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Daivaradhane: Unmistakably Hindu
Here’s the promised thread. Mostly made of quotes from daivas, patris & eminent Tuluvas, it’s irrefutable on grounds of cultural appropriation/imposition. I have merely paraphrased their words & supplanted them with a few more proofs. 1/32
Intro
Daivaradhane is a unique tradition of worshipping local protector spirits in Tulunadu region of Karnataka. These ceremonies also serve as a dharmika judiciary resolving all sorts of local conflicts. The daivas are known for their benevolence & strictness. 2/32
Scripture
To see that it conforms to vedas, it suffices to consider the conversation of Narada & Sanatkumara in the 7th chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishat. In verse 2, at the behest of Sanatkumara, Narada enlists the sciences known to him & the list includes a certain ‘Bhutavidya’. 3/32
Shriman Madhvacharya, quoting the Samasamhita, explains that this bhutavidya is nothing but the science of spirits, their ensigns, &c.
Many more references to daivas, bhutas & their worship are extant in scriptures including but not limited to Bhagavadgita & puranas. 4/32 Tuluva scholar Mahendra Somayaji rightly says since both the vedas & the spirituality of daivaradhane are said to exist since time immemorial, & no concrete evidence exists to affix an exact date to either; temporal comparisons based on arbitrary hypotheses are misleading. 5/32
Self intro
Here Panjurli daiva of Kupettu narrates how the daiva works in accordance with vedas, puranas, etc., & swears to protect devotees through the grace of Lord Vishnu until pralaya (great deluge). 6/32 This is a portion of a daiva’s self-introduction & statement of desha-kala (present place & time). Note how clearly you can hear the words ‘Hindu dharma’ here. Such clear statements of name, place, time, purpose, etc., is a core Hindu practice. 7/32
Tulu
Why do daivas speak Tulu? Incarnated deities respect desha-kala-sandarbha; including regional languages. @MadhvaHistory writes Kannada Saint Gopaladasa sings of hearing Vishnu as Vitthala from Maharashtra speak to him in Marathi. Ofcourse daivas of Tulunadu speak Tulu. 8/32
Communities
In the video attached , Shri. Dayananda Kathalsar, a renowned Pambada daivanartaka & President of Tulu Sahitya Academy explains how Daivaradhane is Hindu.
The gist of his statements is given in the next 3 tweets. 9/32
«Daivaradhane is not a mere sylvan performance of some sort & requires diverse communities from all strata of society to work in tandem in a well-defined framework. 16+ different communities are actively involved in these ceremonies, and each is irreplaceable & essential.» 10/32
«Pambada, Nalike & Parava are spirit media (daivanartaka) communities being called non-Hindu. But for the medium to perform, people from communities such as Bunt, Billava, Mogaveera, Madivala, &c. are crucial facilitators looking after costume, music, &c.» 11/32 «All of these communities which are equally crucial to the performance as the daivanartakas themselves, are unmistakably Hindu. How can you then conveniently isolate a select few communities as lying outside the purview of Hinduism?» 12/32
Each community has a role in daivaradhane. Tantris for example, are needed to conduct ‘ashtamangala prashna’ to locate/relocate/re-establish a daiva like in the case of Perne village where burial of a daivasthana had been causing accidents: 13/32
Not hijacked
Did Brahmins hijack the tradition? Dr. Indira Hegde, a Tuluva researcher & author, answers this as a resounding no. She adds that only a male family member is eligible to do daivaradhana & that the daivas too have a hierarchy based on their jurisdictions. 14/32
Practice exchange
Shri. Dayananda Kathalsar sheds some much needed light on other aspects of daivaradhane in his interviews & dispels disinformation being peddled by miscreants. The next 5 tweets give paraphrased gists of some of his important notings. 15/32
«Cultural exchange among communities is common due to our shared cultural space & common religious framework as Hindus; like we Pambadas too adopt some practices of Koragas at times (but there’s no identity loss or cultural imposition)» 16/32
«In many cases, a designated Daivanartaka has to adhere to strict vegetarianism, observe fasts, is forbidden from eating outside, &c. Such code of conduct is often associated with upper castes; yet here this is a generational hand-down for nartakas over millennia.» 17/32
«Just as Brahmins avoid touch after bath before puja, & some temples have hereditary priests, daivanartaka isn’t touched by others after ‘Yenne boolya’ ritual and the daivanartaka designations are hereditary. It isn’t discrimination but sacrosanct tradition.» 18/32
Forces worshipped
«Parvati is Ganesha’s mother in puranas & caretaker of Maisaga Bama’s Ganapa in pardanas. The story of Krishna too, is present. Pardana of Kalurti daiva mentions a meeting between the daiva & Krishna with Krishna saying, “I’m your elder brother”. All is stated.» 19/32
«Daivaradhane is sanatana nature-worship involving all. Pardanas say there’s an unburnable, unwettable, undiminishable, unperceivable immanent force (shakti); devotion (bhakti) to which leads to emancipation (mukti). Isn’t this what vedas say? Where’s the difference?» 20/32
Vadiraja
The story of Dharmasthala is intrinsically linked with the sannyasi saint Vadiraja Tirtha. There, Panjurli daiva brought the sannidhana of Manjunatha from Kadri for consecration in the temple at the hands of Vadiraja Tirtha. This episode finds mention in the daiva nudi. 21/32
Shri. Anand Nalike tells us Shrimad Vadiraja Tirtha, during one of his travels, installed Bhutaraja to bless the Kallurti-aradhaka family which had been trying a beget a child. Since then, it’s been their family tradition to worship both Bhutaraja & Kallurti. 22/32
Narayana Sharma was a student of Shri Vadiraja Tirtha who later attained the status of Bhutaraja via Guru’s grace. He is a deity worshipped variously in settings resembling daivaradhane. This isn’t a synthesis of 2 separate traditions but a proof of commonality of religion. 23/32
becoming bhUta
With a few conspiracy theories out of the way, let us address the next objection.
“What about the bhutas such as Ali? If Daivaradhane is Hindu, why do we have Muslim bhutas?”
To answer that, let us first examine what it takes to attain the status of a bhuta. 24/32 Various forms of worship give varying results—
मोक्षः साङ्कल्पिकः स्वर्गो
भूतादित्वं फलं क्रमात् ।
The status of a bhuta is attainable only through the grace of Shiva-parivara (including bhuta ganas) obtained through devotion over several lifetimes. 25/32
Muslim names
Is such devotion to Shiva-parivara permitted in Islam?
Categorically NO! In Islam, prayer is essentially restricted to Salah, Sunnah & Nafl; & praying to or believing in any divinity other than Allah amounts to the sin of Shirk. Also, the notion of reincarnation is absent. 26/32
So there can’t be, & aren’t any “Muslim” bhutas. A soul on becoming a bhuta continues to use the name from the last birth. If that birth happens to be as a Muslim; the name is inevitably a Muslim one. This is fully compatible with Hindu notion of reincarnations. 27/32
Those eligible to be bhutas often disappear/die in a mysterious or extreme way; such an event is called mayaka.+++(5)+++ A bhuta’s life before mayaka is then immaterial as the eligibility is earned over several lifetimes. Thus, despite their names, Bhutas like Ali aren’t Muslims. 28/32
Eligibility
If doubts still persist, note that Bhuta Ali is worshipped at Devi Bhagavati’s shrine at Pare in Kerala. Ali’s patri (medium) belongs to a daivanartaka community. No Muslim is ever eligible to become a patri anywhere. Why would that be if bhutas could themselves be Muslims? 29/32
Missionary plot
Dr. B. A. Viveka Rai states Xtian missionaries learned Tulu to proselytise. Their target group for conversion was the Billavas (contemporary majority) so pardanas of Koti-Chennaya, whom Billavas worship, got documented while pardanas of others such as Siri were excluded. 30/32 Image
The heirs of those manipulative missionaries including leftists now maliciously accuse Hindus of attempting to hijack narratives or imposing religion. To them I say, proselytization is an Abrahamic imperative; not a dharmika one. Facts don’t lie; missionaries & leftists do. 31/32
Contra chetan ahimsa
To conclude, Daivaradhane is, was, & will always be Hindu. A certain Chetan Ahimsa started the controversy with insensitive remarks. In response, daivanartaka community led by Kumara Pambada has sought refuge in Panjurli daiva for justice. Surely, daivas’ rule will prevail. 32/32