1840.J On the Creed, Customs and Literature of the Jangams. 161 



On their heHef regarding the Deity. 

 In all the vanoii« creerls that exist among the Hinrlu«!, thev profess 

 to adore one onlr God, and r'^present hira as appearing under various 

 name?. Thus in the Vira Saiva creed, they profess a be'ie^ in Sada- 

 SiVA alone as the supreme beinjf, who is invisible buf- pervades al! na- 

 ture. Thej frequently speak of him as Daxina Muhti or tb^^ express 

 form of goodness, who descended on earth under the name Ba«ava and 

 likewise as All>m\. The following Sanscrit hvron or pr-iv-^r to Da-si- 

 jfA MuRTi was written bv the celebrated divine Agastya: it fonn^ part 

 of the Agastra-ashtacaniy and is prefixed as a motto to the Prabhu 

 Linga Lila : — 



1. 



Bramh dnmdam, parama suJchadam kevala jnana murtim, 

 Dwandw dtitarn, gagatta sadrisam Tatwam asi qddi laocyam ! 

 Ecam, nityam, vimalnm, achatam, sarvatas sdxi bhUtaniy 

 Bhdv dlitamf trigund ralatam, sad Gurum ia7ri namami I 



2. 



Vata vhapi samipe, hhumi hhdge nishan'n am 

 Sacala muni jandndm, jndna ddtaram drdt, 

 Tribhuvana Gurum, /'s'am, Daxinamurti Devam, 

 Janana maran'a duhkha xeda daxam namdmi. 



1. I salute the great teacher, the heatouer of divine happiness and 

 supreme bliss ; the image of perfect wisd^jm ; who isre ^iovedfromall 

 griefs ; who is represented by the ski/ ; who is hnoted by the " TRrxn" 

 and other names. The one. Eternal, stairdess, s("b'e, an l Omnisrir7>t, the 

 incomprehensible : who knoweth neither Pasaion, Partiality nor Folly. 



2. He who sits on earth at the foot of the fig-tree who bestows yrs' 

 dom on all the devout hermits who surround him: Lord and teacher nf the 

 univ^r^e, the God w^o is embodied Goodness^ him do I salute as the re- 

 leaser from the bonds of life and death. 



When the deity is spoken of as invisible he is named Siva, Sada 

 Siva, Paramesa, or The Supreme Being. When described in a visible 

 form the name is Daxina Murti or the image of Grace. When describ- 

 ed as on earth, Allama is the usual name : though this is declared to be 

 only another name for Basava. 



♦ Th&vatd vrixam, the banyan, or fig-tree is the Hindu emblem of immortality: tkey 

 believe that in the end of time all nature will parish except one mystic fig-tree at the 

 foot of which, the deity will be enthioned. 



