T39 



populous districts where Vaishnavites are in numerical 

 strength the scene at each of the Guru's halting places is 

 intense with interest. Thousands of his disciples gather 

 round eao-er to be branded. Brahmans are there in 

 force, but men of many other castes and even Paraiyans 

 are there. The ceremonies begin by the making of a 

 fire in a mud pot {hofua kuncia), accompanied by the 

 chant of hymns and the offering of prayer to Vishnu. 

 As Brahmans present themselves for the rite the Guru 

 lifts the copper brands which have been heating mean- 

 while in the fire and applies them to the shoulders of 

 the people, the chakra on the right, the chank on the 

 left. As each stamp is made the Guru's assistant, 

 usually a Dasari or Vaishnavite mendicant, smears the 

 burnt spots with a paste of namakkatti, the same white 

 clay used by Vaishnavites when painting the narnam 

 or sect mark (improperly called caste mark) on their 

 forehead. 



Paraiyans and low caste disciples may not be 

 branded directly by the Guru ; in their case he heats the 

 instruments and hands them to the Dasari, his assistant, 

 who performs the actual operation. 



With regard to the branding customs of Madhva 

 Vaishnavites, who believe that to carry a lasting 

 outward and visible sign of their deity on their body 

 helps them to obtain salvation through him, Thurston 

 [\., Z7i-Z7^) supplies an interesting account:— 

 " Madhvas have four mutts to which they repair 

 for the branding ceremony, viz., Vayasaraya, Suma- 

 thendra, and Mulabagal in Mysore, and Uttaraja 

 in South Canara. The followers of the Uttaraja mutt 

 are branded in five places in the case of adult males, and 

 boys after the thread investiture. The situations and 

 emblems selected are the chakra on the right upper 

 arm, right side of the chest, and above the navel ; the 

 chank on the left shoulder and left side of the chest. 

 Women, and girls after marriage, are branded with the 

 chakra on the right forearm, and the chank on the left. 

 In the case of widows, the marks are impressed on the 

 shoulders as in the case of males. The disciples of the 

 three other mutts are generally branded with the chakra 

 on the right upper arm, and chank on the left. As the 

 branding is supposed to remove sins committed during the 



