Yogic Identities: Tradition and Transformation

James Mallinson

James Mallinson The earliest textual descriptions of yogic techniques date to the last few centuries BCE and show their practitioners to have been ascetics who had turned their backs on ordinary society ! These renouncers have been considered practitioners of yoga par excellence throughout "ndian history #hile ascetics$ including some seated in meditative yoga postures$% have been represented in "ndian statuary& since that early period$ the first detailed depictions of "ndian ascetics are not found until circa !'() in paintings produced under the patronage of Mughal Emperor *kbar +reigned !''(, !()'- and his successors . These wonderfully naturalistic and precise images illuminate not only Mughal manuscripts' and albums but also our understanding of the history of yogis( and their sects /cholars have argued for these paintings0 value as historical documents12 their usefulness in establishing the history of "ndian ascetic orders bears this out The consistency of their depictions and the astonishing detail they reveal allow us to flesh out3and$ sometimes$ rewrite3the incomplete and partisan history that can be surmised from /anskrit and vernacular texts$ travelers0 reports$ hagiography$ and ethnography 4

The Two Yogi Traditions: Ascetic Sanyss and Tantric Nths

The eleventh to the fifteenth centuries saw the composition of a corpus of /anskrit works that teach the haha method of yoga$ which places the greatest emphasis on physical practices 5 The techniques of haha yoga3some of which were probably part of ascetic practice for more than a thousand years before they were taught in texts3became integral to subsequent formulations of yoga$ including orthodox ones such as those found in the later 67oga 8paniads 9!) They form the basis of much of the yoga practiced around the world today #ithin the texts of the haha yoga corpus$ we can identify two yogic paradigms :ne$ the older$ is the tradition of the yogis described in our earliest sources and is linked to the physical practices of tapas3asceticism "t uses a variety of physical methods to control the breath and to arrest the downward flow and loss of semen$!! which is said to be the essence of life Control of breath and semen leads to control of the mind$ as well as perfect health and longevity "n classical formulations of hahayoga3such as that found in the most influential text on the sub;ect$ the fifteenth<century Hahapradpik3a second paradigm$ that of Tantric yoga$ is superimposed onto this ancient ascetic method *s taught in its root texts$ which were composed between the fifth and tenth centuries CE$ Tantric yoga consists for the most part of meditations on a series of progressively more subtle elements$ a progression represented in some =aula Tantric texts from the tenth century onward by the visuali>ation of the ascent of the serpent goddess =ualin? through a series of wheels +cakras- or lotuses +padmas- located along the body0s central column The ultimate goal of both of these yogic paradigms is liberation +moka-$ which can be achieved while alive *long the way various supernatural abilities or siddhis are said to arise$ ranging from mundane benefits such as overcoming hunger and thirst through the power of flight to the attainment of an immortal body "n the ancient ascetic tradition$ these siddhis are ultimately impediments to the final goal1 in the Tantric tradition$ they may be ends in themselves !% This mixing of yogic traditions suggests an ascetic milieu in which techniques were exchanged freely$ a suggestion corroborated by the lack of emphasis on sectarianism in the texts of the early hahayoga corpus The earliest text to teach a yoga explicitly called haha declares@ 6#hether a Brahmin$ an ascetic$ a Buddhist$ a Jain$ a /kull<Bearer or a materialist$ the wise one who is endowed with faith and constantly devoted to the practice of AhahaB yoga will attain complete success 9!& Early Mughal paintings bear witness to an ascetic archetype 7ogis have long$ matted hair and beards$ are naked or nearly so3what cloth they do wear is ochre<colored3and smear their bodies with ashes "n addition to these long<attested ascetic attributes$ Mughal<era yogis display some more recent traits@ they wear hooped earrings$!. sit around smoldering fires$!' and drink suspensions of cannabis !( /ee$ for example$ some of the finest early Mughal depictions of "ndian yogis3a single folio from the /t Cetersburg Muraqqa +*lbum-$ which shows a camp of ascetics +fig !- or two folios from a manuscript of the Akbarnma showing a battle between two /anyDs? suborders +figs % and &-

Eigure ! Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure % Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure & Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window But although the two yogi traditions clearly interacted$ sharing both theory and practice$ their lineages remained distinct !2 They were represented$ in the case of the ancient tradition of celibate asceticism$ by groups that today constitute sections of the IaJanDm? /anyDs? and KDmDnand? ascetic orders$ and$ in the case of the tradition of Tantric adepts such as Matsyendra and Loraka$!4 by groups that today constitute sections of an ascetic order now known as the MDths !5 These orders

were only starting to be formali>ed in the early Mughal period %) Today they remain$ together with the /ikh<affiliated 8dDsins$ the biggest ascetic orders in Morth "ndia

Eigure . Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure ' Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure ( Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Naked Sanyss and Nths with Horns

#e know from external evidence that the ascetics depicted fighting in two folios +figs %$ &- from the Akbarnma +!'5),5'- and those depicted in two folios +figs 2$ 4- from the Bburnma are from lineages belonging to the two separate yogi traditions Eigures % and & depict a battle$ witnessed by Emperor *kbar$ that took place in !'(2 on the banks of the bathing tank at =urukshetra The combatants belonged to two rival yogi suborders$ and they were fighting over who should occupy the best place to collect alms at a festival "n his description of the battle$ Akbarnma author *bu0l Ea>l called the combatants Cur?s and Liris$ which remain to this day two of the 6ten names9 of the IaJanDm? or 6Ten<Mamed9 /anyDs?s %!

Eigure 2 Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure 4 Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window Eigures 2 and 4 are illustrations from a circa !'5) manuscript of the Bburnma and depict a visit Emperor BDbur made in !'!5 to a monastery at Lurkhattri in modern<day Ceshawar$ Cakistan The manuscript and its illustrations were made under the patronage of *kbar$ who himself visited Lurkhattri twice in !'4!$%% so the illustrations are likely to depict the monastery and its inhabitants at that time %& 8ntil the partition of "ndia$ Lurkhattri was an important center of the MDth ascetic order$%. and there is still a temple to Loraka$ its founder$ at the site today %' This does not confirm that Lurkhattri was in the possession of MDths at the time of either BDbur0s or *kbar0s visit3many such shrines have changed hands over time3and the inhabitants of Lurkhattri are not identified in the Bburnma as MDths$ but rather as jog+s-$%( a vernacular form of the /anskrit yog, which can refer to ascetics of a variety of traditions Nowever$ we can infer that they were MDths%2 from three

attributes that they do not share with the /anyDs?s shown fighting at =urukshetra in the Akbarnma The first is the wearing of horns on threads around their necks Today$ the single most reliable indicator of MDth membership is the wearing of such horns +see fig !!- %4 MDths now call their horns nds$ but they were formerly known as sigs$ and this appears to have been the case in the medieval period "n medieval Nindi literature sigs are frequently mentioned among the accoutrements of yogis$ and sig<wearing yogis are sometimes identified as followers of Loraka %5 "n keeping with their lack of sectarianism$ /anskrit texts on haha yoga$ even those associated with Loraka$ make few mentions of sect<specific insignia$ and none of sigs$ but other /anskrit sources associate yogi followers of Loraka with the wearing of horns Thus an early sixteenth<century /outh "ndian /anskrit drama describes a =DpDlika ascetic as uttering 6Loraka$ Loraka9 and blowing a horn$&) and the tenth chapter of a /anskrit narrative from Bengal dated to the second half of the sixteenth century or earlier&! tells of the yogi CandranDtha being awoken from his meditation by other yogis blowing their horns &% Erom the fourteenth to the sixteenth century travelers to the regions in which the earliest references to Loraka are found&& reported the use of horns by yogis &. The identification of ascetics who wear horns as MDths is supported by a painting of the annual 8rs festival of Mu0inuddin Chishti at *;mer completed in the !(')s&' and now in the collection of the Fictoria and *lbert Museum$ Oondon &( *t the bottom is a group of Nindu ascetics The fourth and fifth figures from the right$ who both sport sigs$ are identified on the painting itself as Matsyendra and Loraka$ the first human MDth gurus The other two specifically MDth attributes are the necklace and fillet worn by three of the ascetics in figure 4 *t the end of the sixteenth century the Jesuit traveler Monserrate visited BDlnDth illD$ a famous MDth shrine in the Jhelum district of Cakistani Cun;ab$ which was the headquarters of the order until the partition of "ndia &2 Iescribing the monastic inhabitants of the illD$ Monserrate wrote$ 6The mark of AtheB leader0s rank is a fillet1 round this are loosely wrapped bands of silk$ which hang down and move to and fro There are three or four of these bands 9&4 This description seems to conflate two items of apparel often depicted in Mughal paintings of yogis@ a simple fillet and a necklace$ hanging from which are colored strips of cloth +Monserrate0s silk bands- &5 Meither of these is worn today$.) but they serve to identify their wearers in Mughal paintings as MDth yogis .! These indicators of membership of the MDth order3the horns$ fillets$ and necklaces3enable us to identify ascetics in a large number of early Mughal paintings$ including those depicted in this beautiful seventeenth<century painting of yogis +fig 5-$ as MDths .%

Eigure 5 Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window :nce members of the MDth sapradya have been identified$ it is possible to note other attributes that MDths do not share with the /anyDs?s depicted in contemporaneous illustrations These include the wearing of cloaks and hats$ the accompaniment of dogs$ and the use of small shovels for moving ash The /anyDs?s$ meanwhile$ in keeping with the renunciation implied by their name$ do relatively little to embellish their archetypal ascetic attributes and are thus best distinguished by the absence of the specifically MDth features noted above .& "ndeed$ in some cases$ their renunciation is such that they are naked$ which the MDths never are Eigure !$ then$ shows a /anyDs? encampment There are fewer Mughal pictures of /anyDs?s than of MDths .. The north "ndian ascetic MDth traditions encountered by the Mughals were closely linked to the /ant tradition of holy men and$ like them$ believed in a formless$ unconditioned god This theological openness3which manifested in$ among other things$ a disdain for the purity laws adhered to by more orthodox Nindu ascetics3 allowed them to mix freely with those such as the Muslim Mughals$ who more caste<bound Nindu traditions would consider mlecchas +barbarians- .' Eurthermore the MDths were not militari>ed$ unlike the /anyDs?s$ whose belligerence would have proved an impediment to interaction with the Mughals .( The MDths0 greater influence on the Mughal court is further borne out by the preponderance of their doctrines in Cersian yoga texts produced during the Mughal period .2

arrings
The criteria used above to identify the MDths and /anyDs?s in early Mughal paintings have been taken exclusively from sources contemporaneous with or older than the paintings themselves This is because using modern ethnographic data to interpret these images has its pitfalls By now the reader acquainted with the MDths may have wondered why little mention has been made of earrings Today$ MDths are renowned for wearing hooped earrings through the cartilages of their ears$ which are cut open with a dagger at the time of initiation .4

Eigure !) Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window Eor this reason$ they are sometimes referred to as knpha +split<eared-$ a pe;orative term that they themselves eschew Fery few other ascetics today wear earrings of any sort and$ to my knowledge$ none wears them knpha<style .5 The current exclusive association of MDths wearing hooped earrings has led many scholars to take textual mentions or artistic depictions of such insignia as indications that the wearers are MDths$ but this is not always the case "n "ndia$ earrings have long been emblematic of both divinity') and rank '! Thus many representations of the Buddha show him with earlobes that are distended and pierced but empty$ signifying his renunciation@ he had abandoned the heavy ;eweled earrings he wore as a royal prince '% "n contrast$ MahDyDna bodhisattvas and Tantric adepts +siddhas- were conceived of as sovereigns of their realms and are often described and depicted as wearing earrings +and other regal accoutrements- '& These Nindu and Buddhist siddhas may have been the first ascetics to wear earrings1 a related type of ascetic$ the =DpDlika +/kull bearer-$ is often said to wear them '. "n medieval vernacular texts contemporaneous with early Mughal paintings$ earrings are almost always included +usually as mudr- in lists of yogi insignia '' :ften they are associated with yogis who follow Loraka "f we look at the ears in figures !,& and 2,5$ however$ we see two surprising features Eirst$ almost all$ whether they belong to MDths or /anyDs?s$ sport earrings /econd$ no earring goes through cartilage Iepictions of /anyDs?s up to the eighteenth century often show them wearing earrings$ and it is not until the late eighteenth or even early nineteenth century that we come across the first depictions of MDths wearing earrings knpha<style * fine example is a painting of two ascetics that illustrates a manuscript of the ashr al!a"m, an account of various "ndian sects$ castes$ and tribes commissioned by Colonel James /kinner and completed in !4%' +fig !!- The ascetic on the left is identified in an expanded version of the picture from the same period as an *ugha$ i e $ a MDth who is yet to take full initiation1 the one on the right$ who wears a sig around his neck and knpha earrings$ is a full initiate by the name of Pambhu MDth '( Travelers from the sixteenth century onward commented on the wearing of earrings by yogis$'2 but there are no outsider reports of them being worn knpha<style until circa !4)) '4 The seventeenth< century poet /undardDs$ whose earliest manuscript is dated !(4.$'5 contrasts earring<wearing jogs

with ja<growing /anyDs?s +pad !&'- and elsewhere derides splitting the ears +kn phari- as a means of attaining yoga +skh !( %&- () /ince no paintings of yogis from the Mughal heyday +up to !(.)- show split<eared yogis$ it thus seems likely that the practice developed in the second half of the seventeenth century The use of the pe;orative name knpha, however$ is not found until the second half of the eighteenth century$ suggesting that the practice did not become widespread until then The MDths0 adoption of this extreme knpha style led to earrings in general being closely associated with the MDth order$ with the result that other ascetic orders eschewed the practice (!

Eigure !! Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window The received history of the MDths is based on hagiography and has the twelfth<century Loraka founding the order$ complete with its twelve subdivisions$ by putting earrings through the cartilages of his disciples0 ears The order is said to have flourished until the eighteenth century or thereabouts and to have been in steady decline ever since But close examination of the historical sources shows that the opposite is more likely (% The first organi>ation to claim authority over all MDth lineages was founded in !5)( (& The MDth sapradya +MDth order- often referred to in histories of yoga and yogis was in fact a variety of disparate orders that traced their lineages to one or another Tantric siddha Thus JDlandharnDth was the tutelary deity of Mahara;a Man /ingh0s Jodhpur in the early nineteenth century$ and Loraka played a subsidiary role in the texts and paintings produced at Man /ingh0s court(. until late in his reign +!4)&,.&- (' The adoption of knpha<style earrings appears to have been part of the process of Loraka0s becoming the titular head of the order and is always associated with Loraka in legend (( The earliest image of JDlandharnDth from Man /ingh0s reign$ a painting of him at his seat in Jalore$ shows him and his attendants wearing earrings in their earlobes +fig !%- (2 "n subsequent depictions of MDths from the region$ such as another of JDlandharnDth in a folio from the #th $arit +fig !&-$ they sport knpha<style earrings (4 The #th $arit identifies the previously preeminent JDlandharnDth with Loraka (5 JDlandharnDth was also identified with the

BDlnDth of BDlnDth illD$ which$ as noted above$ was known as Lorakh illD by the second half of the eighteenth century 2)

Eigure !% Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure !& Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Just as the MDths0 earrings changed as the result of changes in the MDth sapradya$ so too did their horns The sig worn by MDths today is a more complex affair than that depicted in Mughal painting$ which appears to have been an antelope horn eight to ten centimeters long$ worn on a short thread around the neck so that it rested on the upper part of the chest Today0s sig ensemble consists of a styli>ed miniature horn3more of a whistle3about three centimeters long and one centimeter in diameter$ which is made from a variety of different materials$ ranging from gold to plastic "t is worn around the neck with a ring +p"itr- and a rudrka +%laeocarpus ganitrus Koxb - seed on a long thread of spun black wool that hangs almost to the waist

Eigure !. Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window The MDths call this ensemble either a sel or a janeo +fig !.- The latter is a Nindi word for the yaj&opa"ta or 6sacred thread9 worn by twice<born Nindus$ and suggests a clue to the changes in MDth neckwear The watershed in the MDths0 sig configuration can be seen in paintings from Man /ingh0s reign in Jodhpur Eigure !% has JDlandharnDth and his companions wearing their styli>ed sigs on short threads around their necks$ without a ring or rudrka seed$ in the manner of those shown in figures 2$ 4$ and 5 :nce the 6mature archetype9 of JDlandharnDth was established$2! he and his companions were always shown wearing their sigs +without a ring or rudrka seed- on waist<length black threads$ usually around their necks +in the same manner as the yogi in fig !!- but sometimes over one shoulder and under the other in the manner of a brahmin0s sacred thread 2% "t seems that the newer$ longer ensemble came about in imitation of the brahmanical janeo Iuring their heyday$ the Jodhpur MDth householders 6began to adopt high<caste Nindu ways$92& and we see in texts commissioned by Man /ingh an alignment between the previously unorthodox MDth tradition and classical Ninduism 2.

Yogi !ollowers of "i#a and $i%

The most significant fault line in Nindu theology is the division between Paivas$ who hold that the supreme being is Piva or his consort$ Iev?$ and Faiavas$ who hold that it is Fiu or one of his incarnations +a"atras-$ usually KDma or =a This division was at its most violent in the eighteenth century$ when battles between the military wings of two yogi orders$ the Paiva IaJanDm? /anyDs?s and Faiava FairDg?s +whose largest suborder is that of the KDmDnand?s-$ resulted in the deaths of thousands of ascetics To this day$ the sdhu camps at the triennial =umbh MelD festivals are divided into the army of Piva and the army of KDm +fig !'- Mughal<era paintings of ascetics$ however$ show that the situation was somewhat different in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries$ as we shall see below

Eigure !' Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window Mowadays the MDths$ like the /anyDs?s$ are overtly Paiva$ but the pictorial record indicates that this has not always been the case@ MDths are not shown sporting Paiva insignia$ such as rudrka seeds or tripuras +hori>ontal forehead markings made with ash- until the late eighteenth century 2' The current MDth janeo configuration$ in which a ring and a rudrka seed have been added to the long black thread and sig, appears to be an innovation of the nineteenth century at the earliest 2( The MDths0 roots in Paiva Tantric traditions make the absence of Paiva insignia in Mughal depictions of them surprising1 perhaps it is symptomatic of their devotion to a formless absolute$ an attitude prevalent in Morth "ndian ascetic orders in late medieval "ndia 22 But it is not only the MDths who are free from Paiva insignia in Mughal paintings1 to my knowledge$ no ascetic of any stripe wears the hori>ontal tripura forehead marking or necklaces of rudrka seeds The unmistakable Paiva denomination of today0s IaJanDm? /anyDs?s makes the absence of Paiva insignia in their Mughal depictions particularly surprising "n myths$ Piva is often portrayed as the yogi par excellence$ with the result that asceticism and yoga have come to be thought of as originally Paiva$ and their non<Paiva manifestations as adaptations of Paiva traditions But in our earliest sources$ the association of asceticism and yoga with Piva is by no means exclusive$24 and Paivism did not dominate subsequent teachings on yoga 25 "t is perhaps the association of asceticism with Piva and the Paiva affiliation of today0s IaJanDm? /anyDs?s that have led scholars to assume that the ascetics in Mughal paintings are Paivas 4) 7et$ as " have remarked$ there are no Paiva insignia in any Mughal pictures of ascetics 4! :n the contrary$ many of the /anyDs?s depicted therein sport on their foreheads the distinctive 'rdh"apura F<shaped Faiava marking * large number of the /anyDs?s fighting in figures % and & clearly have these markings +see details in !(b$ !(c$ !(d-$ as does the leader of the /anyDs? troop +figs !$ !(a- :ther Mughal paintings of /anyDs?s from the same period also show them wearing 'rdh"apuras +e g figures !4 and !5- 4%

Eigure !(a Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure !(b Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure !(c Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure !(d Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window Faiava features of IaJanDm? /anyDs? identity are in fact legion To this day$ all IaJanDm? ascetics greet one another with the ancient Faiava akara +6eight<syllabled9 mantra-@ o namo nryaya PakarDcDrya$ who was retroactively claimed to have founded their order$ was Faiava 4& Three of their four phas or sacred centers3Iwarka$ Curi$ and Badrinath3are Faiava places of pilgrimage 4. Crior to the sixteenth century$ the IaJanDm? nominal suffix Cur? is found only on the names of Faiava ascetics 4' The tutelary deities of the two biggest akhs +regiments- of the IaJanDm?s today are IattDtreya and =apila$ both of whom are included in early lists of the manifestations of Fiu 4( "t is the 'rdh"apuras in these Mughal miniatures$ however$ and the absence of Paiva insignia that provide us with the most compelling evidence that at least some of the groups that came to form the IaJanDm? /anyDs? order were originally Faiava "t is not clear how$ when$ or why the IaJanDm?s acquired an overarching Paiva orientation$ but it is likely to have been a result of the formali>ation of the order$ in particular its affiliation with the southern /ringeri monastery and the concomitant attribution of its founding to PakarDcDrya$ who by the seventeenth century had been rebranded a Paiva 42 Iuring the seventeenth century$ the three main ascetic orders of Morth "ndia3 the IaJanDm?s$ KDmDnand?s$ and MDths3forged links with southern institutions as they staked claims to dominion over all of "ndia The IaJanDm?s ;oined forces with the /ringeri maha$ whose teachings$ a blend of *dvaita and the saniti>ed form of Paivism known as Pr?vidyD$ they adopted 44 *s part of this process$ both the /ringeri maha and the IaJanDm?s claimed PakarDcDrya as their founding guru Together with Paivism$ the IaJanDm?s would have taken northward the antipathy between Paivas and Faiavas that had afflicted /outh "ndia for at least five hundred years "t persisted in debates between different Brahmin and /anyDs? factions$ some of which were connected with the /ringeri maha$ in Fi;ayanagar until its downfall in !'(' and$ latterly$ in Faranasi 45 The rapid hardening of the IaJanDm?s0 Paiva orientation over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was likely to have been in reaction to the formation of their archrivals$ the KDmDnand?s$ ascetic worshipers of Fiu0s KDm incarnation Today$ KDmDnand?s wear Faiava 'rdh"apura forehead markings like those depicted in the early Mughal portrayals of /anyDs?s +figs !2$ !4$ !5-

Eigure !2 Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure !4 Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure !5 Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window "ndeed$ one might contend that figure !3whose sub;ects$ unlike those in figures % and &$ are not identified in contemporaneous sources as IaJanDm? /anyDs?s3portrays KDmDnand?s +or rather

their forerunners$ since the order was yet to be formali>ed or refer to itself as KDmDnand?- 5) But three features of the ascetics in figure ! set them apart from today0s KDmDnand?s Eirst$ there is the ancient 'rdh"abhu penance of permanently holding one or two arms in the air undertaken by the ascetic in the bottom left of the picture Today this is the preserve of IaJanDm?s +fig %)-

Eigure %) Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window KDmDnand?s will not practice it because it is likely to permanently disfigure the body$ rendering it unsuitable for the orthodox Fedic ritual acts that they$ unlike the /anyDs?s$ perform +fig %!-

Eigure %! Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window KDmDnand?s prefer austerities such as dh'ni!tap$ sitting in the summer sun surrounded by smoldering cow<dung fires +fig %%-$ or khae("ar$ standing up for years on end +fig %&-

Eigure %% Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure %& Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window /econd$ two of the ascetics$ including the figure who has undertaken the 'rdh"abhu penance$ are naked KDmDnand?s today are scornful of the IaJanDm?s0 nakedness$ saying that it offends Oord KDm 5! Third$ the remaining ascetics wear ochre<colored cloth$ unlike the KDmDnand?s$ who wear white cloth$ saying that the IaJanDm?s0 ochre robes are the color of the menstrual fluid of CDrvat?$ Piva0s consort 5% :ther features differentiate the KDmDnand?s from the IaJanDm?s$ such as the former0s insistence on 6pure9 +i e $ lacking onion and garlic- vegetarian food$ their taking of the nominal suffix !dsa at initiation$ their practice of orthodox rituals$ and the associated preservation of the topknot when they have their heads shaved at initiatory and other ceremonies These differences are all emblematic of the KDmDnand?s0 ultra<Faiavism$ a trait shared with other members of the 6four traditions9 +cr sapradya- of Faiavas$ which were formali>ed in the seventeenth century and sought to unite Morth "ndian devotional traditions with more established /outh "ndian lineages 5& "f one puts these ultra<Faiava traits aside$ however$ the IaJanDm?s and KDmDnand?s are remarkably similar$ and not ;ust because they both embody a shared ascetic archetype and lead almost identical lives Their organi>ation and initiation procedures are very close 5. They both worship NanumDn and gods and sages associated with the ancient ascetic yoga tradition$ such as

IattDtreya and =apila 5' They share a secret vocabulary 5( The nominal suffix <nanda found in the names of early KDmDnand? gurus prior to the adoption of the suffix <dsa is still used by certain subdivisions of the IaJanDm?s 52 Both have a military unit +akh- called +MahD- nirvDi Today$ the KDmDnand?s are the largest ascetic order in "ndia$ and ascetics who worship KDma have been part of the Morth "ndian religious landscape since at least the twelfth century 54 But our Mughal miniatures have shown us only IaJanDm? /anyDs?s and MDths #here were the ascetic worshippers of KDma hidingQ * close inspection of Akbar )atches a Battle bet*een *o +i"al ,roups o- .anyss at hanesh*ar and a folio from Jahangir0s !(!4 Lulshan *lbum tells us that they are right before our eyes@ the forerunners of the KDmDnand?s were /anyDs?s 55 /ome of the yogi warriors in the Akbarnma depiction of the battle at Thaneshwar have$ in addition to Faiava insignia$ words written on their bodies :nly one word3ram/is discernible$ on the chest of a /anyDs? in the bottom right +figs %$ %.- *nd we can see similar markings on the body of a Faiava in a beautiful collage of paintings from the Lulshan *lbum$ which depicts a MDth yogi encountering a Faiava ascetic very similar to the Thaneshwar /anyDs?s +fig %'- The words are not clearly written3one wonders how good the IevanDgar? orthography of the Mughal court painters was3but rma is the most likely reading

Eigure %. Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure %' Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window

Eigure %( Fiew full G caption H Fiew in new window "n matters of doctrine$ the /anyDs? tradition is most closely associated with the rigorous philosophies of FedDnta Bhakti +devotion-$ however$ has held an important$ if overlooked$ place in their teachings$!)) and some medieval Morth "ndian /anyDs? cryas were renowned for their devotion to KDm !)! The formali>ation of the /anyDs? order involved the incorporation of a broad variety of different renouncer traditions$ whose followers considered themselves part of the ancient tradition of renunciation +sanysa- "n the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries$ the generic name for a renouncer$ /anyDs?$ became associated with this formali>ed order #hen the KDmDnand?s seceded from it in the course of their adoption of ultra<Faiavism$ their ascetics differentiated themselves from the /anyDs?s by giving themselves the name TyDg?$ which is an exact /anskrit synonym of /anyDs? +fig %(- "n a similar fashion$ as MDth corporate identity solidified in the eighteenth century$ the name 7og? came to be associated exclusively with the MDths and was shunned by the /anyDs?s and KDmDnand?s The Paivism of the IaJanDm? /anyDs?s and Faiavism of the KDmDnand?s$ while ostensibly responsible for a lengthy$ and sometimes lethal$ antipathy$ should be taken with a pinch of salt Ioctrinal differences are highlighted in texts composed by the learned of both traditions but$ as noted above$ the rank<and<file yogis were +and remain- very similar$ and their shared /ant heritage of anti<scholastic nirguabhakti is still prevalent today The Paiva and Faiava denominations were adopted in the course of the consolidation of the two orders and provided a convenient ideological ;ustification for what was in fact competition over resources rather than a dispute over doctrine !)% Mot only do the ascetics of both orders lead very similar lives$ but many features of the two orders fly in the face of their supposed incompatibility *n important /anyDs? commander of the late eighteenth century$ when battles between the two orders were at their fiercest$ was called KDmDnand LosD? !)& *t the %)!) Naridwar =umbh MelD$ " met a /anyDs? called KDmDnand Liri in the /anyDs?s0 JRnD *khDD Kecently$ when making inquiries in Nimachal Cradesh about historical religious affiliations$ my informants were confused by my attempts to categori>e local rulers or religious institutions as exclusively Faiava or Paiva Taru IDs Mahant$ a householder KDmDnand? from =ullu$ told me that 6here the devotees of KDm all worship Piva and the devotees of Piva all worship KDm 9!).

M%ghal &ainting: A 'indow onto the History of Yoga and Yogis

There has long been confusion over the identity of the yogis depicted in Mughal and later paintings This has resulted from a lack of understanding of the complex and constantly changing makeup of yogi sects in the early modern period$ and the concomitant absence of terminological rigor in both

"ndian and foreign descriptions of yogis from the Mughal period to the present day 7et a close reading of these pictures and other historical sources allows us to identify the sectarian affiliations of the depicted yogis and thereby to cast new light on their history and the nature of the yoga that they practiced The pictures0 naturalism and the associated consistency of their depictions mean that seemingly insignificant details$ such as the position of an earring$ are of great significance Mughal<era and later paintings provide evidence for$ and have inspired$ many of the new ways of looking at "ndian yogis and their history outlined in this essay Ioubtless some of the theories proposed will be re;ected or refined in the light of further research3whether textual$ ethnographic$ or art historical3but the details shown in these beautiful images$ which have hitherto been overlooked in histories of yoga and yogis$ need to be addressed by historians They bear testament to the fluidity of "ndia0s religious landscape and the transformations undergone by her yogis as they adapted to the changes around them

A%thor(s Note
" am grateful to Iebra Iiamond$ Jane Ousaka$ Bruce #annell$ Monika Norstmann$ *rik Moran$ /usan /tronge$ Catton Burchett$ OubomSr :ndraTka$ *nand Fenkatkrishnan$ Iominic Loodall$ Jason Birch$ Jerry Oosty$ /unil /harma$ CUter<IVniel />VntW$ FUronique Bouillier and Nolly /haffer for their useful comments on earlier drafts of this essay Many of the arguments rehearsed had their first airing in a Mellon Eoundation lecture " gave at Columbia 8niversity on /eptember %5$ %)!!$ at the kind invitation of /heldon Collock " thank him and the audience there for their constructive criticism " also received useful feedback from the members of the panel on 67ogis$ sufis$ devotees@ religiousXliterary encounters in pre<modern and modern /outh *sia9 at the European Conference on /outh *sian /tudies in Oisbon$ July %2$ %)!% Many people have provided me with scans of images of yogis that " refer to in this essay " would like to thank in particular Iebra Iiamond$ who has sent hundreds of such scans my way Oudwig Nabighorst very kindly allowed me to use scans of pictures from his collection Thanks too to Malini Koy$ who has helped with my repeated requests to see images in the collection of the British Oibrary

Notes
E g $ the (ramaa ascetics whose yogic practices the Buddha dismisses in the Cali Canon +see James Mallinson$ 6PDktism and Nahayoga$9 in he 0kta raditions AOondon@ Koutledge$ forthcomingB- and the practitioners of yoga mentioned in the Mahbhrata +ibid $ and John O Brockington$ 6Epic 7oga$9 1ournal o- 2aia"a .tudies !.$ no ! A%))'B$ pp !%&,&4! %

:n the history of yoga postures +sanas- and their depiction$ see cats 5a,;$ *sana$ in 3oga4 he Art o- rans-ormation$ ed Iebra Iiamond +#ashington$ IC@ *rthur M /ackler Lallery$ %)!&&

The earliest depictions of yogis in yogic postures date to approximately the third century BCE +see n ' in cats 5a,;$ *sana$ in 3oga4 he Art o- rans-ormation- Ever since /ir John Marshall0s identification of the figure depicted on a seal from Mohen;o<Iaro as a third<millennium BCE prototype of Piva in a yogic posture$ many scholars have claimed that yoga was practiced in the "ndus Falley Civili>ation /ir John Marshall$ Mohenjo!5aro and the 6ndus $i"ili7ation4 Being an 8--icial Account o- Archaeological %xca"ations at Mohenjo!5aro $arried 8ut by the ,o"ernment o- 6ndia Bet*een the 3ears 9:;; and 9:;<$ vol ! +Oondon@ *rthur Crobsthain$ !5&!-$ pp '%,'. "n my opinion the absence of any textual or iconographic evidence for yogic postures over the

subsequent two millennia +let alone the uncertainty over what the seal actually depicts- strongly suggests that there is no connection between the "ndus Falley depictions and yoga +see also Iavid Lordon #hite$ .inister 3ogis +Oondon@ Chicago 8niversity Cress- pp .4<'5-.

* large number of paintings of yogis were produced under the patronage of the Mughal courts$ but very few depict yogis actually practicing yoga$ whether in meditational or nonseated sanas Exceptions include the beautiful illustrations to manuscripts of the Bar al!ayt and 3oga"siha$ both in the collection of the Chester Beatty Oibrary +mss !( and '$ respectively1 see also cats 5a,; and !& in 3oga4 he Art o- rans-ormation- /ee /unil /harma$ 6The /ati and the 7ogi@ /afavid and Mughal "mperial /elf<Kepresentation in Two *lbum Cages$9 6n Harmony4 he #orma 1ean $alder*ood $ollection o- 6slamic Art +Mew Naven@ 7ale 8niversity Cress$ %)!%-$ p !'.$ shows how Mughal pictures of yogis were tools of propaganda in a broader scheme that 6promoted the idea within and outside the empire of a tolerant and benevolent rule 9
'

Manuscripts of texts$ in particular CremDkhyDn romances such as the Mrig"at$ and individual verses describing a semi<spiritual longing for a beloved envisaged as a yogi are sometimes illustrated with paintings of yogis These tend to portray generic yogi types$ but still remain highly naturalistic$ while other Mughal paintings depict specific individuals in a more ethnographic manner +cf /unil /harma$ 6Kepresentation of /ocial Lroups in Mughal *rt and Oiterature@ Ethnography or TropeQ9 in 6ndo!Muslim $ultures in ransition AOeiden@ Brill$ %)!!B$ pp %%,&)More styli>ed still are the portrayals of yoginis in Ieccani miniatures of the period$ who$ with their unlikely mixture of courtly apparel and ascetic garb$ are likely to represent divine rather than human yoginis +Iebra Iiamond$ 6:ccult /cience and Bi;apur0s 7oginis$9 in 6ndian =ainting4 hemes, History and 6nterpretations AEssays in Nonour of B M LoswamyB$ forthcoming %)!&(

"n this essay$ " use the word yogi with the same lack of specificity that it has in many historical sources$ both within the yogi tradition and without Thus it refers to an ascetic3someone who has renounced the norms of conventional society in order to live a life devoted to religious ends3who may or may not practice the techniques commonly understood to constitute yoga #hile not all these yogis practice yoga as such$ it is among them that adept practitioners of yoga are most commonly found
2

Leeti /en$ =aintings -rom the Akbar #ama +Calcutta@ Kupa and Co $ !54.-$ pp !',!4 "n the discussion after " presented some of the material in this paper at the European Conference on /outh *sian /tudies in Oisbon$ July %)!%$ it was suggested that Mughal depictions of yogis might be derived from archetypes and are thus unreliable historical witnesses This is disproved by two features of the images themselves Eirst$ with a handful of obvious exceptions when whole paintings are derivative of others$ the yogis in the many Mughal pictures " have seen are all very different from one another /econd3to draw an analogy from philology3were the pictures to be derived from archetypes rather than firsthand observation$ we would expect a situation similar to that found in the vast ma;ority of "ndic manuscript stemmata$ in which 6contamination$9 caused by a scribe consulting more than one manuscript of a text when transcribing a new one$ renders stemmatic analysis +the mechanical identification of archetypes- impossible "n Mughal painting$ this would manifest in yogis from one tradition being depicted with the attributes of another1 i e $ were an artist to work from older paintings rather than from real life$ we would expect him to pick and choose traits indiscriminately +;ust as the name yogi is indiscriminately applied to ascetics of various sects in our written sources- 7et$ despite there being several hundred very diverse Mughal depictions of yogis$ there is none of the contamination that would result from such practices@ the sect<specific features outlined in this article are never found out of place #e do not see LorakhnDthi yogis with /anyDs? features or vice versa@ no yogis wearing LorakhnDthi sigs are depicted naked or with

big dreadlocks1 no /anyDs?s wear the multicolored LorakhnDthi necklace1 no LorakhnDthis perform physical austerities1 and so forth
4

Many aspects of the lives of yogis are rarely$ if ever$ recorded in writing$ and these paintings are often our only historical sources about them /ee for example Nope Marie Childers$ 6The Fisual Culture of :pium in British "ndia9 +ChI diss $ 8niversity of California$ Oos *ngeles$ %)!!-$ p !4$ on depictions of drug consumption by ascetics in premodern "ndia
5

This paragraph summari>es Mallinson$ 6PDktism and Nahayoga 9

!)

:n these late medieval texts and their wholesale incorporation of verses3sometimes even entire texts3from the early hahayoga corpus$ see Christian Bouy$ >es #tha!3ogin et >es ?paniads +Caris@ Ie Boccard$ !55.Keferences to women practitioners of hahayoga are very rare in the texts at our disposal1 where stated$ the female equivalent of semen is said to be menstrual fluid +e g $ Hahapradpik of /vDtmDrDma$ ed /vDm? Iigambar;? and Ir C?tambar JhD AOonavla@ =aivalyadhDm / M 7 M /amiti$ !52)B$ & 5'!!

James Mallinson$ 6/iddhi and MahDsiddhi in Early Hahayoga$9 in 3oga =o*ers$ ed = * Jacobsen +Oeiden@ Brill@ %)!%-$ pp &%2,..
!% !&

5atttreyayoga(stra$ .!a,.%b@ brDhmaa Jramao vDpi bauddho vDpy Drhato 0thavDH kDpDliko vD cDrvDka JraddhayD sahita sudh?HH yogDbhyDsarato nitya sarvasiddhim avDpnuyDtH

Erom an unpublished critical edition by James Mallinson$ based on the following witnesses@ 5atttreyayoga(stra$ edited by Brahmamitra *vasth?$ /vDm? =eJavDnanda 7oga /asthDna +!54%-1 Man /ingh Custak Crakash nos !5&(1 #ai Cra;YD CDhaJDlD (X.,&55$ (!(&1 Baroda :riental "nstitute .!)21 Mysore Lovernment :riental Manuscripts Oibrary .&(51 Than;avur Calace Oibrary B(&5) The edition was read by *lexis /anderson$ Jason Birch$ CUter<IVniel />VntW$ and *ndrea *cri at :xford in early %)!%$ all of whom " thank for their valuable emendations and suggestions
!.

The earliest references to the wearing of earrings by ascetics are in the context of Mahayana Bodhisattvas and tantric /iddhas +see n '& for references!'

The ascetic practice of sitting under the sun surrounded by fires is attested in textual and visual sources from before the Common Era$ but the archetypal ascetic practice of living around a smoldering dh'ni fire$ found to this day$ is not represented in images prior to the Mughal period :rthodox brahmin ascetics are en;oined to renounce the use of fire$ but it seems fair to assume that heterodox ascetics living away from society have always used fire to cook and keep warm and that the practice itself is not an innovation of the Mughal era$ only its depiction
!(

The consumption of cannabis arrived in "ndia with "slam Cannabis first appears in *yurvedic texts in the eleventh century +L J Meulenbeld$ 6The search for clues to the chronology of /anskrit medical texts as illustrated by the history of bhagD$9 in .tudien 7ur 6ndologie und 6ranistik !' A!545B$ p (.1 I #u;astyk$ 6Cannabis in Traditional "ndian Nerbal Medicine$9 in @yur"eda at the $rossroads o- $are and $ure$ Croceedings of the "ndo<European /eminar on *yurveda$ *rrVbida$

Cortugal$ Movember %))!$ ed * /alema AOisboa G Cune@ Centro de NistWria del *lUm<Mar$ 8niversidade Mova de Oisboa$ %))%B$ pp .',2&- and was probably introduced into the ascetic milieu by Madariyya fakirs in the fourteenth to fifteenth century +*lexis /anderson$ 6The Paiva religion among the =hmers@ part "$9 Bulletin del Acole BranCaise 5DextrEme!8rient 5),5! A%))&B$ p %('$ n .&- Crior to the arrival of tobacco in "ndia at the beginning of the seventeenth century$ cannabis was eaten or drunk$ not smoked$ and " know of no pictures of ascetics smoking cannabis that date to earlier than the eighteenth century
!2

"t seems likely that at some point$ perhaps in the seventeenth century$ certain MDth lineages were absorbed into the IaJanDm? /anyDs? order +see n .( Loraka or LorakanDtha is his /anskrit name1 in Nindi and other vernacular languages he is known as Lorakh or LorakhnDth
!4 !5

The combination of the two traditions0 yogas was universally accepted$ but to this day each displays a predilection for the methods it originated Thus sana practice is found among the KDmDnand?s and IaJanDm?s but is almost absent among the MDths$ while the latter are renowned for their mastery of Tantric ritual and yoga +Mallinson$ 6PDktism and Nahayoga9The first references to the IaJanDm? /anyDs?s and MDths as formali>ed orders are found in /ikh works from approximately !())@ F0rG ,uru ,ranth .hib$ with complete index prepared by #inand M Callewaert$ % parts +Ielhi@ Motilal Banarsidass$ !55(-$ p 5&5$ 2 &$ 5 %1 p 5.!$ &. %1 2r Bh ,urds$ ed Jodh /ingh +Catiala@ Fision G Fenture$ !554-$ 4 !& "t seems that the formali>ation of the KDmDnand?s did not happen until the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century$ when their akhs were first organi>ed in Ka;asthan +see Monika Norstmann$ 6Cower and /tatus@ KDmDnand? #arrior *scetics in !4th<Century Jaipur9 in Asceticism and =o*er in .outh and .outh %ast Asia$ ed C ElZgel and L Noutman AOondon@ Koutledge$ forthcomingB%) %!

There are three accounts of this encounter$ in which the combatants are referred to inconsistently as both Jog?s and /anyDs?s *hmad and *l<Badauni say that they are Jog?s and /anyDs?s +Mi>amuddin *hmad$ 6Tabakat<i *kbari$9 in he History o- 6ndia as old by 6ts 8*n Historians$ trans N M Elliot and J Iowson$ vol ' AOondon@ Trubner and co $ !42&B$ p &!41 *l<Badauni$ Muntakhabu!t! a*rkh$ vol %$ trans # N Oowe ACalcutta@ *siatic /ociety$ !454B$ p 5'- *bu0l Ea>l says that both sides are /anyDs?s$ identifying one group as =urs$ the other as Cur?s +N Beveridge$ he Akbar!nma$ trans from Cersian$ vol % Bibliotheca "ndica@ * Collection of :riental #orks published by the *siatic /ociety of Bengal AIelhi@ Kare Books$ !52%B$ p .%&- =ur is a corruption$ resulting from Cersian orthography$ of Liri This is supported by the list of the IaJanDm?s0 ten names given in the 5abistn$ where in the place of Liri we find =ar +Iavid /hea and *nthony Troyer$ he 5abistn4 or .chool o- Manners AOondon@ :riental Translation Eund of Lreat Britain and "reland$ !4.&B$ p !&51 cf ibid $ pp !.2,.4$ which mentions a /anyDs? called Madan =ir%%

N Beveridge$ he Akbar!nma$ vol &$ pp '!.$ '%4

%&

*s noted by Ellen /mart$ 6Caintings from the BDburnDma@ * /tudy of /ixteenth<Century Mughal Nistorical Manuscript "llustration9 +ChI diss $ /chool of :riental /tudies$ 8niversity of Oondon$ !522-$ pp %%!,.)$ the illustration of BDbur0s visit to Lurkhattri in fig & is likely to be derivative of a single folio from the text now found in the Fictoria and *lbert Museum +"M %(%<!5!&- There are no significant differences in the two paintings0 depictions of the yogis0 features under consideration in this essay

Leorge #eston Briggs$ ,orakhnth and the Hnphaa 3ogs +!5&41 repr Ielhi@ Motilal Banarsidass$ !554-$ p 54
%. %'

"n %)!! the LorakhnDth temple at Lurkhattri was reopened to Nindus after sixty years +Hindustan imes$ Movember !$ %)!!%(

*nnette /usannah Beveridge$ he Babur!nama in %nglish +Oondon@ Ou>ac and Co $ !5%%-$ p %&)
%2

"t would perhaps be more accurate to call them 6proto<MDths9@ the name MDth was yet to be applied to an order of human ascetics +James Mallinson$ 6MDth /apradDya$9 BrillDs %ncyclopedia o- Hinduism$ vol &$ ed =nut * Jacobsen AOeiden@ Brill$ %)!!B$ p .)5%4

" note here some rare exceptions to this principle The MDth followers of MastnDth eschew wearing the sig$ claiming to have internali>ed it +KD;eJ I?kit$ 0r #a"nth $aritr .gar AIelhi@ Iehati Custak BhaDr$ !5(5B$ p %%1 Na>Dr?prasDd Ivived?$ #th .amprady A"lDhDbDd@ OokbhDrat? CrakDJan$ !55(B$ p !2- The icon of BDbD BDlaknDth and the IaJanDm? /anyDs? priests at his temple at Iyot /iddh in Nimachal Cradesh wear very small sigs$ even though$ according to legend$ BDbD BDlaknDth was avowedly not a MDth1 he defeated LorakhnDth in a magical contest :n March %.$ %))5$ " asked the current mahant, KD;endra Liri3who sports a fine golden sig and is$ as his name suggests$ a member of the Liri suborder of the IaJanDm? /anyDs?s/why he wore what " thought was a MDth emblem Ne told me that the sig itself has no particular sectarian connotation "t may be that BDbD BDlaknDth0s lineage constituted one of the mahi divisions of the Liri suborder of the IaJanDm? /anyDs?s *ll twenty<seven of the Liri mahis have names ending in <nDth and are said to trace their lineage back to one Brahm Liri$ who defeated LorakhnDth in a display of siddhis$ after which he took the name *ugharnDth +Pr? Mahant ODl Cur?$ 5a(anm #g .anys e"a 0r =ancyat Akh Mahnir" ACrayDg@ Pr? CancDyat? *khDD MahDnirvD?$ %))!B$ pp ((,(5- BDbD BDlaknDth is sometimes identified with JDlandharnDth$ and this myth may represent the still unsettled rivalry between the more Tantric JDlandharnDth and the reformistXheretical LorakhnDth@ there are followers of the former who refuse to accept the latter as the founding guru and tutelary deity of the MDth order +personal communication$ =ulavadhuta /atpurananda$ July !($ %)!)1 see also http@XXtribes tribe netXpracticaltantraXthreadX!e2'(&5b<.2.a<.ed(<42%e<)(2'b&b%4(c)- The .iddhnt =aal$ a ritual handbook used by the KDmDnand?s and attributed to KDmDnand$ mentions sigs three times +pp % l %$ 5 l %$ and !2 l !- BDlyog? Pr? KDm BDlak IDs$ a KDmDnand? TyDg?$ informed me on :ctober %2$ %)!%$ that in this context sig refers to tiger0s claws when worn in pairs as an ornament on a KDmDnand?0s ja or dreadlocks The oa(amudr$ of which " have seen a single circa seventeenth< or eighteenth<century manuscript +Than;avur /araswati Mahal Oibrary$ B(&4'-$ includes the sig among the accoutrements of a yogi but makes no mention of anything specifically MDth The text is ascribed to Puka 7og? Puka$ son of FyDsa$ is said to practice yoga in the Mahbhrata +!% &!5-$ and the Bhga"atapura is framed as a discourse by Puka to =ing Car?kit Puka is not included in MDth lineages but is mentioned frequently in those of the KDmDnand?s +e g $ Monika Norstmann$ 6The KDmDnand?s of Lalta +Jaipur$ Ka;asthan-$9 in Multiple Histories4 $ulture and .ociety in the .tudy o- +ajasthan$ ed Oawrence * Babb$ Farsha Joshi$ and Michael # Meister AJaipur@ Kawat Cublications$ %))%B$ p !2&- and is among the traditional teachers +cryas- of the IaJanDm? /anyDs?s +Matthew Clark$ he 5a(anm!.anyss4 he 6ntegration o- Ascetic >ineages into an 8rder AOeiden@ Brill$ %))(B$ p !!($ n .(1 Cur?$ 5a(anm #g .anys$ p %!%5

/ee Mirag"at o- Hutubana4 *vadh? text with critical notes$ ed I E Clukker +Thesis 8niversiteit van *msterdam$ !54!-$ !)(g1 =adm"at o- 1ayas I he =adum*ati o- Malik

Muammad 1aisi$ ed L * Lrierson and / Ivivedi +Calcutta@ *siatic /ociety$ !5!!-$ !% ! .1 $ Madhumlat !2& +*ditya Behl and /imon #eightman with /hyam Manohar Candey$ Madhumlat4 An 6ndian .u-i +omance A:xford@ :xford 8niversity Cress$ %)))B$ p 2%-1 IDdR skh %' %)$ pads %!& %$ %!. %1 =ab?r granth"al pads !.% &$ !2% !1 MDmdev pads '% !$ (. %1 NardDs pads ! &$ %' )1 Lorakh pad !5 &$ () .1 /undardDs pads !%% %$ !.. %1 ,urugranth !.' !$ %)4 '$ &&. !4$ &() %$ ()' !%$ 2&) !!$ 2&) !2$ 422 5$ 44( !.$ 5)2 !'$ 5)4 !&$ 52) !( =a&c Mtr !!$ !'$ !5 +#inand M Callewaert and Bart :p Ie Beeck$ 5e"otional Hind >iterature4 A $ritical %dition o- the =a&c!2 or Bi"e )orks o- 5d', Habr, #mde", +ids, Hards *ith the Hind .ongs o- ,orakhnth and .undards, and a $omplete )ord!index$ % vols AMew Ielhi@ Manohar$ !55!BBh"anpuruottamam of Katnakheta Pr?nivDsa I?kita$ ed / /waminDtha /astri$ Tan;ore /arasvati Mahal /eries$ no !(2 +!525-$ p 54 " am grateful to CUter<IVniel />VntW for pointing out this reference to me
&) &!

.eka(ubhodaya of Nalayudha MiJra$ ed and trans /ukumar /en$ Bibliotheca "ndica /eries %4( +=olkata@ *siatic /ociety$ !5(&-$ introduction$ pp x,xi This text is a fictitious account of a Muslim shaykh +seka- overcoming yogis and brahmins Narimohan Mishra$ the editor of the early fifteenth<century Maithili ,oraka"ijaya$ suggests that sigs may be referred to in that text0s third gt although the reading is unclear +p %4- The circa !2)) .iddhasiddhntapaddhati$ a MDth sectarian text$ includes sihanda among the accoutrements of the yogi +' !'- ,oraka"ijaya of FidyDpati$ ed Narimohan MiJra +CanD@ BihDr KDtrabhDD Cariad$ !54.- .iddhasiddhntapaddhati of LorakanDtha$ ed M O Lharote and L = Cai +Oonavla@ Oonavla 7oga "nstitute$ %))'&%

The earliest references to Loraka are from /outh "ndia$ in particular the Ieccan +Mallinson$ 6MDth /apradDya$9 p .!!&&

Mahdi Nusain$ he +ela o- 6bn Batt'ta +Baroda@ :riental "nstitute$ !5'&-$ p !((1 Leorge Cercy Badger$ he ra"els o- >udo"ico di 2arthema in %gypt, .yria, Arabia 5eserta and Arabia Belix, in =ersia, 6ndia and %thiopia, AJ5J 9KLM to 9KLN Translated from the original "talian Edition of !'!)$ with a Creface$ by John #inter Jones$ Esq $ E / * $ and edited$ with notes and an introduction$ by Leorge Cercy Badger +Oondon@ The Nakluyt /ociety$ !4(&-$ p !!%1 Fasundhara Eillio>at$ 2ijayanagar as seen by 5omingo =aes and Bernao #uni7 F9Oth $entury =ortuguese $hroniclersG and others +Ielhi@ Mational Book Trust$ !555-$ p 251 Mansel Oongworth Iames$ he Book o5uarte BarbosaJ An account o- the countries bordering on the 6ndian 8cean and their inhabitants, *ritten by 5uarte Barbosa, and completed about the year 9K9N aJd $ vol ! +Oondon@ Nakluyt /ociety$ !5!4-$ p %&!
&. &'

Elinor Ladon$ 6Mote on the Erontispiece$9 in he .ants4 .tudies in a 5e"otional radition o6ndia$ ed =arine /chomer and # N McOeod +Ielhi@ Motilal Banarsidass$ !542-$ p .%)
&(

Fictoria and *lbert Museum$ " / 5.<!5('

/ee #illiam K Cinch$ 6MDth 7og?s$ *kbar$ and BDlnDth illD$9 in 3oga in =ractice$ ed Iavid Lordon #hite +Crinceton@ Crinceton 8niversity Cress$ %)!!-$ pp %2&,44 for historical accounts of BDlnDth illD The illD came to be known as Lorakh illD in the process of the various disparate MDth lineages uniting under Lorakh +see Mallinson$ 6MDth /apradDya9- The earliest reference to it by this name that " have found is in the /anyDs? CRr Cur?0s translated account of his travels in the second half of the eighteenth century$ in which it is referred to as 6Lorakh<tala9- CRr Cur?$
&2

6Nis account of his travels$ published as [:riental :bservations$ Mo \3The Travels of CrVn Curi$ a Nindoo$ who travelled over "ndia$ Cersia$ and Cart of Kussia$09 in he %uropean Maga7ine and >ondon +e"ie* '2 +!25%$ published in !4!)-$ p %(5
&4

J / Noyland$ he $ommentary o- Bather Monserrate, .J 1J, 8n His 1ourney to the $ourt oAkbar +Oondon@ :xford 8niversity Cress$ !5%%-$ p !!.
&5

Monserrate himself wrote@ 6Iignitatis insigne$ est$ infula bombycinis fasciolis$ ] fastigio$ per gyrum infulae$ ordine affixis$ quae impendeant$ et facile moueantur ^ tribus$ quattuorue HH ordinibus$ a fastigio$ ad extremam infulae oram$ quae frontem cingit9 +Mongolicae >egationis $ommentarius$ p '52- Noyland +see n &4- omits from his translation the last part of Monserrate0s description of the bands of silk@ 6ordinibus$ a fastigio$ ad extremam infulae oram$ quae frontem cingit9 +in rows$ from the top to the edge of the fillet$ they encircle the forehead- Curiously$ although fillets matching Monserrate0s description are not found in contemporaneous images of MDths$ they are found in two more recent paintings * late eighteenth<century painting of a 6=un Eutta or Ear Bor_d Joguee9 in the collection of the 7ale Center for British *rt +B!522 !. %%%'.- depicts a MDth ascetic wearing a conical hat from which hang strips of cloth +" thank Nolly /haffer for bringing this picture to my attention-$ and a similar headpiece is sported by JDlandharnDth in figure !%
.)

My enquiries among MDths today about these insignia have drawn a blank$ and despite their prominence in Mughal paintings " have not seen them in eighteenth<century or later depictions of MDths
.!

Monserrate0s statement that these necklaces are the mark of senior MDths is not borne out by Mughal paintings$ in which young MDths serving older yogis can be seen wearing them " thank Iebra Iiamond for this observation
.%

*mongst the earliest examples +pre<!()'- are the following@ Crince and Crincess /adruddin *ga =han collection M %4( +/heila K Canby$ =rinces, =oets, and =aladins4 6slamic and 6ndian =aintings -rom the $ollection o- =rince and =rincess .adruddin Aga Hhan AOondon@ British Museum Cress$ !554B$ p !)51 Ka;esh Bedi and Kamesh Bedi$ .adhus4 he Holy Men o- 6ndia AIelhi@ Bri;basi$ !55!B$ p 5. +this picture is said to be in the Jaipur /avai Man /ingh "" Museum$ but staff there are currently unable to locate it3" thank Liles Tillotson for this information-1 British Oibrary J %%$!(1 Lulshan *lbum$ fol !&b$ no !$ /tadstbibliothek1 Chester Beatty Oibrary Bar al! ayt manuscript +see cats 5a,;$ 3oga4 he Art o- rans-ormation-1 *sian *rt Museum of /an Erancisco$ !544 %21 *rthur M /ackler Museum$ Narvard 8niversity$ %))% ') %51 Chester Beatty Oibrary$ "n .. &1 Chester Beatty Oibrary$ 3oga"siha$ "n )'$ f &).a1 Chester Beatty Oibrary$ Mrig"at$ "n &2 f %'a$ f %4b$ f ..a1 #alters # '5( f %%b +dated !'5&$ another illustration of the Bburnma description of BDbur0s visit to Lurkhattri-1 Bburnama$ Cynthia Na>en Colsky Collection$ Mew 7ork +see cat !'a$ 3oga4 he Art o- rans-ormation-1 Bburnama$ Fictoria and *lbert Museum$ "M %(%<!5!&1 Bburnama$ British Oibrary$ :r &2!.$ f !52r /anyDs?s generally have bigger and longer ja than MDths$ a distinction still found Today0s /anyDs?s and KDmDnand?s only shave their heads at initiation and the death of a guru$ while many MDths keep their hair short or shaven *n exception to the principle of /anyDs?s being best identified by the absence of MDth features is their consumption of cannabis *t the bottom left of fig !$ members of the /anyDs? camp are shown straining a paste of cannabis in preparation for drinking it "n contrast with their later reputation as heavy consumers of intoxicants$ no Mughal depictions of MDths show them using cannabis
.&

*lthough MDths in Mughal depictions are never naked$ later traditions do speak of naked MDths Thus tapas" MDths such as KapatnDth and MDndhDtDnDth of *sthal Bohar and *mtnDth of /hekhavati are usually portrayed naked in hagiography and statuary +F Bouillier$ 6tinErance et "ie monastique4 >es ascPtes #th 3ogs en 6nde contemporaine ACaris@ `ditions de la Maison des sciences de l0homme$ %))4B plate .& and p %(2Early Mughal pictures of /anyDs?s include the following +here " include pre<!(') pictures-@ /an Iiego Museum of *rt$ !55)@&''1 British Museum$ !5.!$)2!%$) '1 British Museum$ !5%)$)5!2$) &41 pl %&! in he .tJ =etersburg Muraqqa1 *o Ascetics$ Museum Kietberg aZrich1 67ogi with /ervants$9 reproduced on p !!4 of 6Caricature and /atire in "ndian Miniature Cainting@ Erom the Collection of Oudwig F Nabighorst9 in 6ndian .atire in the =eriod o- Birst Modernity$ ed Monika Norstmann and Neidi Cauwels +#iesbaden@ Narassowit>$ %)!%-$ pp !!2,&%
.. .'

:n the MDths0 lack of observance of purity rules in the Mughal era$ see /hea and Troyer$ he 5abistn$ p !%51 and Iames$ he Book o- 5uarte Barbosa$ p %&%
.(

Because of the perennial confusion caused by the ambiguity of the name yogi$ various scholars have alleged that the MDths were "ndia0s first organi>ed military order +see$ e g $ Iavid Ooren>en$ 6#arrior *scetics in "ndian Nistory$9 1ournal o- the American 8riental .ociety 54 A!524B$ p (41 cf FUronique Bouillier$ 6Oa Fiolence des Mon<violents ou les *sc]tes au Combat$9 =ururtha !( +!55&-$ p %!4$ who is surely correct when she writes of non<Muslim ascetics$ 6Ce sont donc les IasnDm? /annyDs?s b qui sont les premiers c ainsi instaurer dans leurs rangs une branche combatante 9 #ith some early locali>ed exceptions$ such as the warrior yogis in the service of the =ing of the 7ogis on "ndia0s west coast in the early sixteenth century +Badger$ he ra"els o>udo"ico di 2arthema$ pp %2&,2.- and the armies of yogis mentioned in two /ufi romances$ the =adm"ati +1og kha- and Hanh"at o- Malik Muhammad 1yas$ ed CarameJvar? ODl Lupta +FDrDas?@ *nnapRrD CrakDJana$ !54!-$ p &.%$ there are no indications that MDths were ever organi>ed into fighting forces@ they are not mentioned in the many accounts of battles between groups of ascetics from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century +see$ e g $ Clark$ he 5a(anm! .anyss$ pp (!,(.-$ or ever portrayed bearing weapons in our pictorial sources Two or three MDths are seen on the edges of the battle depicted in figures % and &$ but they are not involved in the action There has long been friendly interaction between the /anyDs?s and MDths$ and at some point it appears that certain MDth lineages were absorbed into the IasnDm?s$ in particular into their Liri suborder +see n !2 - "t may be that /anyDs? military units were ;oined by some early isolated groups of militari>ed proto<MDths$ such as those encountered by Tavernier in !(.) +F Ball$ trans $ ra"els in 6ndia by 1ean!Baptiste a"ernier, Baron o- Aubonne Translated from the original Erench edition of !(2( with a biographical sketch of the *uthor$ Motes$ *ppendices Gc $ % vols AIelhi@ Munshiram Manoharlal$ !55'B$ pp ((,(4-$ who were perhaps members of the army of the Malabar =ing of the 7ogis exiled after the oppression of his monastery at =adri by FekDappa MDyaka * single warrior in the thick of the Akbarnma depiction of the Thaneshwar battle can be seen wearing a sig on a thread wrapped around his turban Today$ after being initiated$ MDths vow not to 6keep dangerous weapons9 +N * Kose$ A ,lossary o- the ribes and $astes o- the =unjab and #orth!)est Brontier =ro"ince$ vol % AOahore@ /uperintendent$ Lovernment Crinting$ Cun;ab$ !5!!B$ p .)!- and the first /anskrit MDth text written after the formali>ation of the order$ the .iddhasiddhntapaddhati o- ,orakantha$ ed M O Lharote and L = Cai +Oonavla@ Oonavla 7oga "nstitute$ %))'-$ ( 5.$ scorns those who carry arms
.2

/ee Carl # Ernst$ 6The "slami>ation of 7oga in the *mrtakunda Translations$9 1ournal o- the +oyal Asiatic .ociety$ s &$ vol !&$ no % +%))&-$ pp !,%&1 and =a>uyo /akaki$ 67ogico<tantric Traditions in the awd al<ayDt$9 1ournal o- the 1apanese Association -or .outh Asian .tudies 2 +%))'-$ pp !&','(

.4

/ee Bouillier$ 6Oa Fiolence des Mon<violents ou les *sc]tes au Combat$9 pp %%,%&$ on the wearing of earrings by ascetic MDths1 and Ianiel Lold$ 6Experiences of Ear<Cutting@ the /ignificances of a Kitual of Bodily *lteration for Nouseholder 7ogis$9 1ournal o- +itual .tudies !)$ no ! +!55(-$ pp 5!,!!%1 Lold$ 6MDth 7ogis as Established *lternatives@ Nouseholders and *scetics Today$9 1ournal o- Asian and A-rican .tudies &.$ no ! +!555-$ pp (4,441 Lold$ 67ogis0 Earrings$ Nouseholder0s Birth@ /plit Ears and Keligious "dentity among Nouseholder MDths in Ka;asthan$9 in +eligion, +itual and +oyalty$ ed M = /inghi and Ka;endra Joshi +Jaipur and Mew Ielhi@ Kawat Cublications$ !555-$ pp &','&$ on Ka;asthani householder MDths /ee also Briggs$ ,orakhnth and the Hnphaa 3ogs$ pp (,!!1 Na>Dr?prasDd Ivived?$ #th .amprady +"lDhDbDd@ OokbhDrat? CrakDJan$ !55(-$ pp !',!(
.5

* few KDmDnand? MDgDs wear pendant earrings of tuls wood and some 8dDsin ascetics wear small$ silver$ stud earrings in the shape of a crescent moon *s far as " am aware$ however$ no /anyDs?s wear earrings Briggs$ ,orakhnth and the Hnphaa 3ogs$ pp (,2$ reports that members of the LRara subsect of the /anyDs?s wear knpha<style earrings and that their founder$ Brahm Liri$ is said to have been initiated into the practice of wearing earrings by LorakhnDth1 cf Cur?$ 5a(anm #g .anys$pp ((,(51 and /ura;it /inha and BaidyanDth /araswati$ Ascetics o- Hashi4 An Anthropological %xploration +Faranasi@ M = Bose Memorial Eoundation$ !524-$ pp 5&,5. * picture of a LRara ascetic wearing hooped earrings through his earlobes can be seen on page &' of the +iy7 al!madhhib +British Oibrary$ *C*C *dd %.)&'-$ which was written and illustrated in !4!% Erom the time of the second<century BCE Ludimalla liga +see$ e g $ M C Choubey$ >akul(a in 6ndian Art and $ulture AIelhi@ /harada Cublishing Nouse$ !552B$ pl %-$ "ndian deities have regularly been depicted as wearing earrings$ which are usually hooped
')

Mahbhrata & &)),&!) tells the story of the robbing of =ara0s magical earrings +myaa % !. % mentions young men wearing polished earrings Manu includes earrings among the obligatory apparel of a follower of Fiu +Manusmti4 *ith the .anskrit $ommentary Man"artha! Mukta"ali o- Hulluka Bhatta$ ed J O /hastri AIelhi@ Motilal Banarsidass$ !54&B$ . &- Iescriptions of the kara"edha rite in which boys0 or girls0 ears are pierced are found in the following dharma(stra texts +" am grateful to /hingo Einoo for providing me with these references@ Hautaka ,hyas'tra ! %) !<4 + he Hautaka ,hyas'tras, *ith the $ommentary o- Bha"atrta$ ed T K Chintamani AMew Ielhi@ Canini$ !54%B-1 Bodhyanaghya(eas'tra ! !% +Bodhyana ,hyas'tram o- Bodhyana Mahari$ ed O /rinivasachar and K /harma /astri$ :riental Kesearch "nstitute /eries Mo !.! AMysore@ 8niversity of Mysore$ :riental Kesearch "nstitute$ !54&B$ pp !, !%2-1 .u(rutasahit s'trasthna !( !<.4 +.u(rutasahit alhacryaktanibandhasagrahkhyakay, #pendranthasenaguptena Balicandrasenaguptena ca sapdit sa(odhit prak(it ca$ part ! ACalcutta@ C = /en and Company Oimited$ !5&2X&4B-1 2iudharmottarapura % '% 2'cd<4& + he 2iudharmottarapuram +Ielhi@ Mag Cubishers$ !54'-1 2ramitrodaya %'4$ '<%(&$ !' +2ramitrodayaJ paribh, prak(a by Mitra MiJra$ ed CDrvat?ya MityDnanda ParmD$ Chokhamba /anskrit /eries$ nos !)& G !)4 ABenares@ Chowkhamba /anskrit Book<depot$ !5)( /trabo$ drawing on Megasthenes$ says that "ndian philosophers$ after thirty<seven years of asceticism$ live 6with less restraint9 and wear 6robes of fine linen$ and rings of gold$ but without profuseness$ upon the hands and in the ears9 +# Ealconer$ trans $ he ,eography o- .trabo$ vol & AOondon@ Nenry L Bohn$ !4'2B$ p !)5- "n BDa0s Haracarita$ which dates to the first half of the seventh century$ kings are said to wear both 6dangling pendants9 and 6ear<pendants in the form of leaves or scroll< work9 +F / *grawala$ he 5eeds o- Harsha4 Being a cultural study o- BaDs Harshacharita AFaranasi@ Crithivi Crakashan$ !5(5B$ p !421 both types of earring are illustrated on p !44$ figs 4&, 4'- "n an early thirteenth<century account$ Chag lo Chos r;e dpal the younger$ a Tibetan monk$
'!

reports that$ 6* sign of low caste was the absence of perforation +hole- in the ears :thers had holes in their ears 9 +L Koerich$ he Biography o- 5harmas"amin ACatna@ = C Jayaswal Kesearch "nstitute$ !5'5B$ p 4'1 " am grateful to CUter<IVniel />VntW for pointing out this reference to me'%

Iaud *li$ 6Technologies of the /elf@ Courtly *rtifice and Monastic Iiscipline in Early "ndia$9 1ournal o- the %conomic and .ocial History o- the 8rient .!$ no % +!554-$ p !2($ notes how the $ulla"agga$ a Cali "inaya text$ prohibits monks from wearing earrings
'&

/ee$ for example$ the many depictions of bodhisattvas in Marilyn M Khie and Kobert Thurman$ )isdom and $ompassion4 he .acred Art o- ibet +Mew 7ork@ Narry M *brams$ !55!- and of siddhas in Kob Oinrothe$ ed Holy Madness4 =ortraits o- antric .iddhas +Mew 7ork and Chicago@ Kubin Museum of *rt and /erindia Cublications$ %))(- /everal of the siddhas depicted in thirteenth< to fourteenth<century carvings at the Canhale<=a;i caves in the =onkan wear hooped earrings in their earlobes +M M Ieshpande$ he $a"es o- =anhle!Hji FAncient =ranlakaG AMew Ielhi@ *rchaeological /urvey of "ndia$ !54(B$ pls %5$ &)$ '4*BC$ '5$ ()$ (!$ (%- The carvings made in !'!),!! on the wall enclosing the temple complex at /hrishailam also depict various siddhas wearing earrings +see Kichard /haw$ 6/risailam@ Centre of the /iddhas$9 .outh Asian .tudies !& AOondon@ :xford and "BN Cublishing$ !552B$ figs !)$ !&7Dmuna0s @gamaprmyam includes earrings among the six insignia of a =DpDlika +verse 4&1 cf Iavid Ooren>en$ 6* Carody of the =DpDlikas$9 in antra in =ractice$ ed Iavid Lordon #hite ACrinceton@ Crinceton 8niversity Cress$ %)))B$ p 4&$ where an inscription from !)') is cited in which a MahDvratin$ another name for a =DpDlika$ is said to bear the six insignia- * =DpDlika yogi described in a verse ascribed to =DcDryapDda +.iddha $arygti !!-$ which can be dated to somewhere between the eighth and twelfth centuries$ is said to wear earrings1 cf .iddha $arygti %4 &1 see Cer =vaerne$ An Anthology o- Buddhist antric .ongs +Bangkok@ :rchid Cress$ !54(Earrings are said to be the distinguishing mark of =DpDlika practitioners in Mirmalamai0s commentary on the Aghora(i"cryapaddhati$ *ghoraJivDcDryaviracitD =riyDkramadyotikDkhyD Caddhati$ Mirmalamaiguru<viracitD CrabhDkhyD =riyDkramadyotikDvyDkhyD +Cidambaram$ !5%2-$ p ..2 "n the Maitryayopaniad$ ed J * B van Buitenen +The Nague@ Mouton and Co $ !5(%-$ 2 4$ =DpDlikas are said to wear red earrings +*lexis /anderson$ 6The Paiva *ge$9 in ,enesis and 5e"elopment o- antrism$ ed /hingo Einoo ATokyo@ "nstitute of :riental Culture$ 8niversity of Tokyo$ %))5B$ p !25$ n .&'1 in the same note /anderson cites examples from the 1ayadrathaymala and =icumata of earrings being among the six insignia of the =DpDlikas- The pupil of the =DpDlika follower of LorakanDtha in the early sixteenth<century Bh"anpuruottama is called MDyDkualin$ 6he who wears the earrings of MDyD 9 Ne describes the fearsome dress of another Tantric practitioner$ which includes earrings +pp 54,!)!- "n a long list of religious practices$ /undardDs$ a seventeenth<century follower of IDdR$ mentions the wearing of earrings by =DpDlikas +.ar"gayogapradpik ! !4'. ''

/ee$ e g $ Mirag"at !)(c1 =adm"at !% ! (1 IDdR pads %!& %$ %!. %1 Lorakh pads !5 &1 =ab?r ,ranth"al pad !2% !$ !2' %1 NardDs pads (! !1 /undardDs skh !( %&$ pads !&' !$ !.. !1 ,urugranth ( !($ !'' !($ %)4 %$ &&. !($ &'5 !4$ '%( %$ 2&) !!$ 4&' ($ 4'( !5$ 425 !4$ 5)4 !!$ 5&5 .$ 5&5 ($ 5.) '$ 5.) !!$ 5'% %$ 52) !.1 Madhumlat !2% +Behl and #eightman$ p 2%'(

The manuscript was completed in !4%' The same two yogis are accompanied by four more ascetics in a painting by Lhulam *li =han or an artist of his circle from circa !4%),%' *ll six ascetics are named in accompanying inscriptions The larger painting is reproduced in Archeologie, Arts dD8rient$ July %$ !55&$ p (!$ no !4'1 and Joachim = Baut>e$ 6nteraction o- $ultures4 6ndian and )estern =ainting 9<NLQ9:9LJ he %hren-eld $ollection +*lexandria$ F*@ *rt /ervices "nternational$ !554-$ pp '(,'2 "n the former$ the ascetic on the left in the ashr al!a"m

picture is said to be called 6*wglohl +Q- Jogi91 in the latter$ 6*wgahal Jogi 9 The ascetic on the right is likewise said to be called 6/handbu Manha +Mdth Q- Jogi9 and 6/hanbu Manha AQB Jogi 9 The ascetic on the right is depicted on his own in a picture from a private collection reproduced in Christopher Bayly$ ed he +aj4 6ndia and the British 9OLLQ9:R< +Oondon@ Mational Cortrait Lallery Cublications$ !55)-$ p %%&$ pl %4&$ in which his earrings are in the lobes of his ears$ not knpha<style :n p &%& of the ashr al!a"m is a picture of a /anpera or snake<charmer with earrings in the cartilages of his ears /everal snake<charmer castes claim affiliation with the MDth tradition$ which became an umbrella organi>ation for a broad variety of religious specialists with roots in the tantric traditions /nake<charmers have an old Tantric pedigree$ as evinced by the LDrua Tantras$ on which see Michael J /louber$ 6LDrua Medicine@ * Nistory of /nakebite and Keligious Nealing in /outh *sia9 +ChI diss $ 8niversity of California$ Berkeley$ %)!%- * slightly earlier picture +!4!',%)-$ also in the British Oibrary collection +*dd :r !!.-$ shows a 6=aun Eauttah +Beggar-9 in Faranasi with earrings in the cartilages of his ears The change in the position of the MDths0 earrings is highlighted by a comparison between a circa !()' painting of a MDth group +Ka;esh Bedi and Kamesh Bedi$ .adhus4 he Holy Men o- 6ndia AIelhi@ Bri;basi$ !55!B$ p 5.- and a nineteenth<century depiction of MDths from Oucknow + he .cholarDs 2ision4 he =al Bamily $ollection$ AMew 7ork@ Christies$ %))4B$ pl %'%$ pp &4,&5- at whose center is found a reworking of the earlier image "n the older painting the yogis0 earrings are worn in their earlobes and in the later one they are worn knpha<style Cramod Chandra$ 6Nindu *scetics in Mughal Cainting$9 in 5iscourses on 0i"a4 =roceedings o- a .ymposium on the #ature o- +eligious 6magery +Chiladelphia@ 8niversity of Chiladelphia Cress$ !54'-$ p &!%$ also noticed the absence of knpha<style earrings in early Mughal pictures@ 6*ctually$ and rather surprisingly$ " have yet to see an early Mughal representation of the split ear and " wonder what to make of it Could it be possible that the practice is more modern than is commonly thoughtQ9
'2

"n !')' or !')($ Oudovico di Farthema met 6the king of the "oghe9 somewhere on "ndia0s west coast and reported that he wore ;ewels in his ears +Badger$ he ra"els o- >udo"ico di 2arthema$ p !!%- :ne hundred and twenty years later$ Iella Falle visited the then incumbent 6king of the Lioghi9 at Cadiri Ne was much impoverished compared to his predecessor because of the predations of =ing Fenkaappa MDyaka$ but still wore golden earrings@ 6in either ear hung two balls$ which seemed to be of Lold$ " know not whether empty$ or full$ about the bigness of a Musket bullet1 the holes in his ears were large$ and the lobes much stretched by the weight9 +Edward Lrey$ he ra"els o- =ietro 5ella 2alle in 6ndia4 Brom the 8ld %nglish ranslation o- 9OOR by ,J Ha"ers$ % vols AOondon@ The Nakluyt /ociety$ !45%B$ pp &'),'!'4

The .ilsila!i j'giyn reports that 6whenever a ;ogi takes a disciple$ he cuts open the side of the disciple0s ear and inserts a ring of whalebone +Nindi kachkara- or crystal or something else of this type9 +Carl # Ernst$ 6*ccounts of yogis in *rabic and Cersian historical and travel texts$9 1erusalem .tudies in Arabic and 6slam && A%))2B$ p .%!- The earliest usage of the name knpha that " have found dates to the same period + ra"els o- =rSn =uri$ p %(5$ in which " take 6Coonb0hatti9 to be a transcription of knpha- Cf the late eighteenth<century painting of a 6=un Eutta or Ear Bor0d Joguee9 in the collection of the 7ale Center for British *rt referred to in note &51 and E F Kaper$ 6Marrative of a survey for the purpose of discovering the sources of the Langes$9 Asiatick +esearches !! +!4!)-$ p .'2@ 6The JWgis or CVnp0hatas are the disciples of /Sva$ as the Losains1 but$ as the term CVnp0hata implies$ they have a longitudinal slit in the cartilage of the ear$ through which a ring$ or plate$ of horn$ wood or silver$ about the si>e of a crown piece$ is suspended 9
'5

Monika Norstmann$ draft article 6Emblems of MDthyog?s$9 May %)!&

The use of forms of the verb phaTphaTph in the context of ears strongly suggests the splitting of the cartilage rather than the piercing of the lobes$ for which the usual terms are vernacular derivatives of /anskrit kara"edhaTkarachedana " thank Monika Norstmann for this observation +personal communication$ May 5$ %)!&() (!

*scetics other than MDths continued to wear hooped earrings into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries "van /tchoukine$ >es Miniatures 6ndiennes de lUApoque des ,rands Moghols au MusEe du >ou"re +Caris@ Oibrairie Ernest Oeroux$ !5%5-$ p 24$ describes an eighteenth<century picture from =angra in the Oouvre that depicts three Faiava sdhus$ all of whom are wearing round earrings Two FairDg?s in a picture from Tamil Madu dated !4&),&' and described in n 5& both wear earrings * depiction of the /anyDs? *nRp Liri from the early part of the nineteenth century shows him wearing earrings +Cinch$ )arrior Ascetics$ p %.- Two pictures from the late eighteenth century in the British Oibrary appear to show /anyDs?s wearing earrings@ *C*C J .'$&2 and *C*C *dd :r %2(&
(%

Eor a reappraisal of the history of the MDths$ see Mallinson$ 6MDth /apradDya 9

(&

This is the 6Lreat Council of the *ll<"ndia 7ogis of the Twelve :rders who #ear *scetic Larb9 +*khil BhDratavar?ya *vadhRt Bhe BDrah Cath 7og? MahDsabhD1 see F Bouillier$ 6tinErance et "ie monastique4 >es ascPtes #th 3ogs en 6nde contemporaine ACaris@ `ditions de la Maison des sciences de l0homme$ %))4B$ pp %',&%(.

/ee$ e g $ Iebra Iiamond$ Catherine Llynn$ =arni /ingh Jasol$ ,arden and $osmos4 he +oyal =aintings o- 1odhpur +#ashington$ IC@ *rthur M /ackler Lallery$ %))4-$ p %5% E g $ commissions such as the Marwari #th =ur in which Loraka is raised to the level of a deity above other MDth gurus +FiJveJvarnDth Keu$ #th!caritr k kath aur uske dhr par bane citro k "i"ara AJodhpur@ Jodhpur Lovernment Cress$ !5&2B$ pp &,.(' ((

"t may be that under the patronage of Mahara;a Man /ingh$ who sponsored the gathering and copying of MDth manuscripts from elsewhere in Morth "ndia$ the regional Jodhpur MDth tradition established links with the expanding LorakhnDth? tradition$ with which it subsequently sought affiliation
(2

Iiamond et al $ ,arden and $osmos$ cat &&

(4

E g $ the paintings of MDth yogis performing sanas on the walls of the MahDmandir in Jodhpur dating to about !4!'$ and the paintings of JDlandharnDth and other MDths reproduced in Iiamond et al $ ,arden and $osmos +cats &%$ &($ &2$ &5$ .)$ .&$ and .'- and Kosemary Crill$ Mar*ar =ainting4 A History o- the 1odhpur .tyle +Mumbai@ "ndia Book Nouse$ !555-$ figs 5($ !%%,%( The siddhas painted to illustrate the .iddhasiddhntapaddhati in !4%. in Jodhpur have earrings in their earlobes$ but this is probably because Jaina images were used as templates for the paintings +Iebra Iiamond$ 6Court Cainting and 7ogic Metaphysics in Mineteenth<Century Jodhpur$9 in $ourt =ainting in +ajasthan$ ed *ndrew Topsfield AMumbai@ Marg Cublications$ %)))B$ pp !&5,.((5

Iiamond et al $ ,arden and $osmos$ p %42 /ee n &2 /ee Iiamond et al $ ,arden and $osmos$ pp !.(,.5

2)

2!

2%

/ee the images of MDths in yogic postures on the walls of the MahDmandir in Jodhpur for examples of the sel being worn over the shoulder
2&

Ianiel Lold$ 6The "nstability of the =ing@ Magical "nsanity and the 7ogi0s Cower in the Colitics of Jodhpur$ !4)&,!4.&$9 in Bhakti +eligion in #orth 6ndia4 $ommunity 6dentity and =olitical Action$ ed Iavid M Ooren>en +*lbany@ /tate 8niversity of Mew 7ork Cress$ !55'-$ p !%( E g $ the #th =ur$ a Marwari work in which the nine MDths are said to be born from parts of various gods of classical Ninduism +Keu$ #th!caritr$ pp &,.2. 2'

The earliest depiction of MDths with Paiva insignia of which " am aware is a circa !24) =ishangarh painting of four MDths by a dh'ni fire in front of a Piva liga reproduced in Ianiel J Ehnbom$ 6ndian Miniatures4 he %hren-eld $ollection +Mew 7ork@ Nudson Nills Cress$ !54'-$ pl 2'$ in which the yogis all sport the Paiva tripura or hori>ontal forehead marking The first overtly sectarian MDth /anskrit text$ the .iddhasiddhntapaddhati$ which can tentatively be dated to approximately !2))$ en;oins the yogi to wear the tripura +' !(2(

The first depictions of the complete janeo ensemble that " have seen date to the early twentieth century +Briggs$ ,orakhnth and the Hnphaa 3ogs$ pls """$ "F$ F$ and \"""22

The lack of importance of Paiva orientation to MDth identity in the premodern era is demonstrated by occasional references to$ and depictions of$ Faiava MDths The MDth in figure % who holds a peacock<feather fan sports the Faiava F<shaped forehead marking ,orakh pad !% ( says that =ing KDm +rj rmG pervades the body1 thus one can know the place of Nari$ i e $ Fiu Cf ,orakh skh !(% Bharthari is Loraka0s disciple and a devotee of MDrDyaa in the eighteenth< century Bhartharinir"eda +Oouis N Lray$ 6The Bhartharinirveda of Narihara$ Mow Eirst Translated from the /anskrit and CrDkrit$9 1ournal o- the American 8riental .ociety %' A!5).B$ pp !52,%&)- Briggs$ ,orakhnth and the Hnphaa 3ogs$ pp %)&,'$ tells a version of the famous MDth legend of Lop?cand in which five Faiavas came to his initiation$ dressed him in a loincloth$ and put a 6KDma rosary9 around his neck #hen he breaks a fast$ he says 6Pr? =a 9 But there are many more references to MDths worshiping Piva$ in particular as edinDtha$ 6the primal MDth 9 MDth conceptions of the absolute as formless are found throughout their texts$ both /anskrit and vernacular$ and also in the circa !(') 5abistn$ in which 7ogi followers of Lorakh are said to call god 6*lSka Ai e $ *lakh +f /kt alakya-$ 6the imperceptible9B bThey believe Brahma$ Fichnu$ and Mahadeva to be subordinate divinities$ but they are$ as followers and disciples$ addicted to LorakhnDth1 thus$ some devote themselves to the one or the other of the deities9 +/hea and Troyer$ he 5abistn$ vol %$ pp !%2,%424

The epithet mahyog +the great yogi- is found in several places in the Mahbhrata, which can be dated to between %)) BCE and &)) CE "n some cases mahyog refers to Piva$ but in the ma;ority it is applied either to Fiu or to yogis with no Paiva connections$ such as FyDsa and MDrkaeya Eurthermore$ as noted by John O Brockington$ 6Epic 7oga$9 1ournal o- 2aia"a .tudies !.$ no ! +%))'-$ p !%&$ yoga in the Mahbhrata is generally described in a Faiava context The ninth< or early tenth<century Bhga"atapura$ a text central to many Faiava traditions$ contains lengthy descriptions of yoga practice +Eriedhelm Nardy$ 2iraha!Bhakti4 he early history o- Ha de"otion in .outh 6ndia AIelhi@ :xford 8niversity Cress$ !54&B$ pp .4(,44- The circa thirteenth<century 5atttreyayoga(stra$ the earliest text to teach haha yoga$ is a Faiava work Many late medieval works on haha yoga in /anskrit and vernaculars were composed by
25

Faiavas$ e g $ the 3ogamrgaprak(ik of 7ugaladDsa$ the +jayoga attributed to *gastya$ the ,heraasahit$ and the 1ogpradpak of JayatarDma
4)

E g $ Chandra$ 6Nindu *scetics in Mughal Cainting$9 p &!%@ 6the Nindu ascetics represented in early Mughal painting seem primarily to be of Paiva affiliation$ ascetic life in this period thus being confirmed to have been dominated by the worshipers of Piva in his various aspects 9
4!

The earliest Morth "ndian paintings of ascetics wearing Paiva forehead markings that " have seen are late seventeenth<century Ka;put miniatures +e g $ C and I Colnaghi$ 6ndian =ainting4 Mughal and +ajput and a .ultanate Manuscript AOondon@ Colnaghi and Co $ !524B$ pp '),'!1 FiJvDmitra0s tapas depicted in a seventeenth<century Ka;put illustrated +myaa in the British Oibrary AM/!'%5' f !2&B1 he .e"en ,reat .ages in the Lovernment Museum and *rt Lallery$ Chandigarh !&.&1 fig 2 in Iebra Iiamond0s essay in 3oga4 he Art o- rans-ormation"t may be that there were Paivas among the unadorned /anyDs?s depicted in Mughal paintings The =aukara$ an earlier Paiva Tantra$ prescribes only the wearing of matted hair and ashes for ascetics$ with the tripura reserved for householders +s v tripura in ntrikbhidhnako(a, 5ictionnaire des terms techniques de la littErature hindoue tantrique, Fol &$ ed Marion Kastelli and Iominic Loodall$ Beitrgge >ur =ultur< und Leistesgeschichte *siens$ no .. +Fienna@ Ferlag der hsterreichischen *kademie der #issenschaften$ %)!&-- Ferses in a pre<Mughal Tamil hymn by Campantar can be understood to contrast the simplicity of Paiva markings with the complexity of Faiava ones$ implying that it is enough for a Paiva simply to smear some ash on his body +M'"ar V"ram 2olJ9, Wacampantar, "" (( mantiram Dvatu n?u$ Cublications de l_"nstitut Eraniais d_"ndologie +C"E"- (4<!$ !54.- " thank Iominic Loodall for providing me with these references Faiava forehead markings are also discernible on the /anyDs?s depicted in a painting in the collection of the /an Iiego Museum of *rt$ !55) &''
4% 4&

Clark$ he 5a(anm!.anyss$ pp !'5,2)

The fourth pha$ /ringeri$ is a seat of /mDrta orthodoxy with Paiva leanings$ but in the process of the IaJanDm?s0 formali>ation is likely to have replaced the mixed FaiavaXPaiva trtha of Kameshwaram$ which is often grouped together with the other three in a system of four dhmas or sacred abodes /ringeri0s inland location3in contrast to the other dhmas found at "ndia0s geographical extremities3strengthens this hypothesis Mone of the IaJanDm? MDgD akhs has a center at /ringeri$ but the biggest$ the JRnD *khDD$ has a maha at Kameshwaram +Clark$ he 5a(anm!.anyss$ pp '2,'54.

E g $ jJvara Cur?$ the mantra guru of the Lau?ya Faiava guru Caitanya MahDprabhu and jJvara Cur?0s guru MDdhavendra Cur? :n other early Faiava ascetics with the nominal suffix Cur?$ see /tuart Mark Elkman$ 1"a ,os"minDs att"asandarbha4 A .tudy on the =hilosophical and .ectarian 5e"elopment o- the ,auya 2aia"a Mo"ement +Ielhi@ Motilal Banarsidass$ !54(-$ pp !(,!2
4'

.tt"atasahit 5 54,)5 +/an;ukta Lupta$ 67oga and *ntaryDga in CDYcarDtra$9 in +itual and .peculation in %arly antrism4 .tudies in Honour o- AndrE =adoux AMew 7ork@ Mew 7ork 8niversity Cress$ !55%B$ p !45-1 >akmtantra$ ed F =rishnamacharya +Madras@ *dyar Oibrary$ !5'5-$ !! !5,%'
4(

42

The circa !(') 5abistn appears to have been written partway through the transition *fter listing the ten names of the suborders of the /anyDs?s$ it states$ 6They are frequently holy men$ and abstain from eating flesh$ and renounce all intercourse with women This class follow the dictates of IatVteri Ai e $ IattDtreyaB$ whom they also venerate as a deity$ and say that he is an incarnation of MarVyan AMarayana$ a form of FishnuB 9 Oater$ it is said that PakarDcDrya$ 6incarnation of Mahadeva$9 is the head of their ascetic division +/hea and Troyer$ he 5abistn$ vol %$ pp !&5,.!- * famous verse attributed to =ab?r$ but almost certainly postdating him by some centuries because of its mention of guns$ Bjak +amain (5$ in which fighting ascetics are scorned$ associates yogi followers of MahDdeva +i e $ Piva- with IattDtreya :n the IaJanDm?s association with the /ringeri maha$ see Clark$ he 5a(anm!.anyss$ pp !22,%%(
44

"t was in Faranasi that the first Paiva IaJanDm? text on haha yoga, the 0i"asahit +circa fifteenth or sixteenth century-$ whose philosophical underpinning is the Pr?vidyD<inflected *dvaita of the /ringeri maha$ was composed /ee Mallinson$ 6PDktism and Hahayoga$9 for an analysis of the Pr?vidyD features of the 0i"asahit *t ' !&% are found mentions of FiJvanDtha and the *s? and FaraD Kivers$ small tributaries of the LagD in Faranasi$ pointing to the 0i"asahit0s having been composed in the city The circa thirteenth<century 5atttreyayoga(stra$ a Faiava work on hahayoga$ is also likely to have been produced by forerunners of the IaJanDm? sapradya +Mallinson$ 6PDktism and Nahayoga9-$ and the 0i"asahit +which borrows verses from the 5atttreyayoga(stra- may partly represent a IaJanDm? attempt to rebrand hahayoga as Paiva
45 5)

The formali>ation of the KDmDnand? order is associated with the formation of their military subdivisions at the end of the seventeenth century and beginning of the eighteenth +Norstmann$ 6Cower and /tatus9- KDmDnand$ the supposed founder of the sect$ is likely to have lived in the fifteenth century +*grawala$ he 5eeds o- Harsha- and his grand<disciple =a IDs CayohDr?$ who was a key figure in the formation of KDmDnand? identity$ in the early sixteenth century$ prior to the painting of figure ! in !(&) Norstmann$ 6The KDmDnand?s of Lalta$9 p !.'$ notes that the name KDmDnand? is not found as a self<designation until !2&)$ but it is used in the circa !(') 5abistn in its description of varieties of FairDg? ascetics +/hea and Troyer$ he 5abistn$ vol %$ p !4)5!

The KDmDnand?s0 disavowal of nakedness is somewhat specious Members of their military divisions are +like their IaJanDm? equivalents- still called MDgD +naked-$ and they and their TyDg? brethren often sport loincloths that leave little to the imagination /ome Faiava MDgDs still went naked in !4%'$ the time of the composition of the ashrih al!aq"am +see Eig !!-$ whose !)!st chapter describes and depicts naked vaiava FairDg? MDgDs " thank Bruce #annell for reading the text with me
5%

* turn<of<the<twentieth<century KDmDnand? MDgD document states that members of the four Faiava sapradyas must give up their ochre garments and wear white after taking MDgD vows +personal communication$ Monika Norstmann$ May %!$ %)!&5&

:n the four sampradyas$ see John /tratton Nawley$ 6The four sampradDys@ ordering the religious past in Mughal Morth "ndia$9 .outh Asian History and $ulture %$ no % +*pril %)!!-$ pp !(),(&$ and$ on the formulation in early eighteenth<century Jaipur of a Fedic Faiavism in which ritual and bhakti were integrated$ Monika Norstmann$ 6Theology and /tatecraft$9 ibid pp 2',!). *scetics from Faiava lineages other than the KDmDnand?s +and their IaJanDm? forebears- appear infrequently in Mughal and subsequent painting *n exception is a picture of a large group

preparing bhg$ dated !()),!) and reproduced in *ndrew Topsfield$ 6n the +ealm o- ,ods and Hings4 Arts o- 6ndia +Oondon@ Chilip #ilson Cublishers$ !54.- The ascetics +who can be identified because they wear nothing but loincloths- all have shaven heads1 many wear necklaces that appear to be of tulas1 some have 'rdh"apuras on their upper arms1 two have clubs +one is using his to grind the bhg-1 and none sports earrings "t seems likely that they are members of the Mu? +i e $ 6shaven<headed9- subdivision of the FairDg?s mentioned in the 5abistn and said to have fought a battle with /anyDs?s at Naridwar in !(.)$ 6in which the latter were victorious and killed a great number of the MundSs@ these men threw away their rosaries of Tulasi wood which they wear about their necks$ and hung on their perforated ears the rings of the JWgSs$ in order to be taken for these sectaries9 +/hea and Troyer$ he 5abistn$ vol %$ pp !5(,52- "t is uncertain whether this tradition$ which is perhaps referred to at 5atttreyayoga(stra .&$ died out or adapted to become part of one of the cr saprady lineages The presence of two dogs and absence of topknots indicates that their Faiavism was not yet of the ultra<orthodox variety with which the cr saprady came to be associated This story also provides us with the earliest attestation of IaJanDm?s being opposed to Faiavas The organi>ation of Faiava lineages according to the cr saprady$ despite involving claims to links to a southern tradition$ was a phenomenon that originated in northwest "ndia$ in particular Jaipur Their ultra<Faiava features were not immediately adopted by Faiava ascetics in the south * Company /chool painting of two FairDg?s +identified in a caption in English- in an album of pictures of various castes and occupations from Tamil Madu and dated to !4&),&' shows them wearing saffron cloth and hooped earrings in their earlobes +British Museum !44.$)5!&$) 5.Clark$ he 5a(anm!.anyss$ p 2.$ n (&1 p 5%$ n .% "n addition to Clark0s observations on their shared functionaries$ both orders include regional officers called FmahG maale("aras /ee also /inha and /araswati$ Ascetics o- Hashi$ p !!4$ on how the lineages of both the IaJanDm?s and KDmDnand?s run from MDrDyaa to Pukadeva before diverging
5. 5'

/ee Mallinson$ 6PDktism and Hahayoga 9

5(

Kichard Burghart$ 6/ecret Focabularies of the [Lreat Kenouncers0 of the KDmDnand? /ect$9 in %arly Hindu 5e"otional >iterature in $urrent +esearch$ ed # M Callewaert$ :rientalia Oovaniensia *nalecta 4 +Oeuven@ Iepartement :rientalistiek =atholieke 8niversiteit$ !54)-$ pp !2,&)$ details what he identified as the 6secret vocabulary9 of the KDmDnand?s$ but almost all of the terms he notes are current among the IaJanDm?s +personal communication$ Fed Liri$ *pril '$ %)!)$ JRnD *khDD0s Terah Mahi camp$ Naridwar =umbh MelD52

The KDmDnand? BDlDnand? MDgDs continue to append the suffix !nanda to their post<initiatory names +personal communication$ Monika Norstmann$ May %!$ %)!&This is the date of the composition of the Agastyasahit +Nans Bakker$ 6*n :ld Text of the KDma Ievotion@ The *gastyasahitD$9 in #a"onmea AFaranasi@ M M LopinDth =avira; Centenary Celebration Committee$ !542B$ pp &)),&)(54

/upporting this is the absence of differentiation between /anyDs?s and ascetic followers of KDm3or Faiava renouncers of any persuasion3prior to the seventeenth century The earliest unequivocal distinction of this sort that " have found is in MamRd Balkh?0s description of his travels "n !(%'$ he went to Lurkhattri where a 6preceptor of the sect of ;og?s9 had a thousand disciples$ including 6;ogis$ sannyasis$ bairagis etc 9 +"qbal Nussain$ 6Nindu /hrines and Cractices as Iescribed by a Central *sian Traveller in the Eirst Nalf of the !2th Century$9 in Medie"al 6ndia 94 +esearches in the History o- 6ndia$ ed "rfan Nabib AIelhi@ :xford 8niversity Cress$ !55%B$ pp
55

!.%,.&- *n exception may be a reference to rmajana in the =adm"at +% (-$ whose colophon says that it was composed in !'.) but whose oldest manuscript dates to !('2 +on the controversies surrounding the date of the =adm"at$ see Thomas de Brui;n$ 6The Kuby Nidden in the Iust@ * /tudy of the Coetics of Malik Muhammad Jayasi0s CadmDvat9 AChI diss $ 8niversity of Oeiden$ !55(B- /everal types of ascetic are mentioned in the verse@ rikhes"ara, sanys, rmajana, masa"s, brahmacr, digambara ng, saras"at, siddha, jog, nirsa, mahes"ara, jagama, jat, (kta Athe latter is not named as such but implied@ koi eka parakhai deb satiB$ se"ar$ khe"ar$ bnaparast$ sidha$ sdhaka and a"adh'ta "n the circa !()) ,urugranth$ jogs, jats and "aia"as are contrasted +p 4(2 !2 % %1 cf p 5()- The 5abistn +circa !(')- describes a well<established system of four traditions +the cr saprady- of FairDg?s$ including KDmDnand?s$ which is separate from the ten<fold division of the /anyDs?s +/hea and Troyer$ he 5abistn$ vol %$ pp !4.,52!))

The sixteenth<century *dvaitin MadhusRdana /arasvat? taught bhakti as an alternative path to nondualism in works such as the Ad"aitasiddhi and Bhaktirasyana +see Christopher Minkowski$ 6*dvaita FedDnta in early modern history$9 .outh Asian History and $ulture %$ no % A*pril %)!!B$ p !&.- Cf Nardy$ 2iraha!Bhakti$ p &%
!)!

The fifteenth<century +mrcanacandrik$ a manual of KDma worship$ was written by one enandavana$ a pupil of Mukundavana The <vana nominal suffix is among the ten appended to the names of IaJanDm? or kten<namedk /anyDs?s KDmat?rtha$ a sixteenth<century /anyDs? resident of Benares$ is praised by his disciple *nantadeva as a great devotee of KDma " thank *nand Fenkatkrishnan for sending me drafts of two unpublished essays$ 6M?mDsD$ FedDnta$ and the Bhakti Movement$9 +%)!%- and kKitual$ Keflection and Keligionk +to appear in a forthcoming volume of .outh Asian History and $ulture on k/cholar<"ntellectuals in Early Modern "ndiak edited by Fenkatkrishnan$ Kosalind :_Nanlon and Christopher Minkowski- in which he draws attention to these rmabhakta /anyDs?s * significant difference between KDm<bhakti traditions$ from the time of the twelfth<century Agastyasahit onward$ and other Faiava ascetic traditions is the former0s use of the six<syllabled KDm mantra as opposed to the eight<syllabled o namo nryaya But the same sixteenth<century /anyDs? teachers who had no difficulty with KDm< bhakti also admit to chanting the name of god$ whether that be Nari or KDm +or Piva$ etc -$ as a means to religious goals +Fenkatkrishnan$ 6M?mDsD$ FedDnta$ and the Bhakti Movement$k p !&!)%

The IaJanDm?s0 adoption of Paivism went against a general trend in sixteenth< to eighteenth< century Morth "ndia for older Paiva traditions to be replaced or complemented by Faiavism$ a process often instigated$ in legend at least$ by Faiava ascetics +on which see *rik Moran$ 6Toward a Nistory of Ievotional Faishnavism in the #est Nimalayas@ =ullu and the Kamanandis$ c !')),!4))$9 he 6ndian .ocial and %conomic History +e"ie* ')$ no ! AJanuary,March %)!&B!)&

Cinch$ )arrior Ascetics$ p 5) Cersonal communication$ :ctober %2$ %)!%

!).