in Madrās. See page 255.

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Doḍḍabele N ār āyaṇaśāstri

Doḍḍabele Nārāyaṇaśāstri has performed immense service to the cause of Kannaḍa literature. He has composed verbatim notes and commentaries on works such as the Jaimini Bhārata. He has also published notes and commentaries on works such as the *Bhagavadgītā, Viveka Cūḍāmaṇi,*and the *Raghuvaṁśa.*In Kannaḍa, he has written a book called Devarasēve, a book of bhajans called Han ūmannāmāmr̥ta, and many other smaller works. Bhajans such as *“Śuddha brahma paratpara rāma”*were popular in those times.

Doḍḍabele Śāstri has composed several works of the same sort on bhajans in praise of Śiva, Hanumān, and other deities. Doḍḍabele Śāstri was eloquent, and a courageous debator. With the support of the Śivagaṇgā saṁsthāna, he ran the monthly Śāradā, and sometime later, the monthly Vidyānanda.

It was in these monthlies that the Viveka Cūḍāmaṇiand the poetical works mentioned above appeared. In addition to works such as these, he also published works relating to the śāstrasand literature. His style was simple, and motivated the average reader.

Dēvanagondi N ār āyaṇaśāstri

I studied logic for a bit with Dēvanagondi Nārāyaṇaśāstri. I became aware that his income had become seriously defiicient. I wrote to B. Rāmakr̥ṣṇa-rāya, the Palace Controller, bringing this to his notice. Four or fiive months went by. I received no reply. One afternoon, I happened to be seated in the offiices of the magazine Karnāṭakaon Guṇḍōpant street, occupied with something. Dēvanagondi Nārāyaṇaśāstri arrived, and stood before me with an envelope in his hand. I spoke up:

I: Do have a seat.

śāstri: (In Telugu) You are younger than I am. But I feel obliged to do you obeisance.

Humility was written on his face. Tears seemed about to flow from his eyes.

I blocked his attempt to do me reverence, and asked: “What is going on?”

He handed me the envelope, and asked me to read it. It contained a letter from the palace. “Dēvanagondi Nārāyaṇaśāstri has been appointed a scholar at the palace.” I thanked Rāmakr̥ṣṇarāya in my mind, and asked the Śāstri:

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I: How is this of value to you?

śāstri: This will mean fiive (or six) R ūpīsa month.

I: Is that all? Why all this fuss, then?

Here is the gist of what he said:

“Good sir, you are still young. It is important that people such as you know how diffiicult our circumstances are. I was a student of Sāggere Nārāyaṇaśāstri. I visited him at home one afternoon. I saw him sitting immersed in worry, with his elbow on his knee and his head in his hand. He did not raise his head to look at me. Whenever he had seen me, he had always greeted me, saying ‘Come dear boy.’ That afternoon, he had not even noticed that I had arrived. His mind was completely absent. I waited a couple of minutes as asked: ‘Dear Śāstri, are you bothered by a headache?’ He then raised his head, looked at me, smiled a little, and said: ‘Yes, dear boy. I do have a headache now. But it awaits you tomorrow.’ ‘What does this mean?’

I asked. He said: ‘I studied logic with Vāsudēvaśāstri for twelve years. This headache is its fruition. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my sire’s passing.

I was worrying about how to arrange for the necessities. The storekeepers who would lend me money have lent me all they can lend. I cannot ask them to lend me more. I am concerned about where to turn now. I would not have had such a headache had I become a clerk or a schoolmaster instead of studying logic. It is still not too late for you to learn this. This is all that logic is good for. The child is dead. What remains is the fragrance of the clothes in its crib. My study of logic is done. What has remained is this headache.’

“Such is my plight, as well. Now that you have arranged for me to receive this salary from the palace, I can at least look forward to rice gruel once a day. I thank God a thousand times for this favour.”

Dēvanagondi Nārāyaṇaśāstri was a person of great dignity. He was also most observant of precept and ritual. He was not the sort to speak up loudly. I was given to some light-hearted teasing: “Logicians are garrulous, long-winded. Despite this reputation, how is it that you are polite and decorous?”

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VidyānidhiVāsudēvaśāstri’s house was large. It extended from Guṇḍōpant street to Haḷetaragupēṭe.718 He hosted, fed, and taught a number of students in his house.

He generally taught Tarka, Vyākaraṇa, Pūrva Mīmāṁsa, Uttara Mīm-

*āṁsa,*and Jyōtiṣa. All his students became well-known scholars.

Vāsudēvaśāstri belonged to the Velanāḍu community. Chief among his relatives was V.B. Subbayya, the owner of well-known publishing houses and presses. (An institution called V.B. Subbayya and Sons flourishes even to this day.)

Subrahmaṇya śāstri

SiddhāntiSubrahmaṇya Śāstri was the husband of Vāsudēvaśāstri’s sister.

He was a renowned astrologer. He has written commentaries on numerous Kannaḍa works such as the *Siddharāmapurāṇa.*He used to publish an almanac under the aegis of the Śr̥ṇgēri *maṭha. *

Subrahmaṇya Śāstri has written a translation of the Upaniṣadscalled the Upaniṣatsāra. He has discussed the essence of the Upaniṣadsand the Brahmas ūtrasin this work. Garaṇi vaiyākaraṇiKr̥ṣṇācārya719 was a very close friend of his.

SiddhāntiSubrahmaṇya Śāstri’s son was MahāmahōpādhyāyaŚivaśaṇkara Śāstri. Like his father, he too was learned in many fiields, and had scholarship in both Kannaḍa and Saṁskr̥ta.

718The distance between Guṇḍōpant street and Haḷetaragupēṭe street, marking the extent of Vāsudēvaśāstri’s property, appears to be about 400 feet.

The following fascinating details appear in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 5, p. 88]. Guṇḍōpant was an administrative offiicial during the times when the administration Mysore was entrusted to various Commissioners. His home was in the middle of the northern side of the street that bears his name. A printing press called the “Irish Press”, and the offiices of the Kannaḍa magazine *Karṇāṭaka *(in a hall on the upper floor) were both in this structure. Subsequently, it was home to the offiices of the magazine Economic Reviewrun by Hayavadana Rāv, and later, it became a wholesale market. A few houses to the east of the home of Guṇḍōpant was the chatraof Pūrṇayya. Vāsudēvaśāstri’s house was situated between this chatraand the home of Guṇḍōpant. This area was called *Siddhī Kaṭṭe. *

As an aside, the translator speculates Siddhī Kaṭṭeto be a derivative of “City Market”.

The change from “City” to *Siddhī *(a common girl’s name in Kannaḍa) is obvious. Further, the English word “market”, to Kannaḍa ears, sounds very close to *Māru Kaṭṭe,*which literally means “sales platform”. The net result is Siddhī Maru Kaṭṭe, or simply Siddhī Kaṭṭe.

719Footnote in original: “*Jñāpaka Citraśāle,*1, pp. 104–110.”

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Śivaśaṇkara śāstri

Śivaśaṇkara Śāstri was the president of the Kannaḍa Literary Conference in Bijāpura. I recall that he delivered his presidential address in poetry. He was capable of effortlessly composing poetry of any form in any desired metre, starting with any syllable. His compositions were grammatically pure and conformed to all relevant rules and principles. They were a bit diffiicult, however, for those who were less knowledgeable.

*cinmaya rūpaṉīśanabhavam sale rājase cittadol. *

sanmati sadvidhēya śivaśaṇkara śarmaninādudu buddhibhā *svanmahasīyarellaridanōdi. . . *

Śivaśaṇkara Śāstri had undertaken another task—that of showing in verse, the meaning of every name in each of the fiive sahasranāmas—the Veṇkaṭēśa *Sahasranāma,*the *Śiva Sahasranāma,*the *Lalitā Sahasranāma,*and the *Ga-ṇēśa Sahasranāma.*Five thousand verses in all. He had the fiirst fiive or eight hundred verses published on glossy paper in the Bangalore Press. Included with the verses were images of various deities. I had seen it when the work was in progress. I had marvelled at it. What scholarship, what fluency, what courage, and what determination! I had never seen the like before. When the Śāstri lectured, it was the same. An astonishing level of eloquence.

The Śāstri was knowledgeable in matters of the divine—he understood the deeper signifiicance of *mantras, tantras,*and the *śāstras,*and was a devotee of Subrahmaṇya. Beḷḷāvi Veṇkaṭanāraṇappa had spent several months in Madarās studying for his ṀA. degree.720 Veṇkaṭanāraṇappa’s dedication was profound. He had curtailed his eating and sleeping during his preparations. He became ill as a result of his reading, writing, and working on mathematics all day and night. His intensity would apparently often result in his losing consciouness. At the time, Veṇkaṭanāraṇappa’s house was in Beṇgaḷūru’s Alasūrupēṭe, near B.V. Subbayya’s house. Alarmed, the members of Veṇkaṭanāraṇappa’s household brought this situation to Śivaśaṇkara Śāstri’s attention, who was able to effect a cure with *vibh ūti, kuṁkuma,*and bilvākṣate.

Towards the end of his days, Śivaśaṇkara Śāstri took over the management of the Kumārasvāmi temple on the Mount Joy hill in Beṇgaḷūru from 720A detailed biography of Veṇkaṭanāraṇappa appears in [Guṇḍappa 1970, v. 5].

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the government,721 and did a great service to devotees by arranging for regular worship and other ceremonies. He had a new icon of Aṣṭabhuja Gaṇapatiinstalled. I too, had attended that ceremony. His work brought grace upon that hill.

pratyakṣādbhuta ṣaṇmukha mr̥tyuñjaya kumāra giri śr̥ṇgam |

*bhaktāpraṇamata. . . śivaliṇgam *

Those troubled by inauspicious planetary confiigurations, the machinations of evil spirits, or by illnesses such as fevers, seizures, or leprosy would visit this Kumārasvāmi temple, seeking relief through the Śāstri’s māntricor tāntricinterventions.

* * * The following appears in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 5, p. 111].

Chappalli Viśvēśvara śāstri’s Scholarship and Humility

Around 1898–99, my Saṁskr̥tateacher Kāśī Rāghavēndrācārya called together the four or fiive students who happened to be around one day, and said to them: “*Yela!*In four or fiive days, Viśvēśvara Śāstri will be in town for my son’s wedding. He will be arriving from Be ˙gaḷūru. He is a very great scholar. Mind your ways around him! If a śāstrictopic happens to arise either at home or in the temple, make sure to steer clear! Keep your mouths shut! Opening your mouth in the presence of Viśvēśvara Śāstri is akin to entering the jaws of a tiger!

I was still a young boy. I had not the slightest understanding of any śastricmatter. Nor had I even heard of Viśvēśvara Śāstri. Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the “jaws of a tiger” metaphor. I was eager to see the man.

The wedding proceeded splendidly. The bridegroom was Viśvēśvara Śāstri’s eldest son Kāśīpati Śāstri. He was an excellent scholar of literature.

He also had a degree in engineering, and was an offiicer in the maintenance department.

The bride was two or three years older than I was, and as a sister to me.

Her name of Lakṣmīnarasamma. Her father Lakṣmīnarasappa was a school 721Mount Joy used to be called *Naraharirāyana Guḍḍa *(Narahari Rāya’s Hill) after Narahari Rao, a judge at the Mais ūru high court. See Guṇḍappa [1970, vol. 2].

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teacher. Her mother was Bhavānamma. The family was most observant of tradition and ritual, and led pure and virtuous lives. They commanded the highest regard. Their house was close to ours, and a strong friendship exisited between the families. A tuḷasīplant in Lakṣmīnarasappa’s house is fiixed in my memory. It stood as tall as a man. Its braches were as thick as one’s thumb, and large enough for tuḷasībeads to be carved from it. People would ask: “This tuḷasīplant is thriving. What do you do to keep it so?”

Lakṣmīnarasappa would reply: “We use the pōdiwe prepare ourselves.”

What this pōdiwas, nobody knew. But never I have seen another tuḷasī plant thrive and grow like a tree, as this one had. . .

The Tiger’s Jaws

Let us return to the wedding. The celebration lasted fiive or six days.

Wherever Viśvēśvara Śāstri went, at home and at the temple, he was even-tempered and cheerful. He spoke gently to everyone. Many scholars met with him. Many of them were Mādhvas. There must have been occasion for śāstricdiscussions. But Viśvēśvara Śāstri’s tiger jaws were nowhere in evidence. What tiger? What jaws?

Some eight or ten years went by. Around 1910, I approached Viśvēśvara Śāstri, and indicated my hopes of studying poetry with him. He was very pleased, and agreed. I also happened to get his permission to live in his out-building. This proximity was convenient for my lessons as well.

A year or two went by. One day, a scholarly assembly took place in the Śaṇkara Maṭha. Present were MahāmhōpādhyāyaSubrahmaṇya Śāstri, Vaidyanātha Śāstri, Nuggēhaḷḷi Tirumalācārya, Hariharācārya, and Śrīnivā-sācārya. Also present were Viśvēśvara Śāstri, Mōṭagānahaḷḷi Śaṇkara Śāstri, and Hosakōṭe Veṇkaṭarāma Śāstri.722

Someone raised a point of discussion. I seem to recall that it was Nuggēhaḷḷi Tirumalācārya. Subrahmaṇya Śāstri raised a counter-point. Then began the ruckus. Viśvēśvara Śāstri joined the debate. The tiger’s jaws began to show themselves. Viśvēśvara Śāstri replied that one of the parties to the disputation had used an objectionable form of argument, and that even if 722In the original, the last name appears simply as *Hosakōṭeyavaru *(“he of Hosakōṭe”).

The translator infers this to be Hosakōṭe Veṇkaṭarāma Śāstri. As recorded by Guṇḍappa

[1970, v. 7, p. 137], Hosakōṭe Veṇkaṭarāma Śāstri was a student of Lakṣmīnarasiṁha Śāstri, Kuṇigala Rāmaśāstri’s fiirst son.

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one were to go to the considerable trouble to reconcile it, it would still remain the cause of considerable misunderstanding. All in Saṁskr̥ta. The illustrations he used in the course of his reply, the flow of his arguments, his voice—everybody sat transfiixed. That was true eloquence, true command of the śastras.

Other than during śastricdisputations, Viśvēśvara Śāstri had the gentleness of a child. Always smiling. He spoke simply and genially. He frater-nized with everyone. He was formidable in his command of the śāstras, but lavish in his humanity. And always full of humility.

Viśvēśvara śāstri’s Occupation

Viśvēśvara Śāstri’s family name was Chappalli. It appears that there were three or four branches of the family. I have not inquired whether it is the name of a village, and if so, where it might be. I do not know when the Śāstri came to Beṇgaḷūru, and under what circumstances. I do not know the name of his teacher. He must have moved to Beṇgaḷūru before 1890. The Cāmarājēndra Saṁskr̥taPāṭhaśāla was not yet in existence. Viśvēśvara Śāstri began by teaching in the homes of several people. Chief among them were V.ṆNarasiṇgarāya and B. Veṇkaṭappayyaṇgār. He was also a teacher in the private school that was started in the Tuḷasitōṭa area through the efforts of Bhāṣyam Tirumalācārya and others. It appears that the government took over this private school. Such were the origins of the Cāmarājēndra Saṁskr̥taPāṭhaśāla. After this change, Viśvēśvara Śāstri became a government employee. The day that he received the appointment letter, the Śāstri visited V.ṆNarasiṁhayyaṇgār to give him the good news. The Ayyaṇgār was very pleased, and congratulated him with:

*śāstribhāvamapākr̥tya mēstribhāvamupākr̥tah. *

“You were a śāstriall this while, but now you are a *mēstri. *” This is a pun.

It may mean a schoolmaster, but it may also mean an overseer of manual labour.723 V.ṆNarasiṁhayyaṇgār was well known for such playfulness.

He was a free spirit.

Viśvēśvara Śāstri moved from the Saṁskr̥taPāṭhaśāla to Central College as a *Saṁskr̥ta paṇḍita.*It is probably around this time, when Ārkāt.

723Narasiṁhayyaṇgār deliberately confounds the Kannaḍa words *mēṣṭaru *(“teacher”, after the English master) and *mēstri *(“head workman”, after the Portuguese mestre).

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Śrīnivāsācārlu, the chief of the MujrāyiDepartment, was trying to regular-ize the administration of the various temples, that Viśvēśvara Śāstri, at his urging, edited a book called Śaivāgamasāraand readied it for publication.

Rāmaśēṣa Śāstri was paṇḍitaat Central College before him. There is a story about him that bears retelling.

Rāmaśēṣa śāstri

I know nothing about Rāmaśēṣa Śāstri myself. I will recount a story I heard from one of his students. Rāmaśēṣa Śāstri was a great scholar in both Saṁskr̥taand Kannaḍa. It appears that his lectures on poetry were exceptional.

He would recite and explain Kannaḍa verses and poems in captivating style.

When he lectured, students from other classes, and even professors, would gather at the windows to hear him. Even J.G. Tait, who was Professor of English, had apparently partaken of this pleasure.724 Tait had learned some Kannaḍa. He was also learning a little Saṁskr̥ta.

One morning, Rāmaśēṣa Śāstri arrived as usual at the college. He did not have any classes at that time. Being free, he and two other instructors were engaged in conversation in the hallway. Mr. Tait arrived there around the same time, and joined the conversation. After some fiive minutes or so, Mr. Tait excused himself. He then shook hands with some four or fiive people who were present. He extended his hand towards Rāmaśēṣa Śāstri.

R: Please forgive me. I cannot grasp your hand.

T: (in Kannaḍa) Why not?

R: Your hands have touched the cigar that you have had in your mouth. That was tainted with your saliva.725

Mr Tait discarded the cigar in his hand, went inside, washed his hands, returned, and extended his hand again.

T: Now we should be able to do it.

724John Guthrie Tait (1861–1945) was Professor of English Literature and Principal of Central College, Bangalore. He was appointed Professor of Languages after his predecessor R̥ḤPiggot died on October 31, 1889. He retired from Central College as Principal in 1917, and returned to Edinburgh, where he worked on Sir Walter Scott.

725Saliva is especially polluting. See footnote 658. In any case, contact with Tait would have been problematic for the observant Śāstri, since Tait was outside the caste system. Ritual pollution would have resulted, especially inappropriate for him on an auspicious tithi.

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R: It is still not possible. Today is Amāvāsya. I must bathe and perform certain holy rituals at home. I cannot touch you.

T: When might I shake your hand, then? That would give me

great pleasure.

R: I would be pleased to accommodate you if that would make

you happy. I will myself come to you one morning. You can

then shake my hand.

Mr Tait was very impressed by this. He praised Rāmaśēṣa Śāstri’s devotion to his observances, and commented on this to his students.

The Right to Conduct Ritual

Chappalli Viśvēśvara Śāstri taught Saṁskr̥taliterature at Central College, and earned the gratitude and respect of a great many students. When reciting poetry, his voice lacked musicality and sweetness. But his exposition was outstanding. He analysed each word, illustrated its roots and uses with examples, and laid bare the poet’s heart and soul. What greater favour could a student expect?

Viśvēśvara Śāstri was both observant and generous. He held a Rāmōtsavaevery year at home. There were grand p ūjasand pārāyaṇason these and other occasions. I asked him one day: “You are a great scholar. Why appoint another purōhitaat śrāddhasand other ritual occasions?” He replied:

“The purōhitais an essential aspect of ritual. Indeed, the śāstrasrequire a purōhitato be appointed for any ritual even in the home of a purōhita, though he himself has the right of ritual.”

The Scholarly Assembly of Cāmar ājapēṭe

A great number of scholars were visitors at Viśvēśvara Śāstri’s home. Chief among them were such scholars as Hosakōṭe Veṇkaṭarāma Śāstri, Narasiṁhaśāstri, Mōṭagānahaḷḷi Śaṇkaraśāstri, Mōṭagānahaḷḷi Rāmaśēṣaśāstri, Tirumalācārya, Garaṇi Kr̥ṣṇācārya, Muttūru Narahariśāstri, and Cennarāyapat.-

ṭaṇa Veṇkaṭaramaṇayya. Among them all, Viśvēśvara Śāstri was especially close to Mōṭagānahaḷḷi Śaṇkaraśāstri. Viśvēśvara Śāstri would sit in his ve-randah in the evenings. The other scholars would arrive. Some discussion would then ensue on some aspect of grammar, poetics, or some commentary. Śaṇkaraśāstri would recite some verses he had composed. Everyone would engage in the conversation enthusiastically.

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The Assembly at Tiruv āḍi

Around 1911, a scholarly assembly took place in a place called Tiruvāḍi in the Southern Country.726 The assembly had convened to determine how to bring about essential reforms in Hindu traditions and practices. Viśvēśvara Śāstri attended the conference. As soon as he returned and alighted from his carriage, I did him reverence, as I always did. He was in good spirits. I inquired after his well-being, and then asked him about the conference. He replied as follows:

V.: Many great scholars were at the conference. In attendance were Professor Maḷūru Raṇgācārya, Professor Kuppusvāmi Śāstri, Professor Sundararāma Ayyar, two judges of the High Court,

as well as lawyers.727 What was remarkable was that these

laukikascholars know as much Saṁskr̥taas we do. They are as familiar with the śāstrasas we are. Not only do they know the *śāstras,*they are also knowledgeable about worldly matters to which we vaidikashave no access. What you call the census—the numbers of people, the numbers of people of

each faith—what do we know of such matters? A number

of miracles of science are now under way. They do have an

understanding of such matters. Thus, they are not inferior

to us in sāstricmatters. They may even be superior in some ways. Now, with respect to dhārmicmatters, could it be right to claim that we are superior and they inferior? Who can possibly claim that Raṇgācārya or Sundararāma Ayyar come up short in devotion to dharmaor in their devotion to worldly service?”728

I: In that case, did the vaidikasaccept their conclusions?

726The conference at Tiruvāḍi, some six miles north of Tañjāvūru, took place in December 1912. An earlier conference had been held in April 1912 in Kāñcīpuram. Their goal was for paṇḍitasto confer on how to bring traditional practices and beliefs, such as those having to do with age of consent and loss of caste due to foreign travel, in line with modernity.

727Rao Bahadur Mālūru Raṇgācārya, ṀA., was formerly Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology at Presidency College, and Curator of the Government Oriental Manuscript Library at Madras. MahāmohōpādhyāyaKuppusvāmi Śāstri had held the same positions, as well as several others, including that of Principal of Madras Sanskrit College in Mylapore. Professor Sundararāma Ayyar was professor at Kumbhakōṇam.

728See page 315. Viśvēśvara Śāstri’s son Kāśīpati Śāstri was both a paṇḍitaand an engineer.

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V.: All the conclusions of the conference were entirely proper from the perspectives of both sāstrasand policy.

I: Do you accept them, then?

V.: Some matters are not right for me to follow personally. Is my age proper for me to marry a widow, or even contemplate a

second marriage? Some such matters cannot touch me per-

sonally. By and large, however, we have all accepted the dis-

position and sentiments of the conference. Surely, everyone

is bound to fiind that acceptable!

Such was the humility and the liberality of the Śāstri’s spirit.

* * * The following appears in [Guṇḍappa 1970, v. 5, p. 173].

An Incident

On one occasion, The Right Honourable Śrīnivāsa Śāstri had been invited to dinner at a wedding when he had visited Beṇgaḷūru.729 ḌVeṇkaṭarāmayya, Deputy Director of the Department of Education, was the host. Veṇkaṭarāmayya and Śrīnivāsa Śāstri were close friends. They had been fellow-students in Madrās while studying for the ḶD. examination.730 Many scholars were also present as invitees on this occasion. A conversation was in progress during the customary partaking of tāmb ūlaafter dinner.

A few weeks earlier, the Śāstri had delivered a lecture at an annual conference of paṇḍitas, in which he had urged paṇḍitasto rise above their traditionalism, and become free thinkers. His intention had been to bring about positive social change.

Presumably with this in mind, a notable in the group, however, spoke diparagingly of purōhitas. This notable had come to a senior administrative role, having passed the Mysore Civil Service Examination. He held the position of Secretary in the government. The Śāstri’s response to his comments about vaidikaswas as follows.

729The Rt. Hon. Valaṇgaimān Śaṇkaranārāyaṇa Śrīnivāsa Śāstri (1869–1946) was one of India’s leading statesmen. He was born to an orthodox brāhmaṇa family, and was intimately familiar with Indian tradition and Sanskrit. At the same time, his command of English was exceptional. The Encyclopædia Britannica recognized him as India’s most eloquent orator.

730This is a typographical error. It should read LḶD. (Doctor of Laws), rather than ḶD.

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“Good sir, when you visit the barber—how much do you pay him?”

“Four ¯

Aṇefor a haircut.”

“What do you pay the purōhitawho comes to your home to perform p ūja?”

“Four ¯

*Aṇe. *”731

“What sir, do you not see the contradiction in your views? You fiind it reasonable that the barber should take four ¯

Aṇefrom you,

though he be ignorant. You fiind it agreeable though he may not be clean. If, however, the person who accepts the same four ¯

Aṇeis a

brāhmaṇa, you complain about what he knows or does not know, and how he is or how he is not. Might this be seen as proper?

“Have you even considered how it might be possible for a vaidika brāhmaṇa to have income enough, food enough to eat, and clothes enough to wear? How dare you, before you even consider this matter, insist that he be fully profiicient in the *śāstras,*understand all the deeper meanings of the *mantras,*and the signifiicance of all ritual?

“But let us set that aside. Have you understood these matters yourself? Things are all in your favour now, by the grace of God. You hold an offiice of importance. You have acquired knowledge in English and in Science. You earn a generous income. Given all this, how much time do you devote to learning about your religion or traditions? Do you even devote as much time to them as you devote to a haircut? Let us grant that vaidikasare ignorant of deeper meanings. You, however, do have the opportunity now to learn

these deeper meanings. How are you using this opportunity?”

Such indeed, was the flow of the Śāstri’s eloquence. The company was utterly dumbfounded. The gathering was at an end.

* * * 731If we compute earnings on an hourly basis, the barber’s earnings would far exceed those of the vaidikabrāhmaṇa.

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The following appears in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 7].

Rāmasv āmi Śetti

Rāmasvāmi Śetti lived in a village called Kappalamaḍuga some fiive or six miles distant from Muḷubāgilu. He was a very wealthy man. He had arranged for the grand image of Veṇkaṭaramaṇasvāmi, which stood with arms reaching down to its knees in the courtyard of the Śrīmadāñjanēya temple in Muḷubāgilu, to be caparisoned in a corset, and having resolved that an image of Śrī Padmāvatīdēvī was to stand alongside, had arranged for this image to be sculpted and installed. . . 732

Three or four years thence, Rāmasvāmi Śetti passed away in his own house in Kappalamaḍuga. A group of brāhmaṇas had travelled to Kappalamaḍuga from Muḷubāgilu to partake in the feast associated with the vaikuṇṭhaceremony, and to receive the dakṣiṇābenefaction.733 I was among that group. I remember well that I had managed to snag the amount of one *Doḍḍāṇe *(a silver coin worth two Āṇe). I also remember well that I had subsequently received a sound thrashing at home. The reason for the thrashing was that we were not vaidikas. A laukikamay never reach for anything that should rightly go to a vaidika. I was, of course, a laukika.

732Long arms, often represented as extending to below the knees, are a sign of distinction, associated with great or divine beings. Rāma is often referred to as *mahābāhu *(great- or long-armed) or as *ājānubāhu *(one with arms long enough to reach the knees). Indian tradition recognizes thirty-two physical characteristics that distinguish great or divine beings, including exceptionally long arms, the śrīvatsamark on the chest, large earlobes, and a broad chest.

Buddhist iconography also depicts the Buddha with these thirty-two mahāpuruṣa lakṣaṇas.

733The vaikuṇṭha samārādhaneis a celebration held on the twelfth or thirteenth day after death, depending upon practice. After death, the spirit of the deceased does not automatically join the ranks of the pitr̥s, or ancestors. Instead, it remains in limbo in the form of a prēta, and must be formally incorporated into *pitr.*status through sixteen ritual stages, mirroring the sixteen saṁskārasfor the living. The fiirst ten days of post-mortem ritual are ekoddiṣṭa, or “directed at the one”, namely the prēta, and are designed to construct a new body for the prēta. The fiinal stage is the sapiṇḍīkaraṇaritual, which formally confers *pitr. *

status. The pitr̥salso progress through four stages; those in the fiirst three stages are recipi-ents of ritual services. The fourth stage being more transcendental, ancestors at this stage do not require the same attention. The names of the ancestors of the last three generations are recited at the annual śrāddhaceremonies, for instance, but the names of ancestors in earlier generations are not. The sapiṇḍīkaraṇaritual promotes the list of ancestors upwards, so that the name of the earliest ancestor need no longer be recited. See Knipe [1977] for details. In some accounts, the vaikuṇṭha samārādhanemarks the entry of the departed soul into Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of Viṣṇu. A special feast (a santarpaṇa) is held for family members and brāhmaṇas on this day, with all participants receiving a dakṣiṇāgift, usually in cash.

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* * * The following appears in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 7].

G ōd āvarī Br āhmaṇas

Some sixty years ago, the region of Gōdāvarī was not well-served by canals or other means of irrigation; much of it was dry grassland.734 Groups of brāhmaṇas from the region would frequently travel south with the purpose of visiting holy sites such as Rāmēśvaram or Tirupati. These were extremely observant brāhmaṇas.735 A sattrabuilt by a merchant named Tavva existed, adjacent to the front of the Śrīmadāñjanēyasvāmi temple in Muḷubāgilu.

The G ōdāvarī brāhmaṇas who passed through the town would usually sojourn in this sattra.

The Gōdāvarī brāhmaṇas normally travelled by foot. Vinōbā Bhāve’s travels are renowned in our own time.736 Sixty years ago, however, walking was the universal mode of travel. It was no hardship at all for the Gōdāvarī brāhmaṇas to walk fiiteen or twenty miles each day. Among them were devotees of Cauḍēśvarīand Bhadrakāḷī, as well as those well versed in Śrīvidyā.737

Our homes were visited mainly by individuals who were devoted to the study of the Vēdas. They had unabashed faith in the power and greatness of the Vēdas. They were physically robust. As a result, their voices resounded grandly in the upper register.

These brāhmaṇas would not hesitate to come home and ask: “This is surely a brāhmaṇa home. Would it be convenient for us to dine here?” The yajamānaof the house, regarding the inquiry as a supreme blessing, would 734This work was published in 1970, so the allusion “sixty years ago” is to around 1910.

735Observant brāhmaṇas were likely found everywhere at the time, but brāhmaṇas of the Gōdāvarī region appear to stand out even today. As detailed in Knipe [2015], among the brāhmaṇa communities of the Gōdāvarī delta are some of the last known āhitāgnisin India.

In these communities are also found the last known routine performers of the ancient śrauta rituals, including the sōmayāgas, most notably the elaborate Sarvatōmukha. See footnote 601. Sadly, these traditions are quickly becoming extinct.

736Vinōba Bhāve (1895–1982) was a respected fiigure, and very much in the Gandhian tradition. He travelled the country on foot, promoting his bh ūdānamovement, asking people to donate land to indigent farmers. Needless to say, the movement had limited success.

737The suggestion here is that these brāhmaṇas engaged in practices with tāntricovertones. Cauḍēśvarī and Bhadrakāḷī are both manifestations of Durgā, who is associated with tāntricritual. Śrīvidyāis a system of ritual that does have tāntricovertones, although it is practiced mainly by Smārtabrāhmaṇas.

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immediately respond: “Please do us this great favour!”738 The brāhmaṇas would never begin their meal until they had recited the Vēdasfor at least half an hour.

Neither was preparing their meal particularly diffiicult. All they wanted was rice, tovve, very spicy *huḷi *( pappu dappaḷam), gojjuor caṭṇi, plenty of tuppa, and some buttermilk. Even approaching them with our sāruin hand would elicit the reaction “No illness here!”739 Light sāruwas only for the ill!

Such was their view. They would not refuse vegetables or delicacies. What they wanted chiefly, however, was rice, pappu dappaḷam, and tuppa.

They would eat no dinner in the evenings.

Carefree Natures

They would normally travel between fiive and eight or nine in the mornings.

They would travel again between four and seven in the evenings. In this manner, some six or seven hours would be devoted each day to travel. They always remained carefree.

One of them always carried a śivaliṇga. That bāṇaliṇgawas about a foot tall.740 He would place it in a platter and perform the Rudrābhiṣēka ritual.741 The two individuals chanted the namakasand camakasin perfect unison; their voices sounded as one. They made no demands of us. They even made sure to obtain the flowers for the worship ritual on their way. It would suffiice to give them some milk or jaggery for the naivēdyaoffering.

* * * 738Hospitality to guests is *mānuṣa yajña,*a nityaritual. See footnote 61.

739 Tuppais clarifiied butter, or ghī. The translator suggests tuppato be a tadbhavaform of the Saṁskr̥taword *tr̥pra *(see R.gveda8.2.5). Rao [1969], however, derives it by elision of nasals from tan ūnapain Saṁskr̥ta, and Upadhye [1931] believes it to be a deśyaor native Kannaḍa word. Tovveis typically cooked *togari bēḷe *(pigeon peas) seasoned with salt, asafœtida, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. Huḷiis a spicy vegetable stew from Karṇāṭaka with togari bēḷeas base. Pappu dappaḷamis the equivalent term in Telugu. Gojjuand caṭṇi are both varieties of spicy vegetable sauce or relish. Sāruis a light and spicy soup, typically with a base of togari bēḷeand tamarind. Being light and savoury, it is often served during illness (see footnote 657). In Karṇāṭaka, sāruis also a regular course in meals (whence the reference to “our” sāru), leading these guests from Āndhra to playfully tease their hosts.

740A bāṇaliṇgais a polished elongated ellipsoidal stone obtained from the bed of the Narmadā river, and is a symbol of Śiva.

741In the Rudrābhiṣēkaworship ritual, the chief act is to bathe the śivaliṇgawith substances such as milk, sugar, and tuppa, to the accompaniment of Vēdic mantras, especially the Rudranamakasand Rudracamakas.

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The following appears in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 7].

Soṇṇēgauḍa’s Sam ār ādhane 742

Soṇṇavāḍi was a small village. It seems very likely that the original form of its name was Svarṇavāḍi. Soṇṇēgauḍa was the village headman. His ancestor was said to have been a person called Bhissēgauḍa. Bhissēgauḍa had been a minor pāḷeyagāra.

In my time, Soṇṇēgauḍa was a prosperous farmer. Though he did not have the title of pāḷeyagāra, his acts were certainly those of one.

Once every year, Soṇṇēgauḍa conducted a santarpaṇafor brāhmaṇas around the time of Dhātrīhavanain the months of Puṣya or Māgha.743

Government offiicers and schoolmasters from Muḷabāgilu would attend the event. Vaidikasfrom all around the region would also be in attendance.

I too had been at one of these santarpaṇas. This would most likely have been in 1900–1901 C.E. My childhood belongs to the past. Those are long-gone glory days. But today’s youth may yet be charmed by its images— and by an understanding of how their ancestors derived their delights.

* * * Dh ātrīhavana

We arose very early in the morning on the day of the Dhātrīhavana santarpaṇa, and arrived around 7 a.ṁat the lake in Soṇṇavāḍi. Having walked briskly, we had not felt the chill in the air. We now felt the need for water. The lake was full of excellent clear water. We washed our faces, and bathed. We put on clean, washed clothes, and walked some twenty yards to the grove. Looking back, it seems to have been a very fiine grove indeed.

A forest of banana trees, one might say. So too with coconuts. One also saw mango trees, beds of jasmine here and there, and bushes and growths of jasmine—these various plants appear to have taken root and grown on their 742A samārādhanais a propitiatory ritual, a santarpaṇain this case.

743 Dhātrīhavanais a Mādhvatradition observed between Kārtika śuddha trayodaśīand bahuḷa pañcamī. It includes a havanaand a *santarpaṇa *(the vanabhojana). Kārtika is around October or November; Puṣya and Māgha are between December and March.

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own. There was none of the order and structure of a Lāl Bāg.744 Where the ground lacked plants, those were the walk paths. But everything that met the eye was clean. And cool and pleasant as well.

It was the avarēkāyiseason.745 A large pile of avarēkāyilay to one side, and a pile of rolled up banana leaves to another. The śānubhōgasand schoolmasters from Muḷabāgilu and a few vaidikaswere busy shelling the avarēkayi, preparing them to be cooked.746 Some others were already standing in front a row of stoves, engaged in cooking. Soṇṇēgauḍa had arranged for all necessary provisions, such as avarēkāyi, banana leaves, rice, and lentils.

The ingredient I want to dwell on mainly is tuppa. It being a rare commodity these days, let me say a word or two on the matter. The tuppahad arrived in earthenware pots. Five or six pots. In each pot was grainy tuppa of a light yellow-saffron colour. If they noticed some youngster sinking a fiinger or two into a pot of tuppa, the impish amongst people of our town would exclaim loudly in the Telugu commonly used at the time: “*Ayyayyo! *

(Oh no!) This good gentleman is trying to steal the ājyamby putting his fiinger in it!” This was their way of being playful. We did not know that ājya was another word for tuppa. From their manner of speech, we had been led to consider ājyato be some vile substance, just as they had intended.

To assess the tuppa’squality, they used a thin reed of grass to extract a tiny amount, smeared it on the index fiinger of their left hand, and from its smell, determined whether it had come from a cow, and what its quality was.

The tuppaat Soṇṇēgauḍa’s feast was of the highest quality. That was due to the abundance and excellent quality of cattle at the time. It was also not the practice to sell tuppain stores. A great many farmers even thought it a base act to sell tuppa. For such reasons, brāhmaṇas enjoyed food aplenty.

bhojanam dehi rājendra ghr̥tasūpasamanvitam |

māhiṣam ca śaraccandracandrikādhavaḷam dadhi ∥

744 Lāl Bāghis a 188-acre garden in Beṇgaḷūru. Its construction began around 1760 under Haidar ‘Ali, and proceeded under his son T.ippu. Originally modeled after the Mughal gardens at Sira, it also acquired European character under British rule.

745 avarēkāyiis Lablab purpureus, a species of broad bean that is generally purple. The Indian variety, however, is green. It has a unique and much-treasured fragrance and flavour.

It is harvested around December–February and used in a variety of dishes.

746A śānubhōgais a village offiicial responsible for maintaining accounts and records.

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Isn’t that just what the great poet Kālidāsa had wished for? And isn’t that just what had been prepared for us?747

Abundance

We enjoyed a meal fiit for the gods that day, as guests of Soṇṇēgauḍa.

Tovveof avarēkāyi, tuppato our heart’s content, huḷiof avarēkāyi, gojjuof bitter gourd, āmbōḍe, pāyasaof vermicelli, mosaruthick enough to be cut with a knife, happaḷa, saṇḍige, and various vegetable preparations.748 What else might one want for indulgence and delight?

Many modern-day vegetables, such as potatoes, green beans, and cab-bages, were not available in the region at that time.749 We were content with just lime to accompany our meals. Green chillies as well.

We had a hearty and joyous time of it, talking to each other, asking for multiple helpings, and eating till our stomachs felt ready to burst. We returned after 5 p.m., after it had cooled off. May the numbers of folks like Soṇṇēgauḍa, so unaffected and so generous, and the source of such fulfiillment, ever increase in our nation.750

svē svē karmaṇyabhirataḥsaṁsiddhim labhate narah. ∥

747See Ballāladeva’s *Bhojaprabandha *(verse 86). The fiirst hemistitch (“give us food, O

king of kings, replete with clarifiied butter and soup”) is ascribed to two learned but unskilled poets at Bhuvaneśvarī. Unable to complete the verse, they appealed to the great Kālidāsa, who supplied the last hemistitch (“and dadhiof buffalo milk, white as the moonlight of the autumn moon”). Dadhiis yogurt (“curds” in India) obtained by bacterial action on milk.

748For tuppa, tovve, gojju, and huḷi, see footnote 739. Mosaruis *dadhi *(footnote 747).

Ambōḍeare spiced patties of fiinely- and coarsely-ground lentils fried golden and crisp.

Pāyasais a sweet pudding with a base of thickened milk. Happaḷaand saṇḍigeare fried, crispy, spicy, and savoury accompaniments to the meal, serving a function similar to potato crisps or chips in other cuisines. The meal would have been eaten off banana leaves, seated on the ground, and served by people walking around carrying large containers of rice and these dishes.

749Potatoes and green beans are new-world vegetables, brought to India by Westerners.

Cabbages were eaten in Europe for millenia, but are also a recent import into India. Other new-world vegetables that are now common in Indian cuisine include tomatoes, sweet potatoes, chillies, peanuts, the cashew, maize, various squashes including the pumpkin, various bean varieties, and numerous fruits, including the guava and the pineapple. See Svāmi

[1978]. Vegetables such as these are still proscribed at traditional rituals, especially śrāddhas.

750While these are just words of praise, they are in the tradition of blessing the giver of a meal. See footnote 105. For the verse, see *Bhagavadgītā *(18.45) *: “sve sve karmaṇyabhiratah. *

saṁsiddhim labhate naraḥ| svakarmanirataḥsiddhim yathā vindati tacchruṇu ∥”. This means: “By being devoted to work, each to his own, does man attain perfection. Hear now how those devoted to their own work may attain such perfection.”

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* * * The following appears in Guṇḍappa [1970, v. 5, p. 105].

Our Assembly

Over a period of two or three years, Veṇkaṭācārya, Bālasarasvati, Vidvān Gōpālayya, another scholar (whose name I cannot now recall because we were not very close then), and myself—the four or fiive of us spent at least an hour with each other. The others were all scholars, and also some years older than I was. Our conversations centered around no particular topic. Just whatever came to mind at the time. How huḷiwas to be cooked perhaps, the proper preparation of vegetables, or whether jilēbiswere tastier than lāḍus.751 Or what variety of incense might be the best. Or again, perhaps, what the proper way of elaborating a rāgamight be, or the poet Māgha’s skill with words—a motley collection of topics.

Our Afternoon Diversion

Around 1903–1910, K.ṢKriṣṇayyar’s Irish Press was in the building at the corner where one turned from Cikkapēṭe towards the Municipal Park.

The English semiweekly Mysore Timeswas published from that press. I was there every day, being the publication’s Assistant Editor. That was a large building. Behind it was an empty fiield. In it were an aśvatthatree with a kaṭṭearound its base, a line of nāgaśilās, a manṭapa, as well as a puṣkariṇī pond.752 This spot was our place of work when the employees of the Press went home for lunch, or during any other break in the workday. The four or fiive of us would sit on the steps leading down to the pond, and chat for an hour or an hour-and-a-half with our legs in the water. An interesting episode occurred during those times.

751These are both now seen as traditional sweets in India, although jilēbisoriginated in Iran. Jilēbisare made by deep frying coils of wheat and chickpea flour extruded into hot oil, and then soaking them in sweet syrup. Lāḍusare balls of sweetened būndis, which are themselves small pellets made by deep frying thin batter cast as little drops into hot oil.

752This is a confiiguration commonly seen in southern India. The aśvattha, or Ficus religiosa, is considered auspicious, and it is common to build kaṭṭes, which are berms of soil around the tree’s base, held in place by an embankment or retaining wall, serving as places for people to sit. Such kaṭṭescommonly also hold nāgaśilās. Puṣkariṇīsare ponds near temples or maṇṭapas, used for ritual purifiication or bathing before worship or religious acts.

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Some Hilarity

An obsession with poetry has afflicted me since childhood. I had fashioned three or four poems in Saṁskr̥tawhen the S.r̥ṇgēri jagadguruhappened to pass through Beṇgaḷūru on his way back from Kālaṭi.753 These above friends of mine were suffiiciently appreciative of these verses to have determined that they were to be published. I was delighted, since they were all scholars of Saṁskr̥ta. The poems were sent off to the press to be typeset.

That was around eleven in the morning. After typesetting, the printers had prepared proofs for our perusal that afternoon.

VidvānDoḍḍabele Nārāyaṇaśāstri happened to arrive at the press before then.754 He had come to check the proofs of his monthly Vidyānanda, which was printed there. He picked up the proofs that were awaiting our return, and began to correct them. When the staff inquired, he reassured them, saying: “This boy is one of our own,” and proceeded to make changes.

My text had read as follows:

jayaśaṇkara jayaśaṇkara guruśēkhara bhagavan ∥

The Śāstri’s correction was as follows:

jayaśaṇkara jayaśaṇkara varadēśika bhagavan ∥

My friends Bālasarasvati, Veṇkaṭācārya, and others arrived at the press. I had been waiting. They looked at the proofs, turned to me and asked: Ve ˙n.: Did you make these changes?

I: That is not my doing. I understand Doḍḍabele Nārāyaṇaśāstri had come by. He has made these corrections. Let them be.

Ve ˙n.: Let them be? Why, indeed?

B āl.: These cannot remain! Now you leave us be!

At that point, I went upstairs to attend to some other task. What then transpired was as follows:

753Kālaṭi (Kaladi), in the Ernakulam district of modern-day Kerala, is renowned as the birthplace of ¯

AdiŚaṇkarācārya. The jagadgurumentioned here is Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nr̥siṁha Bhāratī, who is credited with the rediscovery of the signifiicance of this town.

He founded a shrine there in honour of ¯

AdiŚaṇkara, performing the kumbhābhiśekaceremony dedicating the shrine on Māgha śukla dvādaśīin the year 1910 C.E. (February 21, 1910).

We may presume that he was returning through Beṇgaḷūru after this ceremony.

754Footnote in original: “Chapter 11, pages 92–93”. See page 311 of the present volume.

vignettes from guṇḍappa’s jñ āpaka citraś āle 331

The four of them took themselves to Doḍḍabele Nārāyaṇaśāstri’s home in Siddhikaṭṭe. A spirited discussion appears to have occurred between the parties. They returned at about two-thirty in the afternoon, the Śāstri in tow. When the Śāstri saw me, he said: “What is this, my good fellow? You dispatched such a battalion! What chance of survival had I, once in their clutches?” He explained further: “I read the verses. They were all very good.

But the parsing *‘guruśē - khara bhagavan’*causes misapprehension. The prosodic cæsura follows the syllable *śē *! Hence my correction!”

At this, the eyes of both Veṇkaṭācārya and Bālasarasvati widened, and they protested: “What manner of correction is this? How could ‘varade -

*śikhabhagavan’*be proper? Are you suggesting Śaṇkaracārya was a Sīkh?”755

I did reverence to both parties, touching their feet, and begged them to abandon their debate. Nārāyaṇaśāstri said: “My good fellow! These folks take up battle as did Indrajitu!756 I must consider myself fortunate. I have at least escaped with my life!”

Then there was laughter. Since there remained some uncertainty in my mind, I took the matter to BrahmaśrīChappalli Viśvēśvara Śāstri, and explained what had transpired. He laughed out loudly, called out to his son Kāśīpati Śāstri and his student Sundaraśāstri, read it out to them and said:

“guruśēkhara—just priceless!”.

Indeed, there were such episodes aplenty!

755We can speculate on the specifiics of this controversy. Cæsuræ ( yati) must appear in se-mantically meaningful positions, typically at word boundaries. Syllables following the yati must convey meaning consistent with poetical intent. The original *“guru·śēkhara·bhagavan” *

means “most excellent and divine guru”, but Nārāyaṇaśāstri marks a yatiafter the 13th syllable of the verse, forcing the decomposition guru·śē|khara·bhagavan. He makes a correction since khara·bhagavanmeans “lord of donkeys”, hardly a qualifiier befiitting Śaṇkarā-cārya. The verse is in an 18-syllable metre comprising the gaṇas sa-na-ja-na-bha-sa, identifiied by Brown [1869, p. 12] as Carcarī, with yatisafter syllables 5, 10, and 15, resulting in the decomposition *“jayaśaṇkara|jayaśaṇkara|guruśēkhara|bhagavan” *. Velankar [1949], however, identifiies the metre as Surabhi, with yatisafter syllables 3, 8, 13, and 18, resulting in

*“jayaśa ˙n|karajayaśa ˙n|karaguruśē|kharabhagavan” *. Clearly, Nārāyaṇaśāstri takes the metre to be Surabhi. Now, however, his correction would also be subject to the decomposition

*“varadē|śikabhagavan” *. The *“śikabhagavan”*following the yatihas no obvious meaning, violating the standard for yatis. In a humorous vein, Bālasarasvatī and his group are suggesting that śikabe taken to mean “Sīkh” ( *“śika”*sounds like “Sīkh”, and *“śikhā”*also means a tuft of hair on the head, which all Sīkhs wear as a mark of their faith). Now, *“vara·dē·śikabhagavan” *

can be construed to mean “Favour us with boons, O lord of Sīkhs!”

756Rāvaṇa’s son Indrajit was among the fiinest warriors of the Rāmāyaṇa. He vanquished Indra and even rendered Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa utterly helpless in battle.