Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 63 



there. The Sudra, being his friend, resolved to do the same. 

 They built a small hut and spent the remainder of their lives in 

 peace together. After the death of the hermits some of their 

 followers built two shrines in memory of them, one for the god 

 Nattarayan in honor of the Brahman, and one for the god Virab- 

 hadra in honor of the Sudra. Virabhadra,^ sometimes called 

 Munniyappan, is an incarnation of Siva's anger. Although the 

 temple was built by Hindus, it is evident that the Dravidians 

 adopted this god as one of their local deities, for he is now con- 

 sidered a terrible demon, and is even called Maha Saitan, the prince 

 of devils. He and the original Dravidian demoness are the ones 

 who have the power to cast out evil spirits. 



The most common story of the origin of Kanaka Durgamma® is 

 that she was a woman of the Komatie or merchant caste, living 

 near Bezwada. She fell sick and during her illness had a great 

 craving for meat. It was not given to her, and later she died. 

 Soon the cattle in the village began to die, and it was reported that 

 Kanakamma had returned to satisfy her craving for flesh food. 

 She was at once propitiated with blood, and her worship established. 

 The woman's original name was Kanakamma, but as she was 

 considered now to be a Sakti, the name Durgamma was added, 

 and her own name changed to mean " The Golden Durga." 



Another quite different story is that there were seven Brahman 

 brothers in a village who had one sister, Kanakamma. Her con- 

 duct filled them with suspicions, and when she heard of their 

 state of mind she drowned herself in a well. The people of the 

 village feared a police investigation, and they started the story 

 that Kanakamma had become a Sakti and entered the hills. The 

 spirit of Kanakamma came upon a little girl who spoke for her, 

 and thus the mysterious disappearance of the woman was ac- 

 counted for. 



The story that Kanakamma had become a goddess was not so 

 easily stopped as was the investigation. When the body was taken 

 from the well and buried, the people began to worship at that 



8 See Moor, Hindu Pantheon, Madras, 1864, p. 246; also Wilkins, Hindu 

 Mythology, Calcutta, 1900, p. 445. 

 » See page 54. 



63 



